Rashid Al Mannai

Biography

Born in Doha, he started competing internationally in 2005 and finished eleventh at the 2005 World Youth Championships in Athletics and set a personal best of 2.10 metres for 14th at the 2005 Asian Athletics Championships. He competed at the 2006 World Junior Championships in Athletics in Beijing the following year, but did not get past the qualification round. He finished twelfth at the 2006 Asian Games later that year, jumping 2.10 metres.

He enjoyed his first regional successes in 2007 – he set a Qatari record of 2.24 metres to take the gold medal at the 2007 Asian Indoor Games (a mark which was also a Games record). He represented Qatar at the 2007 Pan Arab Games in November and won a silver medal behind Salem Al-Anezi, with a jump of 2.17 m. A few months later, he returned to action with an appearance at the 2008 Asian Indoor Athletics Championships in his hometown. The high jump gold went to Sergey Zasimovich but Al-Mannai still reached the podium, taking the bronze medal.

He set an outdoor national record in Doha in April 2008, clearing 2.20 m for the win and an outdoor best. After a year out from competition, Al-Mannai returned by setting a personal best of 2.27 m in Malmö, which earned him an appearance at the 2010 IAAF Continental Cup. Representing the Asia-Pacific team, he cleared both 2.21 m and 2.25 m on his second attempts, but he cleared the bar first time at 2.28 m – a new personal best and closer to Mutaz Essa Barshim's new Qatari record. It was a surprise win over 2007 World Champion Donald Thomas and marked the first high jump medal and victory by an Asian at the competition.