RIO DE JANEIRO—Jeff Henderson had an Olympic gold medal in his grasp. Just not one he could call his own.
With a pressure-packed jump on his last try of the night, the American long jumper changed all that. He won his own gold medal in Rio de Janeiro on Saturday and returned the one he carried for motivation to its rightful owner.
And now both Henderson and his coach, 1984 triple jump champ Al Joyner, really have something to celebrate.
“He said, ‘I want you to give me back my gold medal and keep your gold medal,’” Henderson recounted. “I gave it back before I went out there. I knew I was going to win.”
USA's Jeff Henderson competes in the Men's Long Jump Qualifying Round on Day 7 of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at the Olympic Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Aug. 12, 2016. Cameron Spencer/Getty Images
