Qatar Olympic Committee celebrates Mutaz’s silver medal in Brazil

The Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) celebrated one of the proudest moments in its history as high jumper Mutaz Barshim was welcomed to Bayt Qatar as the nation’s first ever Olympic silver medalist.

QOC President HE Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani and QOC Secretary General Dr Thani Abdulrahman Al Kuwari joined the ceremony, which was held in the souq area of the Qatar Olympic Committee’s hospitality house.

The event saw Brazilian and Qatari crowds come together to wave Qatari flags and share in the celebration in the true spirit of Olympism.

Barshim entered the Souq behind the bicycle used in the Rio 2016 Opening Ceremony and received huge cheers from the crowd. He was then welcomed to stage and shown a surprise film with the highlights of his victory, before silver confetti was fired into the air.

Speaking from the Bayt Qatar stage, Mutaz said: “When I was young, I used to watch my father and other athletes and dream of standing on the podium at the Olympic Games. Today, at the age of 25, I celebrate winning my second Olympic medal and for me that’s such a blessing.

“It was a great competition and having Sheikh Joaan in the crowd supporting me every step of the way was extra motivation. The first call I received after the competition was from HH The Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.

“None of this would have been possible without the help of my parents, everyone in my country and God. I felt like the whole nation was behind me, supporting me every step of the way. This medal is for each and every one of you! I’m incredibly happy. Thank you!”

The 25-year-old from Doha cleared 2.36m, second only to Canada’s Derek Drouin who jumped a season best 2.38m in an intense high jump final at the Olympic Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, where Ukraine’s Bohdan Bondarenko took the bronze medal clearing a height of 2.33m.

Immediately following the ceremony, the star high jumper was presented with a flag signed by the entire Qatari delegation and after attended a cocktail reception at Bayt Qatar’s illustrious Athletes Lounge along with Sheikh Joaan and Dr Thani, as well as other members of the Qatari delegation.

After the Games, the historical Casa Daros building, which houses Bayt Qatar, will be turned into a bilingual school and QOC will contribute to the building of the school’s library as part of its legacy after Rio 2016.