Sports has a way of surprising people in the most unexpected manner. Sometimes these surprises are not so good, but on other occasions, they warm your heart and keep it that way for a long long time.
What happened in the men’s high jump final is one of the good surprises. Great even, the most heartwarming.
It all started when Qatar’s Mutaz Essa Barshim and Italy’s Gianmarco Tamberi could not clear the final height.
This meant that the final had ended in a tie, not a very usual occurrence in the sport. Anyway, the only solution was to have a “jump-off”. Like, the penalties in football.
But at that moment, the rule book was consulted to find out that there was an alternative. They could share the gold medal.
And it took exactly a second for the men to decide what their choice was going to be.
They were going to share the gold medal.
This was followed by a very emotional celebration, a lot of crying, rolling on the track, and of course, hugs.
It was one of the nicest moments in the Olympics history and it showed in the way it was received.
We won’t be able to get over this any time soon.