AN ARAB CHAMPION, IN THREE MONTHS!

Few athletes have reached the heights of success so quickly as newly crowned Arab Champion, Mohammad Al Buhairi.

The 18-year-old was one of the star performers at the recent Arab Athletics Championships hosted in Amman, where he won gold in the high jump, and you can be excused for not recognising his name.

“I only started doing high jump three months ago!” he admitted. “I was a Basketball player and playing in a tournament but Athletics coach, Ahmad Al Masri, said I should give high jump a go.”

He took to it like a duck to water, showing his potential immediately to convince his new coach to send him on a training camp to Poland.

“I fell in love with this sport straight away.”

It makes me feel good and has provided me with a whole new challenge.

“With the Arab Championships approaching the federation decided to fast track my training with the camp in Poland which helped me push through the 2m barrier.

That’s what made me an Arab Champion.”

He admits that the 2.05m winning jump was way beyond his expectation, and it has given him the encouragement to reach for the sky.

“It was like a dream to be on top of the podium, I really believe I can do so much more and hopefully one day reach the Olympics,” he said.

“I need to dream big and why not target the Olympics? I will train harder and make sure I am a part of the Tokyo 2020 Jordan team.”