Tokyo: The whole world went in awe when Italy’s Gianmarco Tamberi and Qatar’s Mutaz Essa Barshim decided to share the men’s high jump gold medal instead of going for a jump-off after a tie at the Tokyo Olympics.
After, both the athletes tied at 2.37 meters, an official approached the two to inquire about the jump-off. Barshim replied, “Can we have two golds?” After that Tamberi and Barshim burst into a hug without saying anything and the whole stadium cheered on the very moment.
Tamberi was seriously injured in 2016 while attempting a 2.41m high jump just before the Rio Olympics. He returned to competitions in 2017 after a bad tournament, and Barshim approached him and helped him through a difficult time. Since then, they’ve remained friends.
Prior to this, the last time a gold medal in Olympic history was shared was in 1912. Since the video went viral, it has been making the rounds on Twitter, with people dubbing it the ‘best Olympic moment’. Many people have praised the athletes’ ‘spirit’ in sharing the gold medal.
