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Italian and Qatari high jumpers both win gold medal for same event

3 min read

Good Stuff
Italian and Qatari high jumpers both win gold medal for same event
Source: Instagram@gianmarcotamberi

Olympian rivals and close friends Gianmarco Tamberi of Italy and Mutaz Essa Barshim of Qatar both took the gold for the men’s high jump thanks to a quirk in the rule book.

Qatar’s Mutaz Barshim and Italy’s Gianmarco Tamberi share Olympic gold in the men’s high jump

In a dramatic end to the Olympic high jump final, Qatar’s Mutaz Barshim and Italy’s Gianmarco Tamberi will share the gold medal, after each jumped 2.37m.

Three athletes scaled 2.37m setting up an intense battle for the coveted Olympic gold medal with Barshim, Gianmarco Tamberi of Italy, and Belarusian Maksim Nedasekau, all clearing the height.

With no athlete able to beat a height of 2.39m, the gold was shared between Barshim and Tamberi, with Nedasekau taking the bronze on countback.

Tamberi became the second Italian to win gold in the high jump at the Olympic Games, after Sara Simeoni won the women’s competition in Moscow 1980.

"After my injuries I just wanted to come back, but now I have this gold, it’s incredible. I dreamed of this so many times," Tamberi said.

"I was told in 2016 just before Rio there was a risk I wouldn’t be able to compete any more. It’s been a long journey."

In one of the closest contested and high-quality finals, jumpers produced career and season’s best performances. Nedasekau’s effort was a national record, while his bronze was his country’s first Olympic medal in the high jump. 

The Republic of Korea’s WOO Sanghyeok came painstakingly close to a medal for his country, leaping to a new national record of 2.35m. Scroll down for video of the moment.

Source: Olympics.com & CBC

— and persuaded organisers to let him share it with his friend and rival, Italy's Gianmarco Tamberi.
Qatar’s Mutaz Essa Barshim added Olympic gold to his list of accolades in the men’s high jump in Tokyo on Sunday 1 August. — and persuaded organisers to let him share it with his friend and rival, Italy’s Gianmarco Tamberi. Source: Instagram@gianmarcotamberi
After three failures each at that height, an Olympic official first offered them a jump-off to decide the winner.
Both Barshim, 30, and the 29-year-old Tamberi ended with jumps of 2.37 metres and had no failed attempts until they attempted to clear 2.39. After three failures each at that height, an Olympic official first offered them a jump-off to decide the winner. Source: Instagram@gianmarcotamberi
“Can we have two golds?” Barshim asked. The official nodded, and the two athletes clasped hands and whooped for joy. “I look at him, he looks at me, and we know it. We just look at each other and we know, that is it, it is done. There is no need,” Barshim said. Source: Instagram@gianmarcotamberi
Best of friends on and off the track. “He is one of my best friends, not only on the track, but outside the track. We work together. This is a dream come true. It is the true spirit, the sportsman spirit, and we are here delivering this message.” Source: Instagram@gianmarcotamberi
It was also a win-win situation for the Italian, who broke his ankle days before the Rio Games in 2016. “After my injuries I just wanted to come back, but now I have this gold. It’s incredible,” he said. “I dreamed of this so many times. I was told in 2016 just before Rio there was a risk I wouldn’t be able to compete anymore. It’s been a long journey.” Source: Instagram@gianmarcotamberi
(Andrew Nelles/USA Today Sports/Reuters)
Gianmarco Tamberi, left, leaps into the arms of friend and rival Mutaz Essa Barshim after they agree to share gold in the men’s high jump at Tokyo Olympic Stadium on Sunday. (Andrew Nelles/USA Today Sports/Reuters) Source: CBC
Photo by Richard Heathcote via Olympics.com
Gianmarco Tamberi of Team Italy and Mutaz Essa Barshim of Team Qatar react after winning the gold medal in the men’s High Jump on day nine of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Olympic Stadium on August 01, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. Photo by Richard Heathcote via Olympics.com Source: Olympics.com
Bizarre scenes in the high jump where a shared gold medal was awarded. Olympic high jumpers persuade organisers to let them share gold medal, and that’s okay with the rule book. Source: Facebook/Eurosport
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