Hamish Kerr explains how he held his nerve in the jump-off to claim Olympic High Jump gold
New Zealand’s Hamish Kerr had a golden 2024. He was one of a handful of athletes who won the World Indoors in March, and then followed it up with an Olympic title at the Games in Paris.
But Hamish almost missed that final. He was facing elimination in the qualifying round at the Stade de France. After two failures at 2.20 metres, he tells us he thought about retiring if he failed again and crashed out of the Olympics. Hamish explains how, after going to that ‘dark place’, he knew he had the mental strength to win gold in the final.
At the previous Olympics in Tokyo, Mutaz Barshim and Gianmarco Tamberi had elected to share the High Jump gold medal and not to enter a jump-off to determine the winner. Hamish describes how early on in his final he began to wonder whether he’d have to make the same decision. As it turned out, he and Shelby McEwen did finish the competition with identical records and couldn’t be separated. So why did they choose to jump-off for gold? It’s the High Jump’s equivalent of a penalty shoot-out in football, and both men had already been out there competing for several hours. Why did Hamish believe he’d cope with that situation better?
We find out why food was on his mind as he stood waiting to take the jump that could win him the Olympic title. Hamish also describes the moment during that attempt when he knew he would clear the bar and claim the gold. As for the celebrations afterwards, when he ran into the middle of the infield to bow to the capacity crowd, how much thought had gone into that? After all, the women’s Javelin final had been taking place, making that potentially a pretty dangerous place to be!
Hamish also talks about his rise through the sport; from winning Commonwealth gold, to the World Indoor title and then the Olympic Games. He takes us inside his mindset, and explains how and why ‘old Hamish’ needed to change in order to be challenging for those medals.
Photo: Hamish Kerr of Team New Zealand celebrates winning the men’s high jump at the Stade de France during the 2024 Paris Summer Olympic Games in Paris, France. (Credit: Sportsfile via Getty Images)
