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NBC Missed the Mark with Italy's Tamberi-Jacobs Moment, Track Coverage

One of the best moments of the Olympics so far took place a little after 8:30 a.m. ET Sunday, about the same time our latest edition of Very Olympic Today hit inboxes. Two high jumpers—Italy’s Gianmarco Tamberi and Qatar’s Mutaz Essa Barshim—matched each other jump for jump.

Rather than go into a jump-off, they decided to share the gold medal. (They don’t have to literally share it—I get Mondays, Wednesday and Fridays; you get Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and every other Sunday—they both get their own.)

That led to this reaction:

I wouldn’t normally lead the newsletter with news that’s 23-plus hours old, but I highlight it partly because I think if you are consuming the Olympics mostly through my newsletter and NBC’s prime-time telecast, you missed out on a ton on Sunday.