Our Olympic champion Mutaz Essa Barshim dedicated his Olympic achievement and the high jump silver medal at the Rio 2016 Olympics to HH Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Amir of the beloved country, and Mutaz said that HH the Amir was the first to congratulate him on the achievement in a phone call while he was still on the stadium field. Mutaz also dedicated the achievement to HE Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani, President of the Qatar Olympic Committee, and the Qatari delegation participating at the Rio Olympics, as well as to HE Dr Thani Al Kuwari, Secretary General of the Olympic Committee, and to the Qatar Athletics Federation family led by HE Major General Dahlan Jumaan Al Hamad, captain of the ship, and to all the loyal people of Qatar, affirming that this achievement could not have been realised without the continuous support of our wise leadership for sport in general and for the mother of all sports in Qatar, until these gains and victories were achieved, also praising the support and backing of HE Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani in leading the Olympic delegation, which had a profound effect in motivating the participating champions, and pledging to the beloved Amir and our wise leadership to give his effort and dedication to raise the country’s flag high at international events, saying: “God willing, here’s hoping for gold, people of Qatar, at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics,” if God grants him a long life, and considering his silver achievement in Rio to be a motivation for him to continue giving and dedication in order to reach the highest ranks in the fields of the mother of all sports and the high jump event, which demands extraordinary effort and constant physical, technical and mental presence to face the pressures of different competitions, affirming that his achievement represents a major gain and clearly reflects the extent of the development and leap Qatar is witnessing in the sporting field.
My ambition was gold and hearing the national anthem
Returning to the scenario of the high jump battle in Rio and his plan for the contest, Barshim said: “Thank God, my ambition was to embrace gold and nothing else, and to have the world hear our national anthem, but the Almighty’s will decreed that we settle for second place and silver, and with God’s help, Rio will not be the end of the road but a motivation to give more and improve my performance to honour my country at various international events.”
My coach is satisfied with my level
Mutaz Essa Barshim was happy with the reaction of his Swedish coach Stanislav, adding that his coach praised his performance and thanked him for the effort he put in throughout the qualifying rounds and the final, wishing him success in upcoming championships and affirming to him that the road ahead was still long and that he needed to work even harder to reach the top.
Our season is not over
Barshim revealed in his remarks that his sporting season had not yet ended, as he still has two Diamond League meetings, in Lausanne, Switzerland, and Brussels, Belgium, after which he will rest for two weeks before returning to Doha to begin a new phase of serious preparation for the new sporting season.
Four years — hard work ahead
Mutaz Essa Barshim said that the coming year and the following four years would mean hard work, starting from next year, as he must prepare intensively to compete at the World Championships in London 2017, followed by the World Championships in Birmingham in 2018, the World Athletics Championships in Doha in 2019, and finally the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, adding that all of this requires extraordinary effort and unusual preparation to achieve his goals in pursuit of the summit of glory.
Thanks to these people
Olympic athlete Mutaz Essa Barshim extended special thanks to the Qatar Athletics Federation family led by HE Major General Dahlan Al Hamad and all members of the federation’s board for their valued efforts with him on the journey of preparation for the Olympics, praising the efforts of the administrative staff led by general supervisor Mr Khalifa Khamis and Mr Khalifa Abdulmalik, director of the national teams, and his assistant Khalid Al Marri, and all those working in the national teams committee and the federation, and he also extended special thanks and high appreciation to his world-class coach, Sweden’s Stanislav, and his dear family, for their support and everything they provided him during his European training camps, with encouragement, care and family-like attention beyond description, until we achieved these achievements.
My small family always behind me
Champion Barshim did not forget his small family, represented by his father, the retired champion Essa Barshim, his mother, and all his brothers and sisters, who were a great support to him in forging his path in professional sport with strength and achieving his ambitions and raising his country’s flag high, dedicating his silver achievement to them and thanking them for standing firmly by him in the most difficult times until he achieved one success after another.
