# Summer Olympics 2021 ongoing discussion **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Tags:** olympic-sports-track\ **Created:** [July 23, 2021, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/summer-olympics-2021-ongoing-discussion/947137 "2021-07-23T12:00:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 25
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2021, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/summer-olympics-2021-ongoing-discussion/947137/482 "2021-08-01T15:01:21Z")
Cool moment in men’s high jump. The athletes from Italy and Qatar had the same height, and neither could clear the next height in 3 tries, so they were offered to either have a jump-off or share the gold. They chose to share the gold. The guy from Italy is overcome with joy. > ---
**Author:** ![kitap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b9e5f3/32.png) [@kitap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kitap)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2021, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/summer-olympics-2021-ongoing-discussion/947137/483 "2021-08-01T15:18:41Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > Cool moment in men’s high jump The athletes from Italy and Qatar had the same height, and neither could clear the next height in 3 tries, so they were offered to either have a jump-off or share the gold. They chose to share the gold. The guy from Italy is overcome with joy. > > [https://twitter.com/newschambers/status/1421816666158256132?s=21](https://twitter.com/newschambers/status/1421816666158256132?s=21) That was awesome to watch! ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2021, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/summer-olympics-2021-ongoing-discussion/947137/484 "2021-08-01T15:25:44Z")
> [@Railer13](#): > > Definitely not the badminton that we played in Grandpa’s backyard. If you’ve never seen this clip from 2004 [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/HNs-dGW5lJ0/maxresdefault.jpg "Mary Carillo's Brilliant Badminton Rant") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HNs-dGW5lJ0) ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2021, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/summer-olympics-2021-ongoing-discussion/947137/485 "2021-08-01T16:13:44Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > Cool moment in men’s high jump. The athletes from Italy and Qatar had the same height, and neither could clear the next height in 3 tries, so they were offered to either have a jump-off or share the gold. They chose to share the gold. The guy from Italy is overcome with joy. An all-time classic Olympic moment. I’ll remember it for years! It will be replayed over and over everywhere. ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2021, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/summer-olympics-2021-ongoing-discussion/947137/486 "2021-08-01T16:19:43Z")
I still don’t fully get it to be honest. Surely a tie for highest jump is a common occurrence? It seems strange to me that the rules for such a situation would be undetermined or malleable. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2021, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/summer-olympics-2021-ongoing-discussion/947137/487 "2021-08-01T16:21:59Z")
There are tiebreaker about who hit the height first or with fewer misses. In this case, none of the tiebreaker worked. ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2021, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/summer-olympics-2021-ongoing-discussion/947137/488 "2021-08-01T16:22:25Z")
Ah I see. thanks ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2021, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/summer-olympics-2021-ongoing-discussion/947137/489 "2021-08-01T17:52:28Z")
Getting ready to watch Great Britain vs India in men’s field hockey. No spoilers, please but I bet this will be epic and perhaps some bad blood. ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2021, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/summer-olympics-2021-ongoing-discussion/947137/490 "2021-08-01T19:23:28Z")
That’s a bad set of rules then. I know in soccer you eventually you get to a coin flip so that who advances is always determined. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2021, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/summer-olympics-2021-ongoing-discussion/947137/491 "2021-08-01T19:27:31Z")
That’s what the Olympics is supposed to be about. > [@Snarky\_Kong](#): > > That’s a bad set of rules then. I know in soccer you eventually you get to a coin flip so that who advances is always determined. Why? There’s nothing to advance to; it’s just who wins gold or silver, and there is no remaining determination to decide who wins. Deciding who wins gold and who wins silver by a coin flip would be a travesty. Many, many Olympic events just award the same medal if there is no remaining determination. In boxing they don’t even have bronze medal matches. ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2021, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/summer-olympics-2021-ongoing-discussion/947137/492 "2021-08-01T20:57:10Z")
I’m not saying they should flip a coin. Tiebreaker that doesn’t guarantee a tiebreak → bad Tiebreaker that always breaks ties → good ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2021, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/summer-olympics-2021-ongoing-discussion/947137/493 "2021-08-01T21:07:24Z")
But in this case, applying all the tiebreakers still resulted in a tie. The rules then state that there will be a jump-off to determine who wins. The contestants decided not to have a jump-off. Not sure they could be forced to do so. ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2021, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/summer-olympics-2021-ongoing-discussion/947137/494 "2021-08-01T21:11:02Z")
Will the guy who got the 4th highest jump get a medal? Or will bronze just be skipped? Indeed will silver be skipped? ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2021, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/summer-olympics-2021-ongoing-discussion/947137/495 "2021-08-01T21:11:17Z")
But no tiebreaker can guarantee no ties. As in the high jump example: There are two tiebreakers that are normally used — in this case the result was still a tie. There’s no finite set of tiebreakers that would always break a tie. Ties are possible at many Olympic events. Swimming has produced ties for first occasionally — both winners get a gold medal. And, as was just said, in boxing there is always a tie for bronze. (In that case it is because one of the rules of boxing is that if you lose a bout, you cannot fight again for some time.) ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2021, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/summer-olympics-2021-ongoing-discussion/947137/496 "2021-08-01T21:13:21Z")
Silver is skipped. The guy after the two winners came in third, so he gets the bronze. If the tie was for second, there would be two silvers and no bronze. If the tie was for third, there would be one gold, one silver, and two bronzes. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2021, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/summer-olympics-2021-ongoing-discussion/947137/497 "2021-08-01T21:17:48Z")
Somebody from Israel just won the gold medal in gymnastics, in men’s floor exercise! ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2021, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/summer-olympics-2021-ongoing-discussion/947137/498 "2021-08-01T21:24:51Z")
I coached track for 10 years. It appears that all normal tie-breakers were resolved as a tie. I’ve actually not worked a meet with that result, but I only manage middle and high school age kids. I would have had to look up the way to handle it or just agree to split the points between the teams after consulting with coaches. You can see that the two guys also rarely see a tie just based on their reactions. Of course, these guys are used to winning a LOT, so seeing someone else equal them is an interesting situation. From what I’ve read, the meet manager was correct that the two men could agree to share gold or fight it out. They made the right choice, I think. I wouldn’t risk silver with a guy clearly equal to me. They were probably nearly maxed out at their abilities. Even these guys miss _lower_ heights than they got to. Neatly, in 2016 I had a former student-athlete qualify to go to the high jump Olympic Trials in, I think, Eugene, Oregon. He could clear 7ft, 2 inches, I believe(uh, not when he was in High School). He made the trip, but could not advance since that height was the starting height and he did not even clear it when he got there. Still, it was cool. This year we had the state champion of Michigan for female high jump. She could very well qualify for the trials in a few years if she sticks with it. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2021, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/summer-olympics-2021-ongoing-discussion/947137/499 "2021-08-01T21:26:17Z")
Well that cannot have been the odds on favorite result. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2021, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/summer-olympics-2021-ongoing-discussion/947137/500 "2021-08-01T21:27:05Z")
I imagine a bet on that result would have been very lucrative. I’m sure anyone in Vegas would take such a foolish bet. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2021, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/summer-olympics-2021-ongoing-discussion/947137/501 "2021-08-01T21:29:47Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > They made the right choice, I think. I wouldn’t risk silver with a guy clearly equal to me. If your objective is to win a gold medal, it’s the only logical choice. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/summer-olympics-2021-ongoing-discussion/947137.md?page=24) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/summer-olympics-2021-ongoing-discussion/947137.md?page=26)