I’ve always been fascinated by the touching story of Sueo Oe 大江 季雄 and Shuhei Nishida 西田 修平. The two Japanese pole vaulters won bronze and silver at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. The two vaulters were very good friends. When they arrived in Japan, they went to a jeweler and had the two medals cut in half. Both Nishida and Oe had equal halves of bronze and silver, aptly called the Medal of Eternal Friendship.
In sport, people often say that only one person (or team) can emerge victorious. True enough, that is almost always the case in competitive sport, especially in athletics. Unless there is a dead heat.
The U.S. Olympic Trials featured one of the most high profile deadlocks in a running event the past few years. At the 100m dash final, the fast-finishing Allyson Felix caught up with her training partner Jeneba Tarmoh. Third place – and the coveted spot in the U.S. lineup – was originally awarded to Tarmoh. A closer review of the photo-finish tapes revealed that the sprinters actually clocked identical times of 11.068s.
The U.S. Trials is a cutthroat method of selection, where the top three finishers in each event are automatically given outright slots to a major championships, provided that they had met the entry standards. Considering the vast talent pool of the U.S., the competition for those berths are naturally tough (even tougher than the Olympic Games itself, some say).
However, it turns out that there was no clear cut policy on settling dead heats in the running events. Since countries are only allowed to send a maximum of three participants in the Olympic Games, a clear victor must be chosen between Felix and Tarmoh. After much deliberation, the USATF crafted a set of guidelines in dealing with these rare occurrences:
Felix and Tarmoh, simply put, will be given the option of a coin toss or a run-off. Considering how competitive these ladies are, it is almost certain that the latter will be chosen.
Dead heats, because of its rarity (well, not for Yevgeniy Borisov and Konstantin Shabanov, I guess), is a refreshing twist to the black & white outcome of a track race. As spectators and competitors alike, we have been accustomed to seeing one person stand on each rung of the podium. In this day and age of fast-pace lifestyles and cut throat ways of life, it seems almost heartwarming to see two (or even three) people share a coveted prize.
For Felix and Tarmoh, however, they can share the bronze medal but only one can be sent to London.
I was supposed to write about the dead heat between Allyson Felix and Jeneba Tarmoh, but something much more interesting caught my attention.
As I was scouring Google for more articles on the 60m Hurdles at the 2011 Russian Indoor Championships, where Yevgeniy Borisov Евгений Борисов and Konstantin Shabanov Константин Шабанов shared the national title, it turns out that the Russian hurdlers ran a dead heat again - at the very same competition!
Borisov (orange vest) and Shabanov (blue vest) in 2011. Both hurdlers time 7.63s. (Photo from Athletics Russia)
In 2011, the Russian duo both clocked 7.63s. Even if the judges went to the photo-finish tapes, the race was too close to call; hence, they shared the gold. This time around, both Borisov and Shabanov were one-hundredths of a second slower. And still inseparable. For the second time in two years, the two hurdlers again shared the top spot on the podium.
Shabanov (L) and Borisov in 2012. Both athletes time 7.64s and share the gold again! (Photo from Athletics Russia)
A dead heat, especially in the running events, is a rare occurrence in itself. But to do it twice? Now, that’s uncanny!
Interestingly, the 2012 edition of the Russian Indoor Championships featured closely-fought contests:
Women’s Pole Vault (2012): Ludmila Yeruemina and Angela Sidorova both cleared 4.32m. Two bronze medals were awarded.
Men’s 60m Dash (2012): Yevgeniy Ustavshchikov and Mikhail Yegorov both ran 6.74s. Again, two bronze medals were given! The battle for first place was also close, but the photo-finish cameras were conclusive. Aleksandr Brednev and Mikhail Idrisov were both credited with 6.72s, but the former took the gold medal.
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