New Zealand’s Hamish Kerr took gold in the men’s Olympic high jump Saturday by winning a tiebreaker over American silver medalist Shelby McEwen.
Kerr and McEwen both cleared 2.36 meters (just under 7 feet, 9 inches) but couldn’t get over 2.38 meters. They decided to jump for the gold medal rather than share it, as Mutaz Barshim of Qatar and Gianmarco Tamberi of Italy did in Tokyo in 2021.
Both jumpers started to tire and failed to make it over 2.38 meters in three attempts. The bar was lowered back to 2.36, then to 2.34, which Kerr was the first to clear and clinch victory for his country’s first medal in the event.
After sailing over the bar, Kerr ran into the middle of the field and flopped onto the grass in joy and relief. It was an impressive result for McEwen too, a personal best and a huge improvement after finishing 12th in Tokyo.
Barshim, who took bronze with a season’s best of 2.34 meters, was likely feeling a sense of déjà vu as he watched the duel. The Qatari did a celebratory backflip off the mat after his last jump, with the bronze his fourth medal in as many Olympic appearances.
Tamberi, who was suffering from kidney colic, fell out of contention early and was distraught after failing to clear 2.27 meters.
Haruka Kitaguchi crushed the women’s javelin, taking the top of the podium with her first throw of 65.80 meters to give Japan its first gold medal in the event.
South Africa’s Jo-Ane van Dyk and Czechia’s Nikola Ogrodnikova gave a series of valiant efforts but never came close as they took silver and bronze, respectively, with their best throws of 63.93 and 63.68.
Last year, Kitaguchi needed her final throw to take the world gold in Budapest, but she left little suspense at the Stade de France as she opened with her best throw of the season.
Ogrodnikova briefly had control of second place with her third throw, but Van Dyk overtook her immediately.
With the gold already wrapped up, Kitaguchi bounced nervously at the end of the runway and kept a poker face as she launched a final bonus effort. The emotion came quickly thereafter, as she burst into tears and hugged her team with the Japanese flag draped over her before ringing the victory bell.
Reuters contributed to this report.