Hamish Kerr, who won gold in high jump at Paris Olympics, makes headlines for all the wrong reasons

As the jump-off against Shelby McEwen went along for a long time, Hamish Kerr went viral after he jumped under the bar in exhaustion.

Hamish Kerr, who won gold in high jump at Paris Olympics, makes headlines for all the wrong reasons

Hamish Kerr (Via SI)

The 2024 Paris Olympics saw a flashback of the Tokyo Olympic Games from three years ago, where two athletes were tied for the gold in the Men’s high jump. However this time, when USA’s Shelby McEwen and New Zealand’s Hamish Kerr found themselves in the exact same scenario, they refused to share the gold. 

Since the two decided to jump off, they were given three attempts to clear 2.38m but they both failed. As it went along for a long time, Kerr was so exhausted that he couldn’t manage the strength to make the proper jump in his last attempt. He simply dived under the bar onto the foam on the other side, giving everyone a good piece of laughter. 

YouTube video

Even though the New Zealand high jumper returned after that with the bar lowered at 2.34m and succeeded with gold, he has gone viral on the internet for his failed attempt with the dive and simply fell on the blanket. 

FS Video

With the bar set at 2.38m, neither McEwen nor Kerr could clear it and the same happened with 2.36m. Afterwards, the officials lowered the bar to 2.34m in which McEwen had to settle for silver while Kerr clinched the gold. Meanwhile, defending champion Mutaz Barshim secured the bronze, and Gianmarco Tamberi was eliminated early on.

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Hamish Kerr celebrates gold with victory lap after dramatic jump off

After securing gold at the Paris Olympics 2024, Kerr ran around the field to celebrate bringing home a gold medal. While talking to the media afterwards, the jumper admitted that since the jump-off went for so long, he and McEwen “got a little fatigued there at the end.” 

If I hadn’t cleared that jump or one very soon, we probably still would be out there. Most definitely, I got a family to feed. But, hey, we’re going to get back to the drawing board and get better.
Hamish Kerr said, while also admitting that in his mind the $50,000 price money for the gold was going on
New Zealand's Hamish Kerr won gold in Men's High Jump at Paris Olympics, 2024
New Zealand’s Hamish Kerr won gold in the Men’s High Jump at the Paris Olympics, 2024 (Via Paris Olympics)

The 27-year-old jumper representing New Zealand has come a long way, given he also qualified for the men’s high jump three years ago at the Tokyo Olympics but had to settle for the best attempt of 2.30m and finished in 10th.

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