High jumpers raise the bar on sportsmanship by sharing the gold medal
Qatar’s Mutaz Essa Barshim and Italy’s Gianmarco Tamberi agreed to share the high jump gold amid remarkable joyous scenes at the Tokyo Olympics.
Both Barshim, 30, and the 29-year-old Tamberi cleared 2.37 metres but after they failed three times at 2.39, they ended up tied and entered a conversation with an Olympic official, who first offered them a “jump-off” to decide the matter.
“Can we have two golds?”, Barshim asked him.
The official nodded, and the two athletes clasped hands and whooped for joy before hugging.
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Maksim Nedasekau of Belarus also cleared the 2.37 mark but he had more failed attempts, resulting in the bronze medal.
For Barshim, it was the ultimate accolade. At the 2012 London Games, he won a bronze, which was later upgraded to silver.
He picked up another silver in Rio de Janeiro four years later and then won two successive world titles in 2017 and 2019.
South Korean Woo Sang-hyeok and Australian Brandon Starc, the younger brother of cricketer Mitchell, both cleared 2.35 to finish fourth and fifth respectively.
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