Qatar's Mutaz Essa Barshim received the personal congratulations of the country's Emir after he sent the crowd wild by retaining his high jump title at the World Athletics Championships.
The 28-year-old, who had got himself out of trouble by succeeding on his third and final attempt at 2.33 metres, took gold with a jump of 2.37m in front of a raucous and packed Khalifa Stadium on Friday night.
Barshim revealed he had chatted with the country's ruler, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani after his triumph.
"I felt that (support) a lot from the crowd, from the emir himself to everyone who came out tonight," said Barshim.
"I was with him (the Emir) just now. I can't tell you (what he said) -- it's top secret." When pressed, he did give some insight into his conversation with the ruler of the energy-rich state.
"He (the Emir) was very excited and very happy. He said well done, he is really happy and proud because I delivered on what he wanted."
"Now I am just thinking about the future and I am really happy where I am."
"To everybody who came out here to support and believed in me I just wanted to do this for them."
"I could see it in their eyes how enthusiastic they were and how much enjoyment they were getting from it."
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content