I recently heard an extraordinary story about friendship, from almost ninety years ago.

In the Summer Olympics of 1936, in the men’s pole-vault event, three men tied for second place. To determine who would be awarded the silver and bronze medals, a jump-off was held.

The first vaulter failed to better his score. The remaining two were a pair of vaulters from Japan, Shuhei Nishida and Sueo Ōe, two teammates who were very good friends.

To everyone’s amazement, they declined to compete against each other, and instead asked to share the honor.

But their request was rejected, and the Japanese team was told to make its own decision about who should receive the silver and who should receive the bronze. The team awarded the silver to Nishida, because he’d cleared the height in fewer attempts.

When the two competitors returned home to Japan, they went to a jeweler to have the two medals cut in half and the different halves fused together, so that they each had a half-silver, half-bronze medal, which they called the “Medals of Friendship.” 

I love this story of friendship, and it also reminds me: We are more free than we think. If we don’t like a decision that has been made, perhaps there’s a way, with our own ingenuity and initiative, to find a different answer.