It only took Mutaz Essa Barshim four jumps to solidify his domination over the competition in the high jump at the 2015 Prefontaine Classic, which he won with a jump of 7 feet, 10 3/4 inches (2.41 meters), the highest jump ever on U.S. soil.
The No. 1 high jumper in the Diamond League jumped only three times before hitting his final mark, and he never once touched the bar.
After jumping 7-9 3/4 (2.38 meters) at Shanghai on May 17, Barshim knew there were a few technical things he had to improve to stay successful.
“After Shanghai, I get back home and put in a couple of good trainings,” Barshim said at a press conference the day before the Pre Classic. “We worked with some technical details that wasn’t good out there. So I’m really looking forward to improve myself technically, and I want to jump. I want to jump high.”
Barshim, 23, said that the technical skills he’s looking for are all of the small details in jumping. He said he thinks that his approach is too fast sometimes and worries about the positioning of his arms as he jumps.
“Small stuff, but it’s worth it to make it,” Barshim said. “You jump 2.43. If you want to improve your personal best every jump and shot at the world record, that’s why we are taking care of the small details.”
Robby Hughes, Barshim’s agent, said that Barshim’s goal for the season is to “put on a show for the crowd and come out healthy.”
China’s Guowei Zhang took second place with a jump of 7-9 3/4 (2.38 meters), a personal best. American Erik Kynard took third place with a jump of 7-8 1/2 (2.35), his best mark of the season. Ivan Ukhov, 2012 Olympic gold medalist and 2010 IAAF Diamond League champion, took fourth with a jump of 7-7 1/4 (2.32).
After every jump, Zhang, 23, celebrated with the crowd. After hitting the 7-7 1/4 height, Zhang flexed his biceps and shouted, “number one,” as the crowd cheered. After hitting 7-9 3/4, Zhang ran halfway across the track and started dancing in front of the fans.
Kynard was not so happy with his performance at the Pre Classic.
“I’m going the wrong way,” he said. “Last year I came in second, this year I came in third. I need to turn it around.”
Despite finishing 6 inches better than in Shanghai, Kynard said he has to work on a lot of technical things in order to turn his season around.
