They Were Battling for Olympic Gold. They Called It a Draw Instead.
THEY DID IT #THEYDIDIT
TOKYO—At 9:40 p.m. on a Sunday night in Tokyo, two skinny men from Italy and Qatar stood inside the Olympic Stadium and faced perhaps the most significant negotiation in the shared history of their countries.
Italy’s Gianmarco Tamberi and Qatar’s Mutaz Barshim had jumped and jumped over the bar, better than all of their competitors—but only as well as each other. So when they both failed to clear 2.39 meters (roughly 7 feet 10 inches) on three straight tries, the judges called them over. The men were presented with a choice: enter a jump-off, the sport’s answer to a penalty shootout, or call it a day and share the spoils.
“Can we have two golds?” Barshim asked.
The answer was yes. Tamberi and Barshim were done jumping. They were also Olympic champions.
“It is amazing, man,” Barshim said. “To share it with Marco is an amazing feeling. It is a great feeling. I’m really happy.”