At a time of Delta variant proliferation, partisan politics, and economic confusion it was quite refreshing to come upon this story reminding us it is not just unbridled competition out there.
Watch Two Olympians agree to share the gold in rare and heartwarming tie:
Many people consider the Olympics to be the ultimate platform for competition, and though that may be true, some of the best Olympic moments happen when athletes work together.
On Sunday, for instance, not one but two athletes from competing countries took home an Olympic gold medal after a competition resulted in a rare but heartwarming tie. How? Well, Qatar's Mutaz Essa Barshim and Italy's Gianmarco Tamberi — who happen to be friends on and off the track —agreed to share a gold medal in the men's high jump.
Both athletes performed successful high jumps at 2.37 meters (7 feet, 8 inches) but each missed the Olympic-record high jump of 2.39 meters (7 feet, 10 inches) three times. Rather than embarking on another tie-breaking jump-off, the two decided to be co-gold medalists.
During the deciding huddle, Barshim asked a track official if they could each have a gold medal. After learning that a tie was possible, the competitors agreed, embraced, and went on to celebrate with their fans.
Peacock's official Twitter account tweeted a clip of the special moment[*]
[...] "Talk about Olympic spirit. The Olympic spirit is to build a peaceful and better world in the Olympic sphere which requires mutual understanding with the spirit of friendship, solidarity, and fair play," a commentator can be heard saying during the clip. "And we see this explained today so beautifully as they both get to share this gold medal moment."
[*] Tweet may have been deleted (but was available at the time of story submission ).
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 09 2021, @11:38AM
'Cause the Olympics is all about the sponsorship dollars.
(Score: 5, Interesting) by maxwell demon on Monday August 09 2021, @11:47AM (10 children)
I don't know. Without the deal, each of them would have had a 50% chance of a gold medal. This way, they both had 100% chance of a gold medal. And good publicity on top. Thus it is a clear win for them both.
Now if they had settled for a silver medal for each of them, that would have been something different. That way they would actually have sacrificed something.
Also note that they had already been friends before. Had they been arch rivals, then them sharing the gold medal would also be more significant.
The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 09 2021, @12:06PM
Giving multiple medals is common enough practice. This is no different than two sprinters crossing the line with the same time. Apparently for high jump they have the choice to continue and go to jump offs whereas in sprinting they just award the multiple medals. I want to say I've seen a team event with multiple medals given, but I'm not sure (and too lazy to search). Doesn't matter whether they are friends or not (all the top competitors know each other because they compete against each other all the time), why would you want to do the jump off when the only way to go is down? Is it worth the risk to assuage one's ego to say they were the sole winner of gold?
(Score: 0, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 09 2021, @12:06PM (4 children)
why is this troll?
the rules obviously allow it, but most ranked comps do count backs to separate the winners and places.
did second get promoted to silver and third(fourth) get a bronze?
everyone top of the pile gets a trophy always grates anyway. in olympics medals should be for world record beaters only IMHO.
(Score: 2) by martyb on Monday August 09 2021, @02:01PM (3 children)
Apparently not.
Final Results [wikipedia.org] shows two gold medals and a single bronze... No silver medal was awarded. I recall seeing the silver medal skipped (when there was a tie for gold) happen many times in the past.
I don't know if there has ever been a 3-way tie for gold at the Olympics (or any other international competition).
Wit is intellect, dancing.
(Score: 3, Informative) by Freeman on Monday August 09 2021, @02:37PM (1 child)
1988 Seoul - Men's pommel horse - Lyubomir Gueraskov / Bulgaria - Zsolt Borkai / Hungary - Dmitri Bilozertchev / Soviet Union
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 3, Informative) by Freeman on Monday August 09 2021, @02:41PM
Apparently, I skipped over the first instance, same event as well:
1948 London - Men's pommel horse - Paavo Aaltonen / Finland - Veikko Huhtanen / Finland - Heikki Savolainen / Finland
There's also at least one weirdness of 1 person getting gold and 3 people getting silver:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ties_for_medals_at_the_Olympics [wikipedia.org]
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 09 2021, @03:43PM
There was for the silver for the 100m butterfly in Rio. Think how crazy that is when the timers count by the hundreths, to have three people tie.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 09 2021, @03:50PM
That's exactly what I was thinking on all points, only more cogently said. I'd mod you up, but I'm just an AC, so the best I can do is reply saying I agree with you.
(Score: 0, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 09 2021, @05:28PM (1 child)
Yeah, I don't consider this that heartwarming. Seems to defeat the purpose of competing and the competition.
After all if you want to have even more heartwarming why don't all the contestants agree that all of them should get a gold and not try their best to see who is better at the sport even if the difference is very slight?
p.s. yes I know the rules allow them to decide not to do a jump-off and share the gold instead.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 09 2021, @07:13PM
Found the sociopath.
You should look into the history and meaning behind the Olympics.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 10 2021, @12:46AM
https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/olympics/300371924/tokyo-olympics-why-the-high-jump-double-gold-medal-is-a-fosbury-flop [stuff.co.nz]
(Score: 2, Interesting) by negrace on Monday August 09 2021, @01:14PM (5 children)
Why not give them both silver?
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 09 2021, @01:25PM (1 child)
Their countries have spent ~$50 Million each on getting them there. Accepting Silver will be a bullet on their future Sporting Administration careers to spend the next $50 Million.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 09 2021, @02:42PM
$50 million? Sounds about right.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 09 2021, @07:05PM (1 child)
Because neither of them came in second. What happens in this case is that the next person down gets bronze and no silver medals are awarded.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 10 2021, @05:55AM
Certainly not "I want to be second to that' guy's awesome performance!" "No! I want to be second to your awesome performance!"
(Score: 2) by krishnoid on Monday August 09 2021, @09:30PM
Hey, both gold means they really know their priorities [youtu.be].
(Score: 5, Interesting) by Runaway1956 on Monday August 09 2021, @02:28PM (25 children)
That spirit of sharing and respect didn't reach to Soylent moderators - look at the troll mods above, lol!!
I'm just like, "OK". No world records were broken, so these guys get to share the "I came up slightly shorter than I hoped" award. That's nice. It would be more impressive if they BOTH broke the world record, with the same jumps.
As expected of any Olympic competitor, their performance was damned impressive. Good job to all of them. If there were any real scandals this year, I haven't heard of them. So, again, good job all around.
The only people I can fault, are the officials who insisted that the Olympics go on, despite the pandemic.
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 09 2021, @02:40PM (1 child)
Jaded, cynical Soylentils are mostly interested in the Women's Volleyball.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 09 2021, @02:44PM
Men's diving is also a guilty pleasure.
(Score: -1, Redundant) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 09 2021, @03:13PM (21 children)
Why that? Due to their perseverance, athletes got to compete for sporting excellence, save the Japanese people from losing all their investment, and show the Covid believers that people aren't dropping like flies after they traveled internationally and didn't "social distance".
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Monday August 09 2021, @03:25PM (20 children)
Let's wait a couple weeks and see if anything happens. The Olympics is one of the ultimate Super Spreader events that everyone claims to fear.
The benefits didn't justify the risks involved. All over the world, people are still talking of lockdowns, where no one can travel more than 5 km or 10 km from home. People have been denied the "privilege" of attending weddings, funerals, or even visiting terminally ill relatives. But, here, we have people from around the world congregating to watch a sports event.
Of course, we've seen the same nonsense from the onset of the pandemic. The world refused to halt all travel between countries, and between continents, while at the same time enforcing draconian restrictions on local populations.
None of it makes any sense.
(Score: -1, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 09 2021, @03:42PM (18 children)
We've heard that before. "Just you wait, God will strike you down eventually!"
That is an issue between the citizen and his government. Australia violating the rights of its citizens doesn't mean any other country doing so is right and proper. Sweden doesn't do it. Nor do Florida and South Dakota.
Definitely.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 09 2021, @03:47PM (1 child)
Indeed, some places like Florida and South Dakota are going out of their way to harm their citizens. The champions of federalism and "keep the government off our backs" are threatening local governments from making their own decisions on what to do. Not quite what I would call an issue between the citizen and his government if someone like Governor Florida Man can overrule local governments from making their own decisions.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 09 2021, @10:12PM
After all their bitchimg about bad downmods and the above insightful post is modded troll? It destroys the typical conservative worldview by highlighting the hypocrisy. They don't want federal mask mandates, lockdowns, or vaccine requirements but DO want to assert the authority of the state over county and city rules. Of course the fragile rightwing snowflakes will mod it down because they don't really care about freedom beyond a simplistic pseudo-anarchist view hiding their authoritarian desires.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Monday August 09 2021, @03:56PM (15 children)
That is the ongoing message from Dr. Fauci, the CDC, and a variety of authoritarian government officials. And, I mostly disagree with them.
But my position all along has been that international travel should have been shut down when Trump made the first moves to do so. If no aircraft or ships had come to the Americas after the COVIDS were discovered, there would be no COVID in the Americas today.
So, we're in the position of watching international travelers traveling internationally, but local governments, and some national governments, insist on super strict lockdowns.
It makes zero sense. Individual people in their local communities experience all the inconvenience of strict quarantine, while the elite spread the variants all around the world.
I'm not saying anything like "God will strike you down". I am saying that if the Olympics prove to be a super spreader event, I'll be saying "I told you so!"
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 09 2021, @05:38PM (11 children)
Trump didn't shut down international travel. All he did was ban Chinese people from traveling to the US, NOT ban travel from China. That's why he got criticism. It wasn't a ban on travel from China, but just more race baiting crap from Trump. At least 40,000 people traveled over from China after his "Chinese ban." AND, he didn't do jack after that, except crow for the next 12 months about how he "how many deaths there would be if he hadn't taken the courageous step of bannnig travel from China and the Democrats didn't want him to."
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Monday August 09 2021, @06:06PM (10 children)
Trump made the first move toward shutting down international travel. That is, he placed a ban on the people from Ground Zero from traveling to the US.
The Democrat response was to queer out, and run around hugging Chinese people to make some kind of retarded pointless point.
Maybe - just maybe - the Dems should have cooperated with banning travel to the US by Chinese people at ground zero, and demanded that the ban be expanded to anyone and everyone coming from China, then from Asia, and ultimately, from anywhere in the world. Like, you know, maybe declaring a meaningful quarantine.
But Dems chose to make COVID a partisan issue from the moment they first heard the word COVID.
Let me reemphasize my point: If a quarantine isn't a total quarantine, then it is meaningless.
(Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 09 2021, @07:29PM
- Stupidity and ignorance covering for Trump's fuckup, his ban wasn't even total so it did fuck all.
- Homophobia and more stupidity, perhaps you forget the spike in Asian hate crimes? Asshole
- WHATABOUT O.o
- EEEEVIL LIBRUHLS! partisan fuckwad, it was a medical science issue the GOP made political you lying sack of shit
- No shit, remind me again which political group did their best to stop quarantines, lockdowns, masks, and vaccines? I expect this from a shill like you, but it amazes me how well conservatives have been conditioned to support completely oppositive viewpoints on a subject. The only goal for shills like you is "winning" the argument at hand regardless of the truth or hypocrisy you display.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 09 2021, @08:23PM (8 children)
Your point is spot-on, but your recollection is horrible. It was only a partial ban on people coming from Hubei Province. And it went in place nine days after 45 other countries banned travel to/from China. Then it took another 25 days before any other travel restrictions were put in place, but COVID had already taken hold (though the administration was swearing it didn't) so it really didn't really matter anyway.
By the way, if the Dems saying "We need to take this seriously and act NOW" while Trump was saying "You're trying to scare the stock market to make me look bad, this thing will magically go away by itself" is the Dems making it a partisan issue, then I don't know what else to say about that. Did the Dems also make getting vaccines and wearing masks a partisan issue too? If so, then one party is very clearly on the wrong side (when whether one gets the vaccine or wears a mask is a referendum on one's fealty to Trump, THAT should be a very big clue to you).
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Monday August 09 2021, @08:31PM (7 children)
I italicized first move above. Trump's move was late and inadequate, but it signaled that he might put a total quarantine in place. Push back from the Hug-a-Chinese party obviously discouraged further consideration of enforcing meaningful quarantines.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 09 2021, @10:14PM (6 children)
Mental gymnastics for the lose! You've lost so much of the little remaining cred you had. Keep fluffing the biggest loser!
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Monday August 09 2021, @10:35PM (5 children)
I need no cred with ACs who stalk me around the site. The fact that you don't like me is cred, in and of itself, looser.
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 10 2021, @12:15AM (1 child)
For what it's worth, I am the AC who has replied to you, but not the one who also has replied with vitriol (looks like every other one). In any event, I probably disagree with a lot of your opinions, and I do argue the counterpoint(s) with you, but I do appreciate greatly your involvement on this site. What I appreciate most is that you seem to browse at -1, or at least 0, and don't shy away from arguing back with us ACs who prefer to post anonymously (at least with those of us worth arguing with).
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 10 2021, @01:37AM
All of the points you made in this thread were made at the time and runaway ignored reality then too. Many of us used to be nice, but when idiots keep pushing lies there is no point in pursuing scholarly debate with them. They need the rough treatment to know that their nonsense will not be tolerated.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 10 2021, @01:34AM (2 children)
There is only so much tolerance for someone like you that pushes dangerous misinformation while trying to re-frame reality to make your mistakes look less bad. Even Mike Pence is done with Trump's bullshit, yet here you are continuing to defend the worst president in history that preferred people die than have his numbers look bad.
That makes you an epic loser. There is always time to return to reality and regain some standing as a rational human being. Gotta turn off the Fox though, that shit rots yer brain!
Vitriol is all you will get from many until you stop pushing dangerous lies and defending a traitorous loser. Are you ready yet to read a dictionary and comprehend that 1/6 was in insurrection accompanied by a rioting mob? No? Ok then.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 10 2021, @02:29AM (1 child)
And, you only prove what a loser you are. You're still suffering from TDS, and can't acknowledge that Trump may have gotten something right, while your Dem crowd got it totally wrong. Starting with China Flu, or Wuhan Virus, or any of the other names that poked fun at China. Of course, the socialist-leaning party isn't going to allow a socialist-like country to take the blame for allowing the virus to escape.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 10 2021, @03:18AM
Wrong as usual, but what else to expect from a trumpette?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 09 2021, @09:20PM (2 children)
How nice for you, Runaway. Is everyone in Arkansas dead yet? Seems the kids are getting it [arktimes.com] now.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 09 2021, @09:45PM (1 child)
Where's the -1 idiot mod? Or the -1 hateful bastard?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 09 2021, @10:17PM
Right next to the -5 rightwing reactionary mod, and a few below the -1 reading comprehension failed mod.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 09 2021, @10:39PM
Not just the inconvenience.
Tens (hundreds?) of millions of people have been thrown into insurmountable life-long intergenerational poverty - and millions more have died - for the sake of a few selfish self-important assholes. It's nothing short of an absolute, and immoral, disgrace.
On the bright side, the Chinese have ever-so-helpfully built a nice long wall for us to put good use.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 09 2021, @07:19PM
Only troll mods I see are for
Total troll comment with no value
Complaining that the rules of the Olympics themselves allow this, and somehow two competitors tying for 1st place defeats the purpose of "competing and the competition." If you don't see how this is trolling for the strict libertarian meritocracy mindset while ignoring the very point of the Olympics, then that is definitely on you. Makes me think you must have posted one of those comments as AC knowing that it could be modded troll and you want to protect your karma because you're a not so secret coward. Bring in your sock puppets and mod them back up! Or are you blocked because you can not mod your own posts?
(Score: 0, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 09 2021, @03:02PM (4 children)
Gold = 1% - they worked hard to get there and gold medal means follow on fame and dollars
Silver = upper class - they missed gold by microseconds or fractions of a point yet most attention goes to gold winners
Bronze = middle class - they worked just as hard as everyone else yet get little or no fame or dollars
No medals = lower class - most of the people there, forgotten as soon as the games finish
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 09 2021, @03:50PM (3 children)
What is your point? Just because the Olympics doesn't run like the sports leagues you grew up with and give out participation trophies to everyone doesn't take away from the event.
In a way, you're all winners. But in another, more accurate way, Barney is the winner.
(Score: 2) by Freeman on Tuesday August 10 2021, @04:44PM (2 children)
Barney, the security guy from Half-Life?
Barney, the purple Dinosaur? (No, because No.)
Barney Fife?
Random person called Barney?
Not Barney at all?
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 2) by Freeman on Tuesday August 10 2021, @04:46PM (1 child)
DDG to the rescue: Apparently, "The Simpons" character Barney. Whichever that one was.
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 11 2021, @08:40AM
The town drunk.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 09 2021, @03:10PM
But no thanks!
(Score: 0, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 09 2021, @03:40PM (2 children)
Choosing to consume nationalist propaganda is idiotic.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 09 2021, @05:42PM (1 child)
I consciously chose to consume the sporting action, and wasn't disappointed.
I didn't see or miss any jingoism, wokeness, refusal to perform or anything like that.
Besides the sporting action, the Olympics were also proof that major events can happen without "The Pandemic" causing the destruction of a country.
Best wishes to the Paralympians who are up in like two weeks or so. Wonder if I will find someone to broadcast the events.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 09 2021, @07:43PM
Sounds like you've already swallowed the authoritarian spiel and internalized it to the point that you think any individualism is an affront. I'm sure your handlers are proud of the work they've done.
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 10 2021, @12:45AM
No. I refuse.