On the final day of the track and field events at the Paris Olympics, a second Ole Miss Alumni took an individual event medal. Shelby McEwan took the silver in the men's high jump, finishing behind New Zealand athlete Hamish Kerr after a jump-off.
Both athletes cleared 2.36 meters, and the two then entered a jump-off. Both failed to make 2.38 and 2.36 meters, while McEwan could not make 2.34 meters. Kerr then made the same height, clinching the gold medal.
During the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Qatar's Mutaz Essa Barshim and Italy's Gianmarco Tamberi looked like they were heading for a jump-off. However, after consulting with the judges, they agreed they would share the top podium and receive a gold medal.
Tonight, McEwan and Kerr decided to head to a jump-off to determine an outright winner, with the former Ole Miss athlete coming up short for the gold. Still, a silver medal is a superb achievement. He joined Ole Miss Alumni Sam Kendricks as a silver medal winner after he finished second in the pole vault final.
It was a great day for the US on the track, too. The men's and women's 4x400 meters finals were won by the US. Masai Russell also won gold in the 100-meter hurdles final, and Grant Fisher took bronze in the 5000 meters.
It was also the day that the US men's basketball team took the gold medal, beating France 98-87. Going into the last day of competition, the United States had 122 medals, 38 golds.