A pair of Olympic athletes made the inspiring decision to share a gold medal in a heartwarming display of sportsmanship and friendship.
As reported by CNN, high jumpers Gianmarco Tamberi, representing Italy, and Mutaz Essa Barshim, representing Qatar, decided to share their victory when they both cleared the highest bar on Sunday, August 1.
After both men cleared all six jumps - clearing an astonishing 2.37-meter (7ft 8") leap - the pair battled for gold in a tiebreaker.
However, neither man was able to clear the Olympic record of 2.39 meters and be declared the sole victor. Therefore, the pair spoke with an Olympic official to negotiate an outcome.
Take a look at this footage of the heartwarming incident in the video below:Barshim simply asked the official: "Can we have two golds?"
When the official agreed and granted their wish, the two men were ecstatic and began celebrating rapturously, with Tamberi embracing Barshim, in a clear display of elation and joy.
Per CNN, Barshim commented on his achievement in a later interview with reporters, stating: "It is unreal, it is crazy. I am so happy, man. It was the only thing missing [from my career.] Now, I am complete, I am so happy.
"It is amazing, man. To share it with Marco is an amazing feeling. It is a great feeling. I'm really happy."
Meanwhile, Tamberi said: "After my injuries, I just wanted to come back, but now I have this gold, it's incredible. I dreamed of this so many times.
"I was told in 2016 just before Rio, there was a risk I wouldn't be able to compete anymore. It's been a long journey."
The 29-year-old further celebrated by uploading a picture of himself proudly waving the flag of his home country to his official Instagram account.
In a caption addressed to his 348,000 followers, Tamberi wrote: "It's 6 in the morning and I'm scared of going to sleep... I don't want to wake up from this dream that seems so real! [sic]"
Meanwhile, CNN reports that Maksim Nedasekau of Belarus also managed to clear the 2.37-meter jump, but took the bronze medal for his home country after failing more attempts to clear the bar.
Sprinter Lamont Marcell Jacobs later won Italy another gold medal, in the men's 100-meter sprint with a time of 9.80 seconds; becoming the first Italian to do so in Olympic history
