High jumper Mutaz Barshim (© Dan Vernon)
How do you stay motivated when you have won everything there is to win?
Qatari high jumper Mutaz Barshim has claimed an unprecedented three titles at the World Athletics Championships as well as Olympic gold and multiple other global medals. He is the most successful athlete his nation has ever seen.
But despite his successes and his event's demand for new heights, Barshim's feet have remained firmly on the ground.
He still chooses to train in his old, beaten up gym where it all started, and has his sights set on leaving a lasting legacy for his competitors and the high jump in Qatar.
Barshim welcomes World Athletics Inside Track to Doha, to a training session and his own competition – the What Gravity Challenge, to share more about his life and journey so far.
Click the thumbnail to watch:
“It’s always easier said than done. How to stay dedicated – hard work, dedication and patience. And the better you are, the more difficult it gets because there is a lot of temptation,” he says. “I don’t need to be jumping – you know, I can go out and do something easy, for example, and make the same amount of money. Or, I can go and do something, film something, and take my family on vacation. I don’t need to be struggling.
“Imagine you are the best in the world, you are the Olympic champion, but I still lock myself in a room somewhere in a mountain with two people for like one or two months. I don’t need to be doing that, but I know that’s very important for me. I need to feel that struggle.
“To me, high jump is a lifestyle, you know, and I’m really glad that it transitioned to become my professional career that I really love and enjoy. That’s why, whenever it gets hard, I’ll always find a way because for me, it’s a natural love to it. It’s my way of expressing myself.
“At this moment, in my career now, I’ve done so much. So, this Olympics to me is all about legacy.”
