Doha, Qatar: Qatar’s high jump star Mutaz Barshim yesterday clinched victory in the International High Jump Meeting in Heilbronn, Germany, as the reigning Olympic champion gears up for the upcoming Paris 2024 Games.

Barshim topped an impressive line-up with a leap of 2.31 meters, equaling his season’s best as he proved once again that he is a top contender for the podium at the Stade de France later this month.

The competition included a lineup of 10 jumpers, including the former Commonwealth Games champion Brandon Starc of Australia, veteran former world champion Donald Thomas of the Bahamas, as well as former European U-20 title winner, and the current German national champion Tobias Potye.

Barshim, the hot favourite at the meet, executed a flawless series of jumps, clearing the bar at 2.24 and 2.27 before successfully registering 2.31 meters on his first attempts.

However, he was unable to clear the 2.35-metre mark as he failed after two attempts, before unsuccessfully attempting to clear the bar at 2.38 metres.

Home hero Potye secured the silver medal after clearing a commendable height of 2.29 meters on his second attempt despite coming off from a foot injury. However, he had to withdraw from the competition due to pain after attempting 2.31 meters as he settled for the silver medal behind the Qatari champion.

Meanwhile, the bronze medal was claimed by the 40-year-old Thomas, who cleared 2.27 meters on his first attempt. Both Thomas, the 2007 world champion, and Mexico’s Edgar River tried to go for the 2.29-metre mark, but failed on all three of their attempts. Edgar finished fourth after clearing 2.27 on his second attempt.

Starc, who finished fifth three years ago when Barshim shared the Olympic gold medal with Gianmarco Tamberi at the Tokyo Games, only managed to clear 2.15 meters yesterday as he failed in all three attempts at 2.20 to finish in ninth place.

Barshim, who boasts of the second-highest jump (2.43m) of all time, will compete in the high jump qualifying round on August 7 ahead of the August 10 final at the iconic Stade de France.

Earlier, on Saturday, the women’s competition saw Australia’s Eleanor Patterson, the 2022 world champion, and Great Britain’s Morgan Lake, both clearing 1.95 meters. Slovenia’s Lia Apostolovski secured third place with a jump of 1.92 meters.

Final Standings – Men’s High Jump

1: Mutaz Essa Barshim (QAT) – 2.31m

2: Tobias Potye (GER) – 2.29m

3: Donald Thomas (BAH) – 2.27m

4: Edgar Rivera (MEX) – 2.27m

5: Joel Bathing (AUS) – 2.24m

6: Daniel Jankovic (HUN) – 2.20m

7: Vadim Kravchuk (UKR) – 2.20m

8: Brian Thanks (RSA) – 2.20m

9: Brandon Starc (AUS) – 2.15m

10: Eric Portillo (MEX) – 2.15m