In a sport where millimeters matter so much, defending World Champion, Mutaz Barshim, narrowly missed out on retaining his title for an incredible fourth time at current World Athletics Championships in Budapest.
The Qatari high-jump icon finished third, behind both Gianmarco Tamberi of Italy and the USA’s JuVaughn Harrison, both who jumped 2.36m – but with the Italian winning via a countback.
For Barshim, who failed in three attempts to clear 2.63m, it was the first time that he had not been crowned champion at a major championships since he finished second at the Rio Olympics in 2016.
The World title was a first for Tamberi, who had previously shared the Olympic gold with Barshim in Tokyo 2020.
Barshim has long-been one of the most dominant high jumpers in a generation, winning a hattrick of gold medals at the World Championships in 2017, 2019 and 2022, and the winning gold at the Tokyo Olympics in 2020.
Born in Riyadh to Qatari parents, Barshim began competing in high jump at a young age, and quickly rose through the ranks, winning his first international medal at the 2010 Youth Olympics, and went on to win a bronze medal at the 2012 Olympics.
While after today he may no longer be able to call himself the current World Champion, he is still the reigning Olympic Champion and with his personal best of 2.43 meters – the second highest jump of all-time.