Exclusive: Olympic champ Mutaz Essa Barshim eyes his fifth Asian Games and beyond

At the ongoing 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, Qatar's Mutaz Essa Barshim, a legend in Asian athletics and an Olympic high jump champion, graces the event for the fifth time.

In an exclusive interview with Sports Scene's Shen Xiang, 35-year-old Barshim reflected on his roller-coaster journey through injury, his aspirations for this edition of the Games, and his preparations for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

As one of the most decorated athletes in the sport, Barshim was candid about the challenges he has faced over the past year. "I have a few major injuries in my career. I have surgeries. And thank God, I was able to actually come back from these injuries and jump," he said.

"In 2018, I broke my foot. I was able to come back in 2019, win the World Championship at home in Doha, and then go on to win the Olympics and win my third World Championship gold medal in Eugene along with many more good, amazing performances and good titles into my belt," he added. 

"But again, all these things doesn't just come from that because, you know, we have been working for so many years very, very hard towards all these goals."

The veteran high jumper also reflected on the camaraderie shared among athletes and said that he is also focusing on helping to develop the next generation of talent across Asia. 

Barshim didn't shy away from addressing his memorable shared gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. His approach heading into the 2028 Olympics is rooted in pragmatism. 

"I don't like to have a lot of expectation, to be honest," he explained. "You can't expect some — to have expectations, like, everything else around you, because I can control myself. I can't control everything else... I like to put on the work and see the results."