IN TOKYO THREE years ago, Qatar’s Mutaz Barshim and Italy’s Gianmarco Tamberi decided to shake hands and famously shared the high jump gold.
This time though, there was to be no such bonhomie between New Zealand’s Hamish Kerr and Alabama alum Shelby McEwen as the pair — with both clearing 7-8¾ (2.36) at the first time of asking and two failures each earlier in the competition — fought out a tense jumpoff.
After three fouls each at 7-9¾ (2.38), both men failed again at this height as the tie-breaking procedure commenced.
The bar was moved back down to 7-8¾ and neither man succeeded but at 7-8 (2.34), with McEwen jumping first, the American failed while Kerr produced a soaring clearance to clinch the first ever Olympic men’s field event gold for New Zealand.
“Both me and Shelby were getting a little bit tired after all the jumps we took. I knew I had a good one in me,” said Kerr, who had placed 10th 3 years ago in Tokyo when the gold-sharing bargain was struck.
“Personally, I always talked about how amazing the jumpoff was [or, rather, wasn’t since it wasn’t contested] last time. That has such a special place in history for high jumps.
“For me also to have an exact same scenario this time around, but to choose to do the jumpoff, was putting at peace all of those people who wanted to jumpoff, so we’re both really happy to add to that history.
McEwen confirmed that he had been happy to sign up to jumpoff for the gold. He said, “Talking to Hamish, man, I’ve been around him for a long time now. We’re good buddies, good opponents, and good jumpers when we jump together. He said he wanted to face off, and I was all for it.
“We faced off until the last battle and he came out on top, so salute, congratulations to him.”
For the second time at a major champs this year — he also got silver behind Kerr at the World Indoor — McEwen had to settle for second-best behind the flying Kiwi.
However, in Paris the 28-year-old American twice improved his PR in the main body of the competition, firstly with a third-time clearance at 7-8 (2.34) and then immediately nailing 7-8¾ (2.36) with an outstanding jump.
Joint-defending champion Barshim was flawless up to 7-8 (2.34) and was leading at that point, with Kerr having needed three jumps at 7-7 (2-31). Thereafter, however, the Bahraini could negotiate nothing higher and took the bronze.
Barshim made more history, though, as the first high jumper to medal at four consecutive Games.
Co-defending champion Tamberi, who cleared a world-leading 7-9¼ (2.37) to win the European title in June, was a shadow of his usual self after a bout with kidney stones earlier in the week — including a hospital visit on the morning of the final. He finished 11th with a modest 7-3¼ (2.22).
The big surprise in qualifying was that JuVaughn Harrison couldn’t go any higher than 7-2½ (2.20) and didn’t make the final. The ’23 WC silver medalist has been struggling for form since clearing 7-8 (2.34) in Baton Rouge back in April.
MEN’S HIGH JUMP RESULTS
FINAL (August 10)
(temperature 84-82F/29-28C; humidity 40-41%)
1. Hamish Kerr (NZ) 7-8¾ (2.36) NR;
2. Shelby McEwen (US) 7-8¾ (2.36) PR;
3. Mutaz Barshim (Qat) 7-8 (2.34);
4. Stefano Sottile (Ita) 7-8 (2.34) PR;
5. Ryoichi Akamatsu (Jpn) 7-7 (2.31) PR;
6. Oleh Doroshchuk (Ukr) 7-7 (2.31) PR;
7. Sang-hyeok Woo (SK) 7-5¼ (2.27);
8. Tihomir Ivanov (Bul) 7-5¼ (2.27);
9. Jan Štefela (CzR) 7-3¼ (2.22);
10. Romaine Beckford (Jam) 7-3¼ (2.22);
11. Gianmarco Tamberi (Ita) 7-3¼ (2.22);
12. Brian Raats (SA) 7-1½ (2.17).
| 7-1½ | 7-3¼ | 7-5¼ | 7-7 | 7-8 | 7-8¾ | 7-9¾ | |
| Woo | o | o | xo | xxx | — | — | — |
| Štefela | xxo | o | xxx | — | — | — | — |
| Barshim | p | o | o | o | o | xxp | x |
| Sottile | o | o | o | xo | o | xxx | — |
| Beckford | o | xo | xxx | — | — | — | — |
| Ivanov | xo | o | xo | xxx | — | — | — |
| Akamatsu | o | o | xo | o | xxx | — | — |
| Tamberi | p | xxo | xxx | — | — | — | — |
| Raats | o | xxx | — | — | — | — | — |
| McEwen | o | o | o | o | xxo | o | xxx |
| Doroshchuk | o | o | xo | xo | xxx | — | — |
| Kerr | o | o | o | xxo | o | o | xxx |
| 2.17 | 2.22 | 2.27 | 2.31 | 2.34 | 2.36 | 2.38 |
JUMPOFF
| 7-9¾ | 7-8¾ | 7-8 | |
| McEwen | x | x | x |
| Kerr | x | x | o |
| 2.38 | 2.36 | 2.34 |
QUALIFYING (August 07; auto-qualifier 7-6/2.29)
Qualifiers: McEwen, Kerr, Woo, Barshim & Akamatsu cleared 7-5¼/2.27; other finalists cleared 7-4¼/2.24;
Non-qualifiers: [7-4¼/2.24]—Brandon Starc (Aus), Luis Zayas (Cub);
[7-2½/2.20]—Fernando Ferreira (Bra), Erik Portillo (Mex), Luis Castro (PR), Edgar Rivera (Mex), JuVaughn Harrison (US), Thomas Carmoy (Bel), Zhen Wang (Chn), Alperen Acet (Tur), Tomohiro Shinno (Jpn), Yual Reath (Aus);
[7-½/2.15]—Sarvesh Anil Kushare (Ind), Vladyslav Lavskyy (Ukr), Joel Baden (Aus), Vernon Turner (US);
[nh]—Andrii Protsenko (Ukr), Tobias Potye (Ger), Donald Thomas (Bah).