At the grand level that the Olympic Games are, it’s often possible for sportspersons to let the cut-throat intensity get the better of them and it’s the much-talked-about spirit of the game that takes the backseat. 

However, on Sunday, hearts were melted during the finals of high-jump at the Tokyo Olympics, when two athletes set aside all their sporting rivalries and decided to share the winner’s accolades after multiple attempts failed to decide the champion.

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After Qatar’s Mutaz Essa Barshim and Italy’s Gianmarco Tamberi could not be separated after a dramatic final, where both of them ended with jumps of 2.37 metres with no failed attempts.

They had to try to clear 2.39m for glory. After three failures each to reach the height, an Olympic official stepped in and offered them a jump-off to decide who the champion would be.

But 30-year-old Barshim was not ready to let either of their humongous efforts so far end in heartbreak or misery. So went up and asked the arbitrator, “Can we have two golds?”

And as ultimately Olympics most importantly the celebration of the sporting fraternity, there was a nod from the official in agreement. Madness unfolded as the two athletes grabbed each other’s hands, following which Tamberi let out a scream of joy, pouncing on top of his fellow athletes on the track.

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Barshim added: “I look at him, he looks at me, and we know it. We just look at each other and we know, that is it, it is done. There is no need.

“He is one of my best friends, not only on the track, but outside the track. We work together. This is a dream come true. It is the true spirit, the sportsman spirit, and we are here delivering this message.”

As Tamberi couldn’t control his tears of joy, what probably flashed through his mind were the images from days before Rio 2016 when he broke his ankle and failed to participate in the gala. 

“I was told in 2016 just before Rio there was a risk I wouldn’t be able to compete anymore. It’s been a long journey.”

Maksim Nedasekau of Belarus, who also cleared 2.37, won bronze on countback.