Australian high jumper Brandon Starc came within centimetres of gold at the Tokyo Olympics but fell agonisingly short at the crucial moment.
The Commonwealth gold medallist needed to beat his personal best leap of 2.36m for a shot at a medal on Sunday night, but topped out at 2.35m.
One attempt at 2.37m and two more at 2.39m proved too much for Starc, 27, who is the younger brother of Australian Test cricketer Mitchell Starc, 31.
Australian high jumper Brandon Starc (pictured) came within centimetres of gold at the Tokyo Olympics but fell agonisingly short at the crucial moment
Commonwealth gold medallist Brandon Starc (pictured) needed to beat his personal best leap of 2.36m for a shot at a medal on Sunday night, but topped out at 2.35m
It’s a second heartbreak for the Starc brothers, who lost their father Paul to cancer in February.
Brandon’s training plan for Tokyo was thrown into turmoil by the tragedy which came as he went through preparations at Canberra’s Institute of Sport.
But he returned from the heartache to make the trip to Tokyo.
He pushed rivals Italian Gianmarco Tamberi and Qatari Mutaz Essa Barshim to their limit as the pair shared gold with Maksim Nedasekau from Belarus taking bronze with Starc making the top five.
The gold medalists were offered the chance to jump off against each other after they were inseparably tied on 2.37m, or for both to share the gold.
They chose to share gold, sparking incredible scenes as the pair embraced each other before wheeling away in celebration.
Gianmarco Tamberi won the gold medal in the men’s high jump along with Mutaz Essa Barshim
Barshim tied with Tamberi and the pair agreed to both take the gold medal when offered it
