Olympic champion Mutaz Barshim advanced to the final round of the high jump competition at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games on Wednesday, finishing third in the preliminary round overall. Barshim successfully cleared three heights: 2.15 meters, 2.20 meters, and 2.27 meters. The Qatari athlete will compete in the final on Saturday, where he aims to defend his gold medal from the Tokyo Olympics. Barshim previously won a silver medal at the London 2012 Olympics and a bronze at Rio de Janeiro 2014. Holding the second-highest jump in the sport's history at 2.43 meters, achieved in Brussels in 2014, Barshim trails only the record of 2.45 meters set by Cuba's Javier Sotomayor in 1993. In other athletics events, Qatari runner Abubaker Abdullah placed seventh in the first round of the 800 meters and will compete in the repechage tomorrow. (QNA) Source: Qatar News Agency