Choosing Career in Sport Right Decision Says Qatari High Jump Champion

Doha, August 23 (QNA) - Qatar's champion high jumper Mutaz Essa Barshim, who won a bronze medal at the London 2012 Olympics, is convinced he made the right choice between pursuing a career in sports and doing higher studies at the university. "My coach convinced me to concentrate fully on my sports career. A person can pursue academics anytime, but in sports age really matters. I made the right decision I feel," Barshim told Qatar's first weekly English-language sports magazine Doha Stadium Plus. After graduating from the ASPIRE Academy for Sports Excellence in September, 2009, he briefly attended the Qatar University, but later dropped out to focus on the Junior World Championships in 2010. "I could have tried to balance sports with studies, but I wasn't sure about it," Qatar's latest sports hero admitted. Indeed, his decision to choose sport over higher education now seems right since he followed his Olympics success yesterday by equalling his outdoor personal best mark of 2.35 meters to clinch the 34th Internationales Hochsprung-Meeting in Eberstadt, Germany. These recent highs follow a string of medal-winning jumps at key international championships. He was the Asian Indoor and World Junior champion in 2010. He won the high jump gold medals at the 2011 Asian Athletics Championships and 2011 Military World Games. Replying to Doha Stadium Plus question on how has success at the Olympics changed his life, Barshim said, "It hasn t changed me personally in any way. It was all in a day's work for me. I celebrated the day I won and again at a reception organised by the Qatar Olympic Committee in London. "Now I’m back to the training mode. But I admit the medal changed everything around me. I'm now considered a national hero, but I'm taking great care to not let it go into my head. I've my feet firmly fixed on the ground. I know fully well I'm only as good as my last performance." The Qatar national record holder with a best mark of 2.37 metres considers himself fortunate to have won a medal at London Olympics. "I would be the first one to acknowledge I was lucky to win a medal at London. It was one of my toughest assignments and I wasn't at the top of my physical form. In early July, I had been expecting to go much higher and maybe even win a gold medal. "A stress injury to my back troubled me. Instead of my usual eight-step run-up, I was jumping with four. As a result, I suffered from a loss of confidence and I couldn't jump true to my ability. So when I arrived in London, I wasn't sure how I would do. I just thought 'Let's see how it goes'. Barshim is the fourth athlete from Qatar to have won a medal at the Olympics. Qatar's first medal winner at the Olympics was Mohammed Ahmed Suleiman won the Bronze medal in Athletics in the Men's 1,500m with a time of 3 minutes 40.60 seconds. Weightlifter Said Saif Asaad who competed in the men's 105 kg weight class at the 2000 Summer Olympics and won a bronze medal. Nasser Al Attiyah won the third bronze medal at the London Olympics in skeet shooting event. Regarding his role models in Qatar, Barshim said, "Unfortunately, there weren't any Qatari high jumpers to look up to earlier. I liked the sport and made my own destiny. My coach too played an important role. I can say I've a great team with me." Barshim, however, mentioned Mohammed Ahmed Suleiman being his inspiration. "It was my honour that he saw me winning at London. I received my medal on the same day he won a bronze in Barcelona, 20 years ago. I was just a one-year-old at that time. He is my chief source of inspiration and encouragement. At the same time, we are friends and he does give me excellent advice." Among his favourite international athletes, he named Cuban high jump champion Javier Sotomayor, the world record holder, and Poland's Artur Partyka, who won two Olympic medals (bronze in 1992 and silver in 1996). "Outside high jump, I love boxer Muhammad Ali. All of them are inspirational figures," he said. On the future of athletics in Qatar he said, "London is just a start. I just want to say Qatar athletics isn't dying. We are here and our time is coming." (QNA)