I keep looking for a reason to call the Tokyo 2020 Olympics a failure and get roadblocked at every turn.
COVID-19 was supposed to the death sentence for the modern olympics, what with its crass commercialism, Cold War politicization and all-around irrelevance to modern life, but it seems I can’t get a break.
Underdogs keep winning events.
Newbies keep breaking-through.
And now this — participants showing good sportsmanship, camaraderie, and cheering on competitors as they blow past their won records.
Just WTF is gong on here? Now we are sharing medals?
(You know the drill, click-through to YouTube for NBC Sports content. )
Not enough emotion for you? Try this
Mama Mia, indeed.
‘Guardian — Just magical’: joy for Tamberi and Barshim as they opt to share gold in men’s high jump
Two athletes who agreed to share gold medals in the Olympics men’s high jump competition, in what is likely to be remembered as one of the most heartwarming moments of the Tokyo Games, have been flooded with praise.
Italy’s Gianmarco Tamberi and Mutaz Barshim of Qatar were locked in first place after a tough few hours of competing on Sunday. The two athletes, who are also good friends, were then given the option to settle matters with a jump-off.
Barshim had a better idea: how about two golds?
The official said that was possible. Barshim nodded and footage from Tokyo showed Tamberi instantly accepting, slapping Barshim’s hand and jumping into his arms. Tamberi then belly-flopped hard onto the track, rolled around a few times and screamed.
The back story is that both struggled back to the olympics after suffering serious injuries, and the mere fact they made it to the games and scored into podium range was an accomplishment that already exceeded their personal expectations. Then, finding themselves tied for the Gold, when the referee answered Barshim’s question in the positive, their agreement wordlessly clicked.
But that is not all.
This was not an isolated moment of sportsmanship. In contest after contest, competitors have celebrated each other, sharing the moments as the reward for getting there — something they all work hard to do.
Here is a champion, cheering as an upstart unexpectedly snatches the Gold from him with a performance that was imperfect but daring in its difficulty, winning his respect.
Two-time Olympic medalist Dong Dong (China) cheers Ivan Litvinovich (Belarus) as he flips the table to take the Gold in the mens trampoline final.
The emotion of Litvinovic tells me even he was caught by surprise, but the cool pro DONG raises his hands to cheer his competitor’s performance.
The more you watch, the more you will see this happening.
An example for us all.