The men's high jump gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics was on Sunday shared by an Italian and Qatari athlete, both deciding not to participate in a tie-breaking jump-off after they cleared the same height.
Mutaz Essa Barshim of Qatar and Italian high jumper Gianmarco Tamberi decided to share the gold after a rules official said the pair was allowed to do so.
Barshim was getting ready for a jump-off when his Italian opponent was told that both could have a gold medal. Both had tied at 2.37 metres and failed to clear 2.39m.
Once both agreed that they don't want to have a jump-off, they passionately embraced each other and went out to celebrate.
According to a report on American broadcaster NBC's website, Tambori ran around the stadium in Tokyo. Barshim slowly walked toward his traveling party and broke down in tears, having won bronze at London 2012 and Rio 2016 and now finally winning gold.
The two athletes’ are good friends and the relationship goes far beyond the emotional moment they shared at the 2020 Tokyo Games.
According to USA Today, the two of them have been friends for more than a decade since their first meeting at the World Junior Championships in Moncton, New Brunswick, in 2010.
It was there that Barshim won the title, while Tamberi didn’t qualify for the event but a friendship sparked off that stood the test of time.
It was Barshim who helped Tamberi comeback after a career threatening injury since the Rio Olympics.
(With various inputs)
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