Mutaz Essa Barshim is the man, IAAF Male Athlete of Year! photo by PhotoRun.net
In 2017, Mutaz Essa Barshim is the man. He was undefeated in 2017, and cleared 2.40 meters two times in 2017. My favorite moment with Mutaz was when he won in Birmingham DL, clearing 2.40 meters. Mutaz was so pumped after his clearance, he grabbed the bar and told the fans he would take it home. The crowd went crazy.
In 2014, Mutaz cleared 2.42 meters with Bohdan Bondarenko at the adidas GP NYC. Then, the battled at 2.46 meters, taking five attempts between them.Mutaz dealt with injuries for 2015 and 2016. Now, healthy and focused, 2017 was a dream year for the high jumper from Qatar.
Congrats to Mutaz Essa Barshim on his 2017 IAAF Male Athlete of the Year award. When RunBlogRun interviewed Barshim this past summer, Mutaz told us that, even if he cleared 2.46 meters. This guy loves to jump!
Larry Eder has had a 52-year involvement in the sport of athletics. Larry has experienced the sport as an athlete, coach, magazine publisher, and now, journalist and blogger. His first article, on Don Bowden, America's first sub-4 minute miler, was published in RW in 1983. Larry has published several magazines on athletics, from American Athletics to the U.S. version of Spikes magazine. He currently manages the content and marketing development of the RunningNetwork, The Shoe Addicts, and RunBlogRun. Of RunBlogRun, his daily pilgrimage with the sport, Larry says: "I have to admit, I love traveling to far away meets, writing about the sport I love, and the athletes I respect, for my readers at runblogrun.com, the most of anything I have ever done, except, maybe running itself." Also does some updates for BBC Sports at key events, which he truly enjoys.
Mutaz Essa Barshim is the man, IAAF Male Athlete of Year! photo by PhotoRun.net
