Barshim, 31, holder of the second-best mark in history (2.43m), achieved on 5 September 2014 in Belgium, two centimetres shy of Cuba’s Javier Sotomayor, the world record holder with 2.45m since 27 July 1993, became the third Arab athlete to hold a title three consecutive times, after Algerian 1500m runner Noureddine Morceli in 1991 in Tokyo, 1993 in Stuttgart and 1995 in Gothenburg, and Morocco’s Hicham El Guerrouj, who achieved the feat four consecutive times, in Athens 1997, Seville 1999, Edmonton 2001 and Paris 2003.
