Two Olympic high jumpers gave gold-worthy performances at the Tokyo Olympics and they decided they both deserved the medal.
During the final in the men’s high jump, both athletes failed to scale the last height. They cleared 2.37 meters (7.78 feet) but could not clear 2.39 meters (7.84 feet)
The official hadn’t even finished explaining the rule when Barshim interjected. “Can we have two golds?” he asked.
The two men didn’t say anything. They didn’t need to. “I looked at him, he looked at me, we understand,” Barshim said later.
They would share Olympic gold.
“We just enjoyed the moment,” Tamberi said, “because we wanted it so much.”
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.
Sportsdaily express 