In a display of true sportsmanship, the pole vault gold medal at the World Athletics Championships will be split between two competitors. A provision in the rules states that once the field has narrowed to two competitors, they can agreed to be jointly awarded the gold medal. That’s exactly what happened in Hungary on August 23. Katie Moon (USA) and Nina Kennedy (Australia) agreed to share the gold after both clearing the 4.90m mark. They chose to share the medal rather than attempt to clear 4.95m.
“I didn’t think she’d want to share it, I thought we might have had to keep jumping,” Kennedy told reporters. “But, you know, I kind of looked at her and said, ‘Hey, girl, you maybe wanna share this? And the relief on her face – and you could see it on my face – and it was mutual. And yeah, absolutely incredible to share a medal with Katie Moon. You know, we’ve been friends for so long so it’s super special.” With the win, Moon successfully defended her title from Eugene last year. Meanwhile, Kennedy upgraded from a bronze medal a year ago.
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Shared Medals In Pole Vault
TWO WORLD CHAMPIONS@ktnago13 and @ninakennedy_ share the pole vault gold as they both fly over 4.90m
We’re not crying, you’re crying
#WorldAthleticsChamps pic.twitter.com/DIZoTuMabZ
— World Athletics (@WorldAthletics) August 23, 2023
“I’m at a point where I’ve just given it my all,” Moon explained. “We went out and we both did pretty much the same thing and it just felt right. We both won today so it was the right call!” The moment marked the first-ever joint gold medal awarded at the World Championships. However, for some athletics fans, the moment may have given them a sense of deja vu.
A similar instance occurred at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo two years ago. In the men’s high jump, two competitors were left ahead of the 2.39m height. However, Qatar’s Mutaz Essa Barshim asked if it a tie was possible. The officials confirmed it was, as they could not force the two men to jump. Barshim and his close friend, Italy’s Gianmarco Tamberi, thus agreed to share the medal, with Tamberi saying live on the broadcast, “Let us make history, my friend.”
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