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On a warm Tokyo evening in 2021 , Mutaz donned his iconic sunglasses in his usual pre-competition ritual - not yet knowing he was about to propel himself , and the Barsham name , into the Olympic history books . That night , he leapt 2.37m to clinch Qatar ’ s first-ever track and field gold medal in the high jump and displayed a level of sportsmanship unseen for more than 100 years , graciously accepting a joint first place with his friend and fellow athlete , the Italian Gianmarco Tamberi .
“ As sports people , we are very greedy and that ’ s the only way to get to the top ,” explains Mutaz . However , that night he most famously chose a different path .
Having suffered a potentially career-ending injury in 2018 , it was a miracle that he had made it onto the world stage again – and with such success .
“ I felt like God gave me one chance , I wanted to do something different .” And so , a shared gold medal came to be .
While the scene touched audiences around the world , such displays of Mutaz ’ s character in the face of adversity were also a profound source of inspiration for his brother Meshaal , a well-known football star who plays for Qatar ’ s national team .
From left to right : Essa Barsham , Meshaal Barsham , Mutaz Barsham
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