Mutaz Barshim, who won the gold medal in the high jump at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, expressed his happiness and pride following a call from His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the Emir of Qatar, after his victory. He added that His Highness told him, "What you did was wonderful, and it will be recorded in history, God willing."
In an interview with the Associated Press, the golden falcon described the moment he shared the gold medal with his Italian colleague Gianmarco Tamberi as an extremely emotional moment that touched millions around the world. He said, "Of course, that moment was very touching; everyone was telling me how historic it was. A Japanese woman approached me two days ago on the street next to the hotel and said, 'Congratulations, what you did is not easy, you made me cry,' and she was even screaming from crying."
Barshim added, "I think what we did allowed me and my Italian colleague to reach millions around the world everywhere, thank God for that. We received messages from everywhere. Thank God." The golden falcon noted that his phone has not stopped receiving calls or messages, saying, "I received many messages and hundreds of calls. People really appreciate it, and they are very happy with the positive reactions."
The first Qatari athlete to win three Olympic medals in three consecutive Games spoke about the moment he decided with his friend to share the gold medal. He stated, “When we finished the attempt at 2.37 m, the judge came to explain to us, and I turned and asked him: 'Can we have two golds?' He replied: 'Yes,' but he was trying to continue explaining at that moment. We were not really interested. I looked into my friend Tamberi's eyes, and he looked at me too, and we understood what we wanted and started celebrating the gold.”
Barshim explained, "For me, I know exactly the pain, and I know the mental and physical struggle and all of that. I know what I went through to get here. I know what he went through to get here. I didn't want to see him with that silver medal because I know he deserves gold. And I know I don't want a silver medal because I know I deserve gold."
Barshim added that sharing the gold medal with his Italian competitor Tamberi was an act of sportsmanship and solidarity, and it also cemented their friendship, with feelings heightened by recalling how close they were to ending their careers after each suffered a serious injury that could have sidelined them from competitions. He continued, "For us to come out together, there are two great athletes performing at the highest level, coming from a serious injury that truly threatened our careers. The same thing happened to me with my dear friend Gianmarco (Tamberi). His doctor who performed the surgery told him to consider another sport. The same thing happened to me."
