DOHA: Gianmarco Tamberi and Mutaz Essa Barshim, who offered one of many emotional peaks of the Tokyo Olympics by sharing the high jump gold medal, won’t repeat the gesture if they’re tied once more.
“We already talked about it, it is not going to happen again,” Italian Tamberi mentioned forward of his first conflict together with his Qatari good friend for the reason that Olympics on the Doha Diamond League assembly on Friday (May 12).
Barshim, 30, who holds the world title in addition to joint Olympic gold, sat alongside Tamberi as he made the assertion on the extraordinary occasions of August 1 final yr.
Both cleared 2.37 metres and with neither capable of make 2.39m, observe officers provided a jump-off however Barshim famously requested: “Can we have two golds?”
It was the most recent episode of their unlikely rivalry-friendship that he has seen them console one another when every had a career-threatening ankle ligament harm.
But with a world championships looming this yr, each know that sentiment must be put to at least one facet.
If they had been tied once more, “we will look at each other, we will say OK let’s go” to the jump-off, declared Tamberi at a press convention Thursday.
“For myself, I’ll by no means return prior to now and change what we’ve executed. We will ceaselessly bear in mind as brothers … mates.
“We each received as a result of we each deserved that gold medal. When they ask us will you share once more we say ‘no’ as a result of we’ve executed it as soon as.
“But it does not mean we are not proud of it. I will never change the past even if you paid me or guaranteed me that I will be the one who wins that gold medal, I will share with him because I know he deserves, I know I deserve.”
TRIPLE TARGET
Tamberi needs so as to add a world title to his Olympic gold. Barshim needs to ascertain his identify amongst athletics greats by turning into the primary to win three straight high jump titles on the world championships in Eugene in July.
The Qatari hero mentioned it had already been “amazing” to be the primary to defend the world title in Doha in 2019.
“Now I am trying to find some goal, some target to motivate myself and maybe it is even better to be the only one that did it three times so that keeps me going. It is not easy to find motivation after such a big year, such a big success.”
Their competitors can be a spotlight of the opening Diamond League assembly of the yr.
Swedish pole vaulter Armand Duplantis can be aiming for a brand new world document having set his newest better of 6.20m on the world indoor championships in Belgrade in March. No one has cleared 6.0 metres at Doha’s outside observe.
But he’s additionally aiming for a primary world title so as to add to his Olympic gold and so has lined up 5 conferences earlier than Eugene.
“It comes down to these really tiny margins so I’m just trying to get everything in the right place for when it comes to competing in the world championships to make sure that, when the bar is at that gold medal height, I’m on the right pole, right grip, right run.”
In the boys’s 200 metres, Olympic champion Andre De Grasse of Canada will compete in opposition to American world titleholder Noah Lyles.
Source : channelnewsasia.com
