Popularly dubbed as Al Saqar Al Thahabi, or the golden falcon, the Qatari high jumper is satisfied with his performance at Xiamen and readies to make it to the podium at the upcoming Paris Olympics.

Qatari track and field athlete Mutaz Barshim has started his Olympic season landing second place at the 2024 Diamond League Xiamen tournament.

On Saturday, the nation’s falcon cruised through the 2.15, 2.20 and 2.24-metre jumps, while his American opponent, Shelby McEwen, had a shaky start clearing 2.20 and 2.24-metre heights.

The competition quickly heated up between Barshim and his American counterpart when the bar was raised to 2.27 metres. McEwen was able to land a first-time clearance and secured a meet record.

The competition stalled at a tiebreak when Barshim jumped over the 2.27-metre bar after a third attempt – also landing the meet record and marking his season’s best.

Barshim wasn’t able to subsequently clear the 2.29 feat to edge over McEwen’s lead, and took home the silver.

Reflecting on his performance, the 32-year-old athlete said that, “I didn’t get the win, but it’s a good opening to be honest.”

During the post-game remarks, he added that despite the “tricky” conditions, he was satisfied with the result.

Although having more injuries than he did in his twenties, the Qatari athlete said that staying hungry and maintaining a drive to improve are what keeps him going.

‘The Olympics was a dream’

This summer will be Barshim’s fourth Olympics appearance.

“The target for me is always the Olympics…  everything I’m doing now is according to the plan to be ready for the Olympics,” he said on Saturday.

At the 2022 Beijing Olympics, the Qatari icon stood exemplar of sportsmanship when he ended the nail-biting jump-off between him and Italy’s Gianmarco Tamberi – instead suggesting the gold goes to both Qatar and Italy.

However, as a seasoned Olympian with an Olympic gold and two silver medals from 2016 and 2012 among his array of achievements, he still always looks forward to the Olympic season with excited energy.

“For me, the Olympics was a dream,” he revealed during a press conference on Friday.

“I remember watching the Olympics on TV, and I wanted to be there so bad!” he added. “And still, you get that tingle – you feel like: ‘Oh, it’s an Olympic year!’

“(Now,) I want to make sure that I’m prepared and ready to fight, and, hopefully, be on the podium.”

Barshim’s preparations for the Paris Summer Olympics are well underway, with the competition set to begin on July 26 and end on August 11.