By Rizwan Rehmat
Rio de Janeiro: Qatar’s track and field star Mutaz Barshim yesterday said his silver medal winning performance on Tuesday night at the Olympic Stadium was ‘satisfying’.
Barshim finished behind Canada’s Derek Drouin who won the gold by clearing 2.38m while the Qatari star’s best height was 2.36m.
Ukraine’s Bohdan Bondarenko finished with 2.33m to claim the bronze medal.
At the 2012 Olympic Games in London, Barshim finished with a bronze medal in front of 80,000 fans.
“I am satisfied with this performance,” Barshim, 25, said after the draining competition that finished at 4:30am yesterday.
“Yes, I would have preferred a gold but winning the silver medal is by no means a small effort,” Barshim said. “Obviously now that I have won a bronze and a silver, I will attempt to go for gold at the Tokyo Games,” he said confidently.
When asked about feeling the pressure in the final, Barshim said: “To be honest, there was no stress as I am fairly experienced now. I train hard. I know my competitors well.
“It is because of experience that I have reached this point in my career,” the 2014 World Indoor Champion said. “If you are an experienced athlete, then you don’t have to worry about stress during a competition,” he said.
Barshim quickly added: “H H the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani called and congratulated me. The Emir wished me well in the future also.”
Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani, President of the Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC), was one of thousands to congratulate Barshim on Qatar’s first ever silver medal at the Olympic Games.
“First silver medal in the history of Qatar. Congratulations Mutaz. You have honoured your people and your country,” Sheikh Joaan tweeted.
Barshim also thanked the QOC for the ‘support’ in his build-up before the Games kicked off on August 5.
“I want to thank Sheikh Joaan, Dr Thani Al Kuwari (Secretary General of QOC), and all of my supporters at QOC for the way they help me prepare for big events like this,” Barshim said. “I take this opportunity to thank my coach, the Qatar Athletics Federation President Dahlan Al Hamad and staff for their time and dedication as I prepared for the Olympic Games,” Barshim said.
Barshim said the support of General Supervisor Khalifa Khamis, Director of National Teams Khalifa Abdul Malik, his assistant Khalid Al Marri and all the staff members at QAF ‘deserved a round of applause’ for this concerted efforts.
“I think my coach is happy too with my silver medal,” Barshim said about the usually sombre-looking Stanislav ‘Stanley’ Szcyrba.
“He has wished me well and he says I can win many competitions,” he said. “He says the road is long and will be tough but nothing is impossible,” he said.
“For me, listening to the national anthem after the competition ends feels so good,” the Qatari explained.
Barshim pointed out his season still has two more stops - Switzerland and Belgium.
“I will be in action after resting for two weeks,” Barshim said. “Once I am done with this season, then I will plan again for the next season,” the affable Qatari said.
When asked about his family members, Barshim said: “My family is everything for me. My parents, my siblings - they always support me and pray for me. They are the ones who have urged me to go for my dreams from the very beginning,” he said.
“Even during difficult times, they never left my side. The are always there for me,” he added.
Mohammed Al Fadala, Qatar’s Chef de Mission in Rio, was all praise for Barshim.
“Mutaz is our pride. He is a star for the youngsters back home,” Al Fadala said.
“He is a role model for the track and field enthusiasts in Qatar.
“He plays hard and never gives up. He has gained a lot over the years. He is very experienced now. It is because of the high standards set by Barshim that he has been able to achieve so much in such short period of time,” he told Al Sharq newspaper.
The Peninsula
