Qatar's Mutaz Essa Barshim added Olympic gold to his list of accolades in the men's high jump in Tokyo on Sunday —&nbsp;and persuaded organizers to let him share it with his friend and rival, Italy's Gianmarco Tamberi.

Both Barshim, 30, and the 29-year-old Tamberi ended with jumps of 2.37 metres and had no failed attempts until they attempted to clear 2.39.

After three failures each at that height, an Olympic official first offered them a jump-off to decide the winner.

"Can we have two golds?" Barshim asked him.

The official nodded, and the two athletes clasped hands and whooped for joy.

"I look at him, he looks at me, and we know it. We just look at each other and we know, that is it, it is done. There is no need," Barshim said.

"He is one of my best friends, not only on the track, but outside the track. We work together. This is a dream come true. It is the true spirit, the sportsman spirit, and we are here delivering this message."

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It was also a win-win situation for the Italian, who broke his ankle days before the Rio Games in 2016.

"After my injuries I just wanted to come back, but now I have this gold. It's incredible," he said. "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."

Maksim Nedasekau of Belarus, who also cleared 2.37, took the bronze on countback.

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Andre De Grasse of Canada reacts after winning the bronze medal in the men's 100m final during the Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan on Sunday.

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Andre De Grasse of Canada reacts after winning the bronze medal in the men's 100m final during the Olympic Games in Tokyo on Sunday.

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Django Lovett got a sniff of the medal podium early in his first Olympic high jump final as he matched the reigning world champion with each attempt. But within seconds, Lovett's lead and dream were gone. A few feet away on the track in Tokyo, Marco Arop felt the pain of his Canadian teammate.

Django Lovett of Surrey, B.C. cleared 2.30 metres Sunday to finish eighth in his first Olympic high jump final. Mutaz Barshim of Qatar and Italy's Gianmarco Tamberi jumped 2.37 to share the gold medal.

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Barshim won bronze, later upgraded to silver, at the London 2012 Games. He picked up another silver in Rio four years later and then won two successive world titles in 2017 and 2019.

His personal best of 2.43m is the second-highest jump of all time, behind Cuban Javier Sotomayor's world-record mark of 2.45 set in 1993.

In a high-level competition, South Korean Woo Sang-hyeok and Australian Brandon Starc, the younger brother of cricketer Mitchell, both cleared 2.35 to finish fourth and fifth.

Gianmarco Tamberi, left, leaps into the arms of friend and rival Mutaz Essa Barshim after they agree to share gold in the men's high jump at Tokyo Olympic Stadium on Sunday.

Olympic high jumpers persuade organizers to let them share gold medal

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