High Jump Men: Barshim beats Bondarenko with meeting record

Mutaz Barshim took Bohdan Bondarenko’s Shanghai meeting record and world lead as the Qatari drew first blood in the opening exchange between high jump’s high-flying pair. Barshim topped out with 2.38m, 1cm higher than Bondarenko cleared in Kawasaki last week, while the Ukrainian’s best was 2.32. The world champion may well have gone higher, but he opted to skip 2.35 and put everything on victory at 2.38 which Barshim sailed over at his first attempt. After two misses Bondarenko went on to attack 2.41, but it wasn’t to be. Zhang Guowei rewarded the home crowd for their warm support by clinching third on countback after clearing 2.32 on his second try.