Gianmarco Tamberi is not a mathematician.

His equation is: “Sharing a gold medal is not less, it is much, much more.” The Italian is the Tokyo 2021 Olympic high jump champion. He made headlines by saying that when the final went no higher than over 2, 37 meters, agreed with his competitor Mutaz Barshim from Qatar that they would not go into the jump-off, but end the competition and become Olympic champions together.

Michael Reinsch

Correspondent for sports in Berlin.

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"People will never understand that," he said when he arrived in Munich a few days ago to jump for the European title this Thursday evening (8:05 p.m. on ARD): "I too would have always said before Tokyo: a gold medal I never share

But when you're in the situation of being able to share the greatest happiness on earth with one of your best friends, a unique feeling, then that's an opportunity you don't want to miss.” At the time, Barshim jumped jubilantly in Tokyo's empty Olympic Stadium up in the air, Tamberi rolled on the ground screaming, knocked over by happiness.

"Something connects us"

"I'll never do that again," he now says of doubling by splitting.

"Not because we weren't friends anymore.

We are in contact every day.

We were friends, now we're like brothers.” Barshim is expected to attend the wedding of thirty-year-old Tamberi in Pesaro in ten days.

The friends want to spend three days together, then they travel together to the next competition.

“We have something in common that cannot be repeated.

It was a magical moment," says Tamberi: "There are no regrets, but there will definitely be no repeat."

Both have more in common than the story of their injuries, which could have meant the end of their careers for both Barshim and Tamberi.

They met each other when they were eighteen and supported each other in the depths of their misery.

They know more than anyone else: “Your body suffers when you jump.

You do so many exercises and train so much to avoid injury.

It's just not normal to jump that much higher than your height, backwards.

Think about it: when you run towards a wall, you slow down.

You have to accelerate to jump over it.

This is totally unnatural.

Add to that the stress on your foot, ankle, knee and hip when you do a full-run single-leg jump.”

If you have found a brother in spirit who not only understands this passion, but also shares it in all depth and at the highest level, even an ambitious athlete like Gianmarco Tamberi can share the success with him.

exceptionally.