With high spirits, our Olympic golden champion Mutaz Essa Barshim begins his challenge today at the flagship event of world athletics, currently being held in the Polish city of Sopot with the participation of the sport’s finest stars: 587 athletes representing 141 countries. God willing, Barshim will contest the high jump qualifying round starting at three o’clock in the afternoon amid exciting, fierce competition expected among the best jumpers and ambassadors of the world’s premier indoor event. The opening day’s competitions were marked by strength and enthusiasm, with the first round seeing a single medal awarded, in the men’s shot put
Today: 10 medals to be awarded
The battle among the elite begins today at the peak of the indoor championships in Sopot, where a number of field and track events – qualifying rounds and finals – will be held, awarding 10 medals to champions and champions: seven for women and four for men, as follows: first, women – finals – triple jump, shot put, 1500m, high jump, 400m, 60m hurdles; second, men – finals – pole vault, 1500m, 400m, 60m.
The podium is our goal .. and gold is a legitimate right
Our golden champion Mutaz Essa Barshim expressed hope of putting in a good performance and securing qualification for the finals with the least possible effort, and predicted a high-level competition with strong effort from everyone. He noted that he had completed his preparations and intended to proceed step by step, wishing himself success, while voicing respect for all his fellow world-class jumpers, saying everyone’s ambition was to win gold and stand on the podium, which is a legitimate aspiration, since the standards are close and anything can happen in this sport – especially when an athlete is having his day and fortune favours him.
A simple opening ceremony
The World Championships had opened the day before in the presence of Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk
and IAAF President Lamine Diack, the mayor of Sopot, and senior political and sporting figures in Poland. The opening ceremony was simple yet elegant, and lasted about half an hour. The celebration began with a procession of children carrying [flags], followed by the Polish national anthem and the IAAF anthem, after which the mayor gave a welcoming speech expressing his pride in hosting the event in his beautiful city. Diack then gave a similar speech, praising the fine organisation by the Poles and wishing the participants success in achieving the sporting and technical gains they hoped for. The Polish prime minister then officially declared the championships open, followed by a beautiful folklore display by Sopot ballet dancers that the audience greatly enjoyed, after which the evening’s competitions began.
