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Joy

Facing a tiebreaker, Olympians asked if they could share a gold medal. Pure joy ensued.

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Qatar's Mutaz Essa Barshim and Italy's Gianmarco Tamberi celebrate sharing the gold medal in high jump.

At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics when Qatar's Mutaz Essa Barshim and Italy's Gianmarco Tamberi both landed their high jumps at 2.37 meters, they were in the battle for Olympic gold. But when both jumpers missed the next mark—the Olympic record of 2.39 meters—three times each, they were officially tied for first place.

In such a tie, the athletes would usually do a "jump-off" to determine who wins gold and who wins silver. But as the official began to explain the options to Barshim and Tamberi, Barshim asked, "Can we have two golds?"

"It's possible," the official responded. "It depends, if you both decide..." And before he'd even told them how sharing the gold would work, the two jumpers looked at each other, nodded, and then launched into a wholesome and joyful celebration guaranteed to bring a smile to your face.

Just watch:

(If you are unable to view the video above, check it out on NBC's YouTube channel here.)

The two jumpers have been competing against one another for more than a decade and are friends on and off the field, so getting to share the gold is a win-win—literally—for both of them. It's also a historic choice. According to the BBC, the last time competing track and field Olympians shared the gold medal podium was in 1912 during the Stockholm Summer Games.

The friendship and camaraderie between the two athletes are palpable and their immediate decision to share the gold truly embodies the Olympic spirit.

"I look at him, he looks at me, and we know it," Barshim said, according to the CBC. "We just look at each other and we know, that is it, it is done. There is no need."

"He is one of my best friends," he added, "not only on the track, but outside the track. We work together. This is a dream come true. It is the true spirit, the sportsman spirit, and we are here delivering this message."

Barshim was the silver medalist in the event in the Rio 2016 Olympics, and Tamberi suffered a career-threatening injury prior to those games, which took him out of medal contention.

"After my injuries, I just wanted to come back," Tamberi told CNN. "But now I have this gold, it's incredible. I dreamed of this so many times. I was told in 2016 just before Rio, there was a risk I wouldn't be able to compete anymore. It's been a long journey."

What a beautiful display of sportsmanship, excellence, and genuine human connection. This is what the Olympics are all about.


This article originally appeared four years ago.

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People can't stop talking about Sha'Carri Richardson's epic Olympic trial 100-meter race

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Every so often, a once-in-a-generation athlete appears on the scene, and we've just witnessed one of those athletes fly through the Olympic trials and emerge as the fastest woman in the U.S.

21-year-old Sha'carri Richardson is only five feet one-inch tall, and she ran the 100-meter dash against a headwind in only 10.86 seconds, handily beating out the other nine runners on the track.

It wasn't just the win that has people talking. It was how she pulled ahead in the final half of the sprint. It was how she pointed to the clock in the final 30 meters of the semifinal heat, knowing she was dominating the field. It's the visual flair—the flaming orange hair, huge eyelashes, and long, bejeweled nails. And it was her rush to the stands to bury her face into her beloved grandmother's lap after her final heat win.

Richardson had been a teenage track star, taking home multiple national titles during her high school years. After a year running collegiate track at LSU, she decided to go professional. She knows she's good, and she wants the world to know that she knows.

"I just want the world to know that I'm that girl," she told NBC Sports after the semifinal run. "Every time I step on the track, I'm going to try to do what it is that me, my coach (and) my support team believe I can do, and (with) the talent that God blessed me to have."

She finished the semifinal heat with a time of 10.64 seconds, pointing to the time clock in the final stretch. Since it was aided with a tailwind, it doesn't count toward her personal best (which currently stands at 10.72 seconds, making her the second-fastest woman in the world, only behind Jamaica's Shelly Ann Fraser-Price). But the flourish counts for something.



"When you stand five feet one-inch tall, you get told your entire life what you can and cannot do," the announcer said in the lead-up to the final Olympic trial. "That chip on her shoulder is because every time she's been told that. She's been able to overcome those odds and get it done."

In a post-race interview, Richardson talked about how much her family and coach's support means to her.

"My grandmother is my heart," Richardson said after the race. "My grandmother is my superwoman, so to be able to have her here for the biggest meet in my life and being able to cross the finish line and run up the steps knowing I'm an Olympian now is just so amazing."

She revealed in a television interview after returning to the track that she had found out her biological mother had passed away the week before. In praising her family and coach, Richardson began to choke up.

"Nobody knows what I go through," she said. "Everybody has struggles and I understand that. Y'all see me on this track and y'all see the poker face that I put on, but nobody but them and my coach knows what I go through on a day-to-day basis. And I'm highly grateful to them. Without them, there would be no me. Without my grandmother, there would be no Sha'carri Richardson. My family is my everything. My everything, until the day I'm done."

Watch the final heat and post-race interview here:

Sha'Carri Richardson, now America's fastest woman, scorches her Olympic Trials final | NBC Sportswww.youtube.com

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A lightning-fast dog snuck onto a high school track and raced past the competition

via The Guardian / YouTube

The crowd went berserk last Saturday as Gracie Laney, a senior at Logan High School in Utah, neared the finish line in the final leg of her 4X200 meter relay. But most of the shouting wasn't for her. It was for the furry four-legged track-and-field star coming up behind her.

Holly had escaped her owner's grasp and ran out onto the track. The dog was so incredibly fast that it beat Laney to the finish line from at least 30 meters behind.

Laney had a strong lead and couldn't believe that anyone would catch her. "At first, I thought it was another runner and I was surprised because we had a pretty good lead," she told KSL. "As it got closer, I thought, 'That's too small to be a person,' and then I noticed it was a dog."

Laney almost ran over the dog when they crossed the finish line.

"When the dog crossed in my lane, I was afraid that I was going to trip over it, and then I was worried that I was going to spike it with my spikes," she recalled. "It all happened so fast."

Insider noted that the dog was so fast on the track it threatened to beat Usain Bolt's all-time record in the 100m he set at the 2009 IAAF World Championships. Bolt ran the 100m in 9.58 seconds, Holly was a tad slower at 10.5.

Dog breaks loose to wins relay race in US high school track eventwww.youtube.com

Unfortunately, the judges didn't name Holly the winner of the race. That honor went to Laney and her team from Logan High who won with a time of 1 minute 59.27 seconds.

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A boy needed $126,000 for cancer treatment. This athlete sold his Olympic medal to help.

Poland's Piotr Malachowski is one of the world's top discus throwers.

He has a solid Olympic record. He won a silver medal in Beijing during the 2008 games, and is also the proud owner of the fifth-longest discus throw ever: 71.84 meters (FYI, that's really far).

But at the Rio Olympics, the competition was intense. If Malachowski wanted to take home a medal, it would be one of the biggest challenges of his life.

In the end, he was narrowly edged out by a German competitor for the gold in Rio. But still, he was plenty proud to take home another silver medal for his country.

Malachowski warms up. Photo by Ranck Fife/AFP/Getty Images.

Now a two-time Olympic medalist, Malachowski was flooded with congratulations and well wishes after his final throw.

But one letter of congratulations stood out to him because it was from a mother desperate for his help.

Her name was Goshia, Malachowski wrote, and her 3-year-old son, Olek, was suffering from a rare form of cancer known as retinoblastoma, or cancer of the eye.

Though the disease is treatable, Goshia wrote to Malachowski that the only way to save her son's eyesight was to take him to New York City for treatment by a top ophthalmologist. Needless to say, that would be far too expensive for her family to afford on its own.

When a child is gravely ill, there's almost nothing their parent wouldn't do .... including writing to Olympic athletes for help.

Malachowski proudly waves the Polish flag. Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images.

When Malachowski heard Olek's story, he knew the timing was "fate." He decided he had to help.

An organization called Siepomaga had already raised a significant amount of money for Olek's treatment, but there was a long way to go. The total fundraising goal was around $126,000.

So the Olympian ponied up the most valuable thing he owned — his most recent silver medal.

In a Facebook post, he told his followers he was putting his prized medal up for auction to cover the rest of the costs:

Zdobycie medalu olimpijskiego to dla sportowca spełnienie życiowych marzeń. Oczywiście najcenniejszy jest ten złoty....

Posted by Piotr Małachowski on Friday, August 19, 2016

"In Rio I fought for gold," he wrote. "Today I call on all people — let us fight together for something that is even more valuable. For the health of this fantastic boy."

The auction lasted only a few days before a wealthy brother and sister made Malachowski a private offer he couldn't refuse.

ESPN reported that the top bid for Piotr's medal was roughly $19,000 before the final offer came in. Though he didn't share the exact amount, Malachowski made it clear in another Facebook post that the final sale price was enough to cover the rest of Olek's treatment.

"Thank you everyone who took part in the auction," he wrote. "We were able to show that together we can make miracles. My silver medal today is worth much more than a week ago."

Malachowski's massively selfless act is only the beginning of this story. 3-year-old Olek still has a long fight ahead of him.

Hopefully, with the world's top doctors working tirelessly to treat his disease, he can come out on top. We're rooting for you, buddy.

And as for Malachowski himself, he may be down one medal. But after this priceless gift, he's certainly earned the right to be called the people's champion forever.

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