At the Tokyo Olympics, the men’s high jump final was nothing short of a spectacle. This has to be the greatest high jump final in the history of the event at the Olympic Games, and arguably one of the best at any other championships, with seven men still jumping at 2.37 metres for a chance at Olympic gold.
In Tokyo, Mutaz Essa Barshim (QAT) and Gianmarco Tamberi (ITA) shared the gold medal, which surprised ardent fans around the world because at any major championships, the gold medal is only awarded to the outright winner of the competition. In the event of a tie, a jump-off is held.
Fave moment of the Olympics so far. Barshim (Qatar) and Tamberi (Italy) were tied in the high-jump final. The official is there talking about a prospective jump-off, but Barshim asks immediately: "Can we have two golds?" One look, no words exchanged, they know they're sharing it. pic.twitter.com/E3SneYFocA
— Andrew Fidel Fernando (@afidelf) August 1, 2021
Both Barshim and Tamberi had similar journeys leading up to the Tokyo Olympics, as they both dealt with and overcame career-threatening injuries in order to compete. Tamberi had a fantastic year in 2016, winning his first World title at the Indoor World Championships in Portland, Oregon, just six weeks before the Rio Olympics.
Tamberi was taken off the field on a stretcher. With a cast on, he went to Rio and was seen cheering on fellow athletes from the stands. The same cast was seen five years later at the Tokyo Olympics stadium, which was built next to him. This time, however, he was competing in the finals, and the cast served as a reminder of the obstacles he had overcome to reach the Olympics.
Barshim, on the other hand, is widely regarded as the greatest high jumper of all time, having won everything there is to win in the sport except a gold medal at the Olympics. He came agonizingly close to breaking the world record at the Gyulai Istvan Memorial meeting in 2018, winning bronze in London and silver in Rio. He, like Tamberi, ruptured the tendons in his ankle on his final attempt at 2.46m and was sidelined for a year before winning the 2019 World Championships in Doha, Qatar.
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