The high jump rivals and friends decided to share Olympic gold rather than have a deciding jump-off TOKYO: Gianmarco Tamberi has expressed his joy at sharing an Olympic high jump gold medal with his friend Mutaz Essa Barshim, calling it the “best thing ever.” The Qatari and Italian athletes captured the hearts of sports fans around the world when, in an unprecedented show of sporting solidarity, they decided to share the gold medal in the men’s high jump rather than participate in a deciding “jump-off” against each other. “Mutaz is my big friend so we enjoyed the evening yesterday and we decided to share the gold medal,” Tamberi told Arab News Japan as he prepared to leave the Olympic Village in Tokyo. “It’s the best thing ever and that’s the Olympic spirit,” he added. “It was amazing.” Tamberi had perviously revealed that it was Barshim who, more than anyone else, helped him get over the severe disappointment of missing out on the high jump competition at Rio 2016 due to a injury. On Sunday, the friends and rivals both cleared 2.37 meters, but then failed with three attempts each at 2.39 meters. As a Tokyo 2020 official explained to Tamberi and Barshim that a jump-off could be introduced to separate them, the Qatari athlete uttered the words that have now gone down in Olympic history: “Can we have two golds?” As the official confirmed they could, the duo hugged and broke into tearful celebrations, finally banishing years of injuries and close calls. Having won bronze in London in 2012 and silver in Rio five years ago, the 30-year-old Barshim now has his gold. Barshim missed a large part of the 2018 season with an ankle injury, but returned to win gold at the 2019 World Athletics Championships in Doha. “This is a dream I don"t want to wake up from,” Barshim said on Sunday. “I have been through a lot. It"s been five years that I have been waiting, with injuries and a lot of set-backs.” “But we are here today sharing this moment and all the sacrifices. It"s really worth it now in this moment,” he added.