Incheon, South Korea: Watch out world of athletics, there’s another Barshim on the rise. Literally.
Qatar created sporting history in Incheon yesterday when high-jumping brothers Mutaz and Muamer Barshim lit up the Asian Games on a cold and rainy night with a gold and bronze respectively to herald what promises to be an exciting sibling rivalry that has the potential to grab plenty of global headlines in the future.
Mutaz cleared 2.35 metres to successfully defend his title, with China’s Zhang Guowei taking the silver with a best leap of 2.33m and Muamer the bronze with 2.25m.
Later in the evening, Qatar claimed two more gold to take their tally to eight, with Mohamed al-Garni adding the 1,500m crown to his 5,000m title won two days ago and Abubakar Kamal clinching the 3,000m steeplechase gold with a start-to-finish victory.
Qatar’s tally of eight gold has leapfrogged them to seventh position on the medal tally, a spectacular result for the contingent who had been lying low during the first week of the Games with their favourite events in shooting and athletics only scheduled for later.
But there was no doubt in anybody’s mind that it was the Barshim brothers’ day yesterday.
While elder brother Mutaz is already a star, having won the Asian Games gold in Guangzhou four years ago and later on claiming the Olympic bronze in 2012 and the Indoor World Championships title earlier this year, it was Muamer’s first big occasion in the global spotlight.
And with dozens of cameras recording the action for posterity, the 20-year-old didn’t disappoint with a hugely impressive performance that set tongues wagging that he could be even more talented than his elder brother.
Mutaz’s performance over the past couple of years had made him the clear favourite for the gold – indeed he has precious little competition in the continent – and at the Asian Games the main point of interest was whether he would indeed go on to break Cuban great Javier Sotomayor’s 20-year-old world record of 2.45m.
And although that didn’t happen – perhaps the cold and rainy conditions contributing to it – the performance of his younger brother ensured the sporting world’s attention yesterday would be firmly focused around the name: Barshim.
“It is amazing that Muamer got to share the podium with me today. He is hugely talented and I knew we would share the podium one day, but that it has come at the Asian Games is nothing short of awesome,” Mutaz said.
“He is also a hard worker who puts in a lot of effort in training and I am sure he will go places.”
The contrast in the two brothers’ approach to their discipline is obvious for the world to see. While Mutaz is calm and has an air of tranquility about the way he starts off, smoothly gaining pace as he approaches the bar, Muamer prefers a shorter run-up, with quicker and more aggressive strides.
The way they react to successful or failed jumps is also a study in contrast. While Mutaz’s facial expressions would hardly give anything away, Muamer is more exuberant. A loud roar and few furious fist pumps would accompany every successful jump, while a failure is greeted with an equally loud shriek of frustration with the veins in his neck threatening to explode out of his skin.
The youngster, however, was not focusing on that aspect after his medal-winning show.
“What is important is that I got to share the podium with Mutaz who is not only my elder brother but also my best friend and idol,” said the youngster.
“I look up to him and he shares a lot of tips with me, telling me to keep focused and to maintain my own style.”qoc
Incheon: When Mohamed Al Garni said two days ago that he would also win the 1,500m gold to go with his 5,000m title in Incheon, you could have dismissed it as a boast some sportsmen are typically prone to making in the wake of an unexpected success.
But Al Garni proved yesterday he was not talking through his hat by delivering exactly on that promise to help Qatar jump to seventh position on the medal tally on what was their most fruitful day ever in the history of the Asian Games since they made their debut in New Delhi in 1982.
The 22-year-old didn’t set any record like he did on Saturday when he sensationally clocked 13 minutes and 26.13 seconds to shave more than 12 seconds off the previous 5,000m Asian Games mark of 13:28.37 held by Japan’s Toshinari Takaoka since 1994, but still produced a tremendous effort to leave the favourites trailing in his wake.
“I made a promise after my victory in the 5,000m that I would win the 1,500m too. It was not an empty promise, I had a plan and I knew I had the ability to deliver on that,” the 5’3” star told journalists after clocking 3 minutes and 40.23 seconds to win ahead of Bahrain’s Rasheed Ramzi (3:40.95) and Iraq’s Adnan Taes Al Mntfage (3:42.50).
Al Garni also wanted to prove a point after he spent considerable time going through dope testing procedures after his win on Saturday night that left him without official transportation at the stadium.
When he finally got to the Athletes Village after authorities scrambled a vehicle for him, it was well past 3am, something that left him a bit disconcerted, but even more motivated.
“As if my 5,000 race was not tiring enough, I had to run the 1,500 qualifiers the next day. But I kept my focus and delivered when it mattered in the final,” he said.
Later Abubaker Ali Kamal Ali took Qatar’s gold tally to eight by winning the 3,000m steeplechase with a timings of 8:28.72.
Bahrain’s Tareq Mubarak Taher clocked 8:39.62 to claim the silver while India’s Naveen Kumar took bronze in a time of 8:40.39.
Kamal, who won the steeplechase gold at the Asian Athletics Championships in Kobe four years ago, said he was happy to have once again helped his country achieve success at a big stage.
“I couldn’t be happier,” said the 31-year-old, a veteran of many a battle. “An athlete’s life as a professional is limited. You have to make the most of the chances you get.”
Meanwhile, Qatar and Asian athletics chief Dahlan Al Hamad was beaming after the country’s unprecedented success at the Games.
“Three gold medals in a day. I am thrilled. Like I have always said Qatar’s infrastructure is among the best a country can have. Our performance at the Asian Games this time will certainly prove a boon for athletics,” said Al Hamad.
“However, we have to keep working hard to keep the good work going. We can’t afford to sit on our achievements. We have to keep looking at the future.”qoc
