Winning a gold medal is a monumental achievement for Olympic athletes, but sharing the victory can sometimes be less than ideal.
Shelby McEwen from Team USA faced this scenario and declined the chance to share gold with New Zealand high jumper Hamish Kerr.
Both athletes successfully cleared 2.36m but failed to surpass 2.38m when the bar was raised.
Rather than share the gold, McEwen and Kerr decided to engage in a jump-off.
Kerr emerged victorious by clearing 2.34m after both athletes had missed 11 consecutive jumps, resulting in McEwen securing silver for the US.
Despite finishing in second place, McEwen has no regrets about not sharing the gold with Kerr.
During a press conference following the event, McEwen told reporters: “If it was meant to be it would’ve been.”
The Olympian added: “Shout out to Hamish for coming up to me, accepting a jump off and I accepted it and I was all for it.”
The 28-year-old emphasized that holding a jump off was the ‘respectful thing to do’.
McEwen said: “I represent my country, just like he’s representing his. I’m representing my family just like he’s representing his. At the end of the day we all want to be champions and the only respectful thing to do is walk away with one champion.”
Kerr revealed that it was McEwen who proposed the jump off.
“He said it first, and I agreed to it,” the New Zealand athlete told the Washington Post. “At some point, I kind of got fatigued. I maybe would have shared it with him, for sure. But I agreed to it, and it was all good.”
Reflecting on the 11 failed jumps before he cleared 2.34m, Kerr humorously noted: “If I hadn’t cleared that jump or one very soon, we’d probably still be out there.”
Historically, there was no option to share gold, and high jumpers like Kerr and McEwen would have had to continue until a clear winner emerged.
However, in 2009, a new Olympic rule was introduced making the jump off optional, allowing athletes to share the top spot if both parties agreed.
This rule was applied during Tokyo 2020 when Qatar’s Mutaz Essa Barshim and Italy’s Gianmarco Tamberi chose to share the gold medal in the men’s high jump event, marking a historic moment.