'It is the true spirit' - Olympics athletics gold shared for the first time in 113 years
The official then said "it's possible" and, while trying to offer more of an explanation, the two athletes embraced and started celebrating, recognising that they had made history.
History was made at Tokyo's Olympic Stadium on Sunday as Qatar's Mutaz Essa Barshim and Italy's Gianmarco Tamberi shared an Olympic gold medal in the men's high jump.
A shared athletics medal hasn't been seen in the Games for 113 years, but the two were inseparable. Both had jumped 2.37 metres and fell short on 2.39 metres. With neither having committed any fouls, there was nothing that could separate them, with a jump-off then expected to be the tiebreaker.
"We can continue with the jump-off," an Olympics official explained to the pair on the track, but Mutaz Essa Barshim was quick with his response.
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"Can we have two golds?" the Qatari asked. The official then said "it's possible" and, while trying to offer more of an explanation, the two athletes embraced and started celebrating, recognising that they had made history.
Meanwhile, Maksim Nedasekau took the bronze medal.
Videos and pictures of the good friends clasping hands, whooping for joy and embracing each other have gone viral on social media.
After climbing on to the podium together, Barshim and Tamberi presented the gold medals to each other amid more hugs and switched places to face their flags when each national anthem was played.
"He is one of my best friends, not only on the track, but outside the track," Barshim said on Sunday.
"We work together. This is a dream come true. It is the true spirit, the sportsman spirit, and we are here delivering this message."
In the 1912 Olympics a gold medal was shared in athletics - in both pentathlon and decathlon at the Stockholm Games.
