Olympic ‘Vibes’ for Qatar’s High-Jump Great Barshim in Hangzhou 

Asian Games - Hangzhou 2022 - Athletics - Olympic Sports Centre Stadium, Hangzhou, China - October 2, 2023 Qatar's Mutaz Barshim gestures during the Men's High Jump Qualification - Group A. (Reuters)
Asian Games - Hangzhou 2022 - Athletics - Olympic Sports Centre Stadium, Hangzhou, China - October 2, 2023 Qatar's Mutaz Barshim gestures during the Men's High Jump Qualification - Group A. (Reuters)
TT

Olympic ‘Vibes’ for Qatar’s High-Jump Great Barshim in Hangzhou 

Asian Games - Hangzhou 2022 - Athletics - Olympic Sports Centre Stadium, Hangzhou, China - October 2, 2023 Qatar's Mutaz Barshim gestures during the Men's High Jump Qualification - Group A. (Reuters)
Asian Games - Hangzhou 2022 - Athletics - Olympic Sports Centre Stadium, Hangzhou, China - October 2, 2023 Qatar's Mutaz Barshim gestures during the Men's High Jump Qualification - Group A. (Reuters)

Three-time high-jump world champion Mutaz Essa Barshim compared the Asian Games to the Olympics Monday after skipping the season-ending Diamond League event at Eugene to be in Hangzhou.

The reigning Olympic gold medalist won Asiad titles in 2010 and 2014 and is determined to cap his 2023 season with another.

"For me, the Asian Games are important. You see these vibes, it's like our Olympics before the Olympics," he said after needing only a single jump of 2.19m to lead the field into Wednesday's gold-medal showdown.

"Eugene? I am not saying it's not important, it's about having different priorities now.

"For me, it was too much travel and I am a different high jumper now. I have three Diamond (League) trophies. Adding a fourth would have been great, but it's not my top priority at the moment so I decided to skip that."

Barshim shares top billing as Qatar's most famous sportsman with five-time Dakar Rally champion Nasser Al-Attiyah, who also took time out from his hectic schedule to be in China.

Along with rallying, Al-Attiyah is an accomplished skeet shooter and won men's team silver and individual bronze in Hangzhou.

Barshim has extra motivation to get back on top of the Asian Games podium after being shocked at the Budapest world championships by Italy's Gianmarco Tamberi, who denied him a fourth consecutive title.

"The stadium is amazing, the crowd is amazing. This is the last competition of the season, hopefully finishing at the top," he said.

"Then I need a good break, a good vacation to recharge before the Olympic season starts."

His chief rival is South Korea's Woo Sang-hyeok, the 2022 world silver medalist who won the Diamond League trophy in Eugene that Barshim skipped, with a personal best 2.35m.

He also qualified comfortably on Monday.



Paris 2024 Opening Ceremony: Saudi Team Highlights Cultural Heritage

Saudi athletes wave their country’s flag during the opening parade. (Saudi Olympic Committee)
Saudi athletes wave their country’s flag during the opening parade. (Saudi Olympic Committee)
TT

Paris 2024 Opening Ceremony: Saudi Team Highlights Cultural Heritage

Saudi athletes wave their country’s flag during the opening parade. (Saudi Olympic Committee)
Saudi athletes wave their country’s flag during the opening parade. (Saudi Olympic Committee)

Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal, Chairman of the Saudi Olympic and Paralympic Committee, and his deputy, Prince Fahd bin Jalawi bin Abdulaziz, attended the opening ceremony of the 33rd Olympic Games in Paris.

Held outside the traditional stadiums for the first time in history, the ceremony featured a parade of the 206 participating countries on 100 boats traveling approximately 6 kilometers along the Seine River.

The Saudi show jumping team player, Ramzy Al-Duhami, and his colleague, the Saudi Taekwondo champion Dunya Aboutaleb, raised the Saudi flag at the opening of the world’s largest sporting event.

Al-Duhami expressed his pride in raising the Kingdom’s flag alongside his teammate, noting that it was a dream for any Saudi citizen. He wished success for the Saudi athletes in representing Saudi sports with distinction.

Aboutaleb, in turn, said he was honored to carry the Kingdom’s flag at the Olympic Games, stating: “I aspire to perform at a level that reflects the support and attention given to sports in the Kingdom.”

The Saudi athletes’ uniform was admired by the international media and the audience, who applauded the players the moment their boat appeared on the Seine River.

The designs for the opening ceremony were chosen through a national competition organized by the Saudi Arabian Olympic and Paralympic Committee, with the participation of designers from across the Kingdom.

Out of 128 competing designers, the chosen uniform by Saudi designer Alia Al-Salmi featured traditional men’s thobes and bishts and brightly patterned thobe al-nashal for women, symbolizing the athletes’ pride in their homeland and cultural roots.

Mashael Al-Ayed, 17, will be the first Saudi athlete to compete, taking to the pool for the 200 meters freestyle swimming event on July 28. Al-Ayed is the first female swimmer to represent Saudi Arabia at the Olympics.