Doha (AFP)

Does the Qatar public love athletics? In any case he loves his champion Mutaz Essa Barshim, sacred at home at the World Cup Doha, fifteen months after an operation with an ankle that seemed to have lastingly sealed.

But where was Barshim the elastic man? The world champion in 2017 in London, who had a time threatening Cuban world record Javier Sotomayor (2.45 m) with his record at 2.43 m. The athlete with the technique so spectacular that it could spin a lumbago to the spectators so much arches around the bars that erases.

This Barshim there seemed lost after an operation on the left ankle in July 2018, the ligaments torn on an attempt to beat the world record precisely.

Returned in June 2019, the Qatar has chained this season the average competitions, never better than 2.29 m. Without his emblematic champion, it is downright all the discipline that seemed drawn down: after several good years, no jumper has managed to pass 2.40 m since the injury of Barshim precisely.

But he rebounded spectacularly at home, in Qatar, in the stadium Khalifa who had finally refueled: many spectators in "thobe", the traditional white outfit, roared at the first jumps of the local hero, even at heights modest.

With his title, Barshim (28), whose name Mutaz means "pride" in Arabic, gave the organizing country the first gold of its Worlds and its second medal after the bronze of Abderrahman Samba on 400 m hurdles Tuesday.

- Student at Aspire -

The Qatari seemed badly after two failures at 2.33 m. But he crossed with class on the 3rd try before taking out two big jumps from his first attempt to the following heights to 2.35 and 2.37 m, which no one else has crossed.

The two Russians Mikhail Akimenko and Ilya Ivanyuk, who competed under neutral flag, both broke their personal best with 2.35m and completed the podium.

Friday night clearly broke all the applaudimetric records thanks to Barshim, well helped by Kenyan fans pushing Conseslus Kipruto to keep his title on 3000m steeplechase for a hundredth of a second, and by the excitement born of the record world 400m hurdles beaten by the American Dalilah Muhammad (52.16).

But it is Barshim who attracted all eyes: not only is he Qatari but he grew up a few meters from the stadium, on the benches of the Doha Aspire sports academy.

The jumper is a pure product of the formation set up by the small gas emirate, born of a mother of Sudanese origin and a Qatari father runner, who guided his steps in athletics, first on the walk, before forking on the bottom and the height.

Only false note of the evening: wanting to take advantage of the atmosphere the organizers have tried to hand over the medal to the local champion as soon as possible (while all others receive it the next day).

But when the three happy-go-lucky people showed up on the raised Khalifa stadium podium, all the spectators were gone, and the sound and lights had been cut off, leaving room for a big moment of embarrassment.

Barshim will probably come back tomorrow to recover his medal, to the delight of the public.

© 2019 AFP