Hamish Kerr celebrates his dramatic victory. Photo / Getty Images
By Kris Shannon in Paris
Arms outstretched, gliding across the grass inside Stade de France, Hamish Kerr reached midfield before bowing to the crowd and collapsing on his back.
It seemed the only appropriate response to winning an absorbing, exhausting and historic high jump final.
Kerr has become the first New Zealander to leap onto an Olympic podium in the famed event, edging a jump-off with American Shelby McEwen after the pair struggled to be separated.
Victory completed the most glittering day in this country’s Olympic history, following earlier gold medals for Lisa Carrington in the K1 500 and Lydia Ko at Le Golf National.
The unique triple success took the Kiwi team’s tally to nine gold medals in Paris, surpassing the previous best of eight at Los Angeles 1984. Kerr’s might have been the most dramatic of the lot.
After he and McEwen had earlier been the only athletes to clear 2.36m — equalling Kerr’s personal best — neither man could manage the extra two centimetres required to seize gold.
In Tokyo, where Kerr finished 10th in his Olympic debut, the high jump title was memorably shared by Italian Gianmarco Tamberi and Qatar’s Mutaz Essa Barshim, the pair declining a jump-off in favour of dual gold medals.
In Paris, that never looked a possibility, Kerr and McEwen engaging in the briefest of conversations before a handshake confirmed the tie would be broken.
Eventually. Each jumper had another crack at 2.38m. Each failed. The bar came back down to 2.36m — and was twice knocked down to the mat.
Both men visibly tiring, McEwen missed his attempt at 2.34m. Gold was within Kerr’s grasp. And then the action paused while the men’s 4x400m final circled a stadium kept in suspense.
That breather might have been just what Kerr needed. Track cleared of runners, the 27-year-old sailed over the bar and into the history books, somehow finding additional energy for an epic celebration, a trail of photographers chasing his heels.
It was a thrilling scene, surprising given New Zealand’s lack of history in the event but no shock based on Kerr’s medal-winning form.
Last month he won Diamond League meetings in Monaco and London, clearing 2.33m and 2.30m respectively. Those victories followed a gold medal at the world indoor championships in Glasgow, where he set a new personal best of 2.36m — one centimetre short of this year’s world-leading jump by Tamberi.
Pedigree established, contention was confirmed in the early rounds. Kerr began the event by sailing over 2.17m in his first attempt and matched that success at 2.22m, rising from the mat with his arms outstretched in a shrug.
It wasn’t so easy for the rest of the 12-strong field, losing its first competitor while Tamberi — who days earlier had been in hospital with kidney stones — barely survived.
The Italian couldn’t repeat that trick at 2.27m, despite dropping to his knees on the track in prayer, while Kerr remained one of only four athletes yet to dislodge the bar.
That changed at 2.31m when he suffered his first — and second — mishap. But after a couple of unrefined attempts left him down to his last life, the Kiwi easily cleared and rose from the mat in clear relief, blowing kisses to the crowd in gratitude for its encouragement.
Two fellow finalists weren’t so fortunate, reducing the field to six and setting the new requirement at 2.34m, where Kerr’s first-time clearance extended his outdoor best by one centimetre.
Next came his career-high mark of 2.36m and another straightforward clearance showed that earlier hiccup had been well forgotten.
Barshim — unblemished to that point — knocked off the bar twice and opted to skip to 2.38m. With one chance, and with Kerr joining the crowd in clapping for his rival, the Qatari never looked likely and just two men remained.
Kerr had secured New Zealand’s first Olympic high jump medal; only its colour was still to be determined.
Neither he nor McEwen could connect with their opening attempt at 2.38m. Both dislodged the bar on the second, though Kerr was closer. And after the American again failed, Kerr made a mess of his approach to leave the final deadlocked.
It didn’t stay that way for long, much to Kerr’s evident joy — and relief.
Kris Shannon has been a sport journalist since 2011 and covers a variety of codes for the Herald.
The Aussie breakdancer on why she decided to call it a day.