New Zealand’s Hamish Kerr prevails in jump-off to win Olympic high jump gold

PARIS – New Zealand’s Hamish Kerr won gold in the men’s Olympic high jump on Aug 10 by beating American Shelby McEwen in a jump-off in contrast to the last Games when the gold was shared.

Both men cleared 2.36m in regular progression, but could not be separated on countback and Kerr secured his country’s first medal in the event by making 2.34m after a long and gruelling competition.

Defending champion Mutaz Barshim of Qatar – who famously shared the gold with Italy’s Gianmarco Tamberi in Tokyo – got the bronze with a season’s best 2.34m.

Kerr and McEwen cleared 2.36m at the first attempt but both had three failures at 2.38m.

In the jump-off, they both failed with their single attempt at 2.38m and 2.36m, before Kerr cleared 2.34m.

“I was just in shock. Both me and Shelby were getting a little bit tired after all the jumps we took,” the 27-year-old said.

“I knew I had a good one in me, and I knew that if I could get it up sooner rather than later, then I could just finish the competition and start recovering.”

Kerr said the choice to do the jump-off this time was in part to satisfy those who had wanted Barshim and Tamberi to fight to the bitter end in Tokyo.

“We’re both really happy to add to that history,” he said.

It was an impressive result for McEwen, too, a personal best and a huge improvement after finishing 12th in Tokyo.

“It was by far the best high jump competition I’ve been in,” the 28-year-old said. “I came out and knew my chances were very high of getting on the podium, I came up short of the gold but I’m still thankful for what I got.”

McEwen said he and Kerr had decided on the jump-off together, adding that the US$50,000 (S$66,200) prize money for Olympic gold medallists in athletics, newly introduced for Paris by World Athletics, was also a motivating factor.

“I got a family to feed, so of course it was, but hey, we’re going to get back to the drawing board and get better,” he said, laughing.

The 33-year-old Barshim, who has struggled with injury all season, did a celebratory backflip off the mat after his last jump, with the bronze his fourth medal in as many Olympic appearances. He has said these Games would be his last.

Tamberi, who was suffering from kidney colic, fell out of contention early, exiting distraught after failing to clear 2.27m.

In other action, Faith Kipyegon became the first woman to win three consecutive Olympic 1,500m titles as the United States bagged three more golds to confirm their track and field dominance.

There was redemption for Jakob Ingebrigtsen in the 5,000m, as Japan’s Haruka Kitaguchi won the women’s javelin.

The final session at a packed 69,000-capacity Stade de France produced another startling night of dramatic action.

Kipyegon, the 30-year-old 2016 and 2020 champion, produced a tactical masterpiece to take gold in an Olympic mark of 3min 51.29sec.

Jessica Hull of Australia earned silver in 3:52.56 while Britain’s Georgia Bell (3:52.61) bagged bronze.

It was another remarkable performance by Kipyegon, the reigning world champion and world record holder, who can now arguably lay claim to being the greatest women’s middle-distance runner in history.

“It has been a week with a lot of emotions,” she said in reference to winning the 5,000m silver earlier in the week.

“Tonight it is happiness and I am proud to win my third consecutive Olympic gold medal in the 1,500m.”

Kipyegon’s teammate Emmanuel Wanyonyi made it two Kenyan golds on the night after he held off world champion Marco Arop of Canada by 0.01sec for victory in the men’s 800m in a personal best 1:41.19. Algeria’s Djamel Sedjati (1:41.50) took bronze.

Two-time defending world champion Ingebrigtsen made up for his shock fourth place in the 1,500m with a dominant victory in the 5,000m.

The Norwegian timed 13:13.66 for gold, with Kenya’s Ronald Kwemoi taking silver in 13:15.04 and American Grant Fisher bronze in 13:15.13.

Kitaguchi ensured both the men and women’s javelin golds went to Asians, after her 65.80m season’s best effort relegated South Africa’s Jo-Ane van Dyk (63.93m) and Czech Nikola Ogrodnikova (63.68m) to silver and bronze respectively.

American Masai Russell clocked 12.33sec for victory in the women’s 100m hurdles, edging out by one-hundredth of a second Cyrena Samba-Mayela, who clinched the host nation’s first athletics medal of the Games. Tokyo champion Jasmine Camacho-Quinn of Cuba was third in 12.36sec.

Individual 400m hurdles winners Rai Benjamin and Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone and 200m champion Gabrielle Thomas then helped steer the American 4x400m relay teams to victory.

The women won in 3:15.27 (0.1 sec off the world and Games marks), ahead of the Netherlands and Britain, while the men set an Olympic record of 2:54.43 to finish ahead of Botswana, with Britain taking another bronze. REUTERS, AFP