Qatar’s Mutaz Essa Barshim persuaded organisers to let him share the gold medal with his friend and rival, Italy’s Gianmarco Tamberi in the Men’s High Jump.

What sets the gold medal apart is that it lets you announce to the world that you are unparalleled, that there is no other. But this distinctiveness of the gold medal was broken in the most extraordinary of way at the Tokyo Olympics 2021 when Qatar’s Mutaz Essa Barshim and Italy’s Gianmarco Tamberi shared the gold medal in the men’s high jump event.

Both Barshim and Tamberi had perfect jumps till the 2.39m mark. But nothing could separate the two after three failed attempts. A ‘Jump-off’ was offered to the duo by the Olympic official, to which Barshim asked, “Can we have two golds?” The official nodded, Barshim and Tamberi hugged each other, whooped for joy and history was made. It was the first time since the 1912 Stockholm Olympics, that a gold medal was shared. Mutaz Barshim was a silver medallist from the 2016 Rio Games. He also won bronze at the 2012 London Games. Tamberi had suffered a broken ankle that forced him out of the Rio Games. When the cast came off, the 29-year-old wrote on it “Road to Tokyo 2020”. Then, he crossed out 2020 after the pandemic led to a postponement and wrote in red, “2021”. That cast lay on the track as he jumped for gold.

But can the gold medal be shared and under what circumstances? Let’s find out

In boxing both semi-finalists are given a bronze medal each. Until the 1948 London Olympics, there used to be a bout between the losing semi-finalists to decide the bronze medal. The change in rule was introduced from the 1952 Helsinki Olympics.

The duel between Olympic high jumpers Mutaz Essa Barshim of Qatar and Gianmarco Tamberi of Italy seemed destined to end in tears.

Round after round, the two star athletes simply could not outdo one another — prompting an official to tell them the next step was a “jump-off,” to see who could simply outlast the other.

But that’s when things took a turn — one that quickly became a symbol of the sportsmanship and friendship the Olympics were designed to create.

“Can we have two golds?” Barshim, the reigning world champion in the event, asked the official.

“It’s possible, yes,” the official replied — and that was all the athletes needed to hear.

Barshim, 30, and Tamberi, 29, slapped hands and hugged, celebrating an unlikely dual finish atop the podium. Even before conferring with the official, the pair had been in a tight hug, congratulating each other on bringing out their best at the Tokyo Olympics.

The elite athletes had soared above the rest of the field, posting perfect marks through their first jumps. Both of them hit 2.37 meters (about 7.8 feet) on their first try. But when the bar was raised to 2.39 meters — the Olympic record — they failed on all three attempts.

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