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Updated August 2nd, 2021 at 12:26 IST

Tokyo Olympics: High jumpers from Qatar & Italy share medal, ask ‘can we have 2 golds?'

Mutaz Essa Barshim of Qatar and Gianmarco Tamberi of Italy shared a gold medal in the men's high jump at the Tokyo Olympics, emotional video goes viral

Reported by: Vishnu V V
Tokyo Olympics 2020
IMAGE: AP/ TWITTER | Image:self
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In what is a rare moment in the Olympics, Mutaz Essa Barshim of Qatar and Gianmarco Tamberi of Italy shared a gold medal in the men's high jump at the Tokyo Olympics on Sunday. The Qatar, Italy high jump finalists chose against having a jump-off for gold and decided to share the top medal. The two athletes received heaps of praises for their sportsmanship towards one another. The video of the decision being taken has since gone viral on the internet.

High jump players share gold at Tokyo Olympics

All three medallists cleared the 2.37-meter mark in the final only to have a tie for the top spot after Maksim Nedasekau of Belarus settled for bronze due to having more failed attempts than the rest. Neither Qatar’s Barshim nor Italy’s Tamberi had a failed attempt until 2.39 meters, which is the Olympic record. Following their failed attempts, the athletes were offered to have jump-off to determine gold. However, even before the official had finished explaining the rules, Barshim asked if they could have a tie.

"Can we have two golds?" the Qatari athlete asked, to which the official responded positively. Following this, Tamberi leapt into the arms of a beaming Barshim, who made the call first to share the medal. The emotional video of the two athletes sharing a sweet moment of sportsmanship went viral since then. The medal was of great importance to both athletes as Barshim, 30, added the gold to his 2012 bronze and a silver in 2016, while, Tamberi missed out on the 2016 Rio Games due to a serious left ankle injury that required surgery. The two athletes are known to share a great bond as it was Tamberi who helped Barshim get through an injury he suffered before the Tokyo Olympics.

Netizens react to the high jump share gold

After the video of the two athletes deciding on the medal surfaced online, the same was shared by fans and other athletes alike. While some netizens called it the, "Best moment of the Games so far,” a few others adored the athletes for the “absolute class” gesture. Here’s how the netizens reacted to the duo winning gold:

IMAGE: AP/ TWITTER

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Published August 2nd, 2021 at 12:26 IST

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