New Zealand high jumper Hamish Kerr goes viral after bailing out last minute and jumping UNDER the bar – before leaping to Olympic gold just minutes later
- One user compared his dive on the comfortable mat to a child ‘running to his bed’
- Bizarre incident during marathon finals led to sudden death
- He and American Shelby McEwan both underperformed in the deciding match, but Kerr won
Olympic fans are baffled by a high jumper who backed out at the last minute and jumped under the bar, with some comparing his dive to a child ‘running to bed’.
Hamish Kerr took part in the event at the Stade de France when, unsurprisingly, the bar was raised as the final heated up.
The New Zealand athlete then inexplicably behaved as if he had never competed in this discipline before and did not jump again. Instead, he jumped under the bar and landed on the comfortable-looking blue mat.
Incredibly, Kerr later returned to the sport he had spent all his life practicing, conquering the heights to win a memorable gold medal for his country on the final night of the Paris athletics competition.
Social media users are now reacting with amusement to the bizarre incident.
Olympic fans are stunned by high jumper who backed out at the last minute and jumped under the bar
Some have compared his dive onto the mat to a child ‘running to bed’
Hamish Kerr was taking part in the event at the Stade de France when, unsurprisingly, the bar was raised as the final got underway
Incredibly, Kerr later rebounded from the event he had devoted years of his life to and conquered the heights to secure a memorable gold medal
Qatar’s Mutaz Barshim (right) took a bronze victory Shelby McEwen (left) won silver
Someone posted a clip of the hilarious moment, saying, “When someone tells me the bar is higher and they believe in me.”
Another posted: ‘Simulation confirmed. Wrong button was pressed.’
A user said in a similar vein: ‘Bro’s controller is broken.’
And a fourth replied: ‘That one time they actually made you do what you said on your resume.’
Another added: ‘Bro ran to his bed.’
One user pointed out that the incident would distract from Australian breakdancer Rachael Gunn, who caused a stir on social media after her unique routine failed to win any points from the judges.
They said, ‘That Australian breakdancer is so happy now.’
Remarkably, Kerr won the field event after clearing a height of 2 metres and 36 centimetres.
He defeated his American rival Shelby McEwan to win a memorable gold medal after the American jumped the same height. The competition ended in a sudden death round.
This was a departure from the conclusion of the event in Tokyo three years ago, when Mutaz Barshim and Gianmarco Tamberi decided to share the gold medal when the scores were tied.
Now social media users have reacted with amusement to the bizarre incident
The final round became a kind of marathon, with neither participant coming close to the 2m 36cm height. They took turns jumping, while waiting for the track events to finish.
When the bar reached 2m 34cm, Kerr finally jumped home with a gold medal in the long event.
Meanwhile, Qatar’s Barshim took bronze thanks to his jump of 2m 34cm during tonight’s regular rounds at the Stade de France.