Klüft’s criticism of the high-profile images

In a gas-hugging pole vault final, the Australian Nina Kennedy and the American Katie Moon were finally left to jump for the gold. But neither Kennedy nor Moon managed 4.95 and thus pulled out.

Since the jumpers had the same number of tears with them so far in the competition, it was time for a re-jump, wasn’t it?

Quickly after Moon’s final tear, the jumpers talked together and made the decision to share the WC gold. A decision that has received criticism afterwards.

– I absolutely think you should have a winner, even if you think it’s a bit wonderful that they can share. But in principle I think it should be a winner, declares TV4 expert Carolina Klüft.

Loopholes in the rules

If Kennedy and Moon had not shared the gold, then it is according to the regulations that the jumpers must settle for the medal, until a winner is crowned.

– There will be a jump-off. The first thing to do is try one more time at that height and get another try. If you don’t pass it, you go down again, but if you pass both, you go back up and so on. It’s show jumping until you have a winner, explains Carolina Klüft and continues:

– It is normal that it happens like that. But if you say ‘you have to jump’, they may decide to run through the whole evening, so it will be incredibly difficult to get around this. But I think we all agree that we want a winner at the top of the podium.

Before Moon and Kennedy’s shared gold, the most recent example is when Mutaz Essa Barshim and Gianmarco Tamberi chose to share the gold in the high jump final during the Olympics in Tokyo 2021. Something that was not met with the same strong reactions.

– This has happened in history, but this was, in modern times, among the memories that are remembered. There was even then that ‘should you really be able to share?’. Now we have another case in a very short time and then it’s almost as if the active people are starting to put it into the system, sums up Klüft.