Italian high jumper Gianmarco Tamberi has had a difficult Olympic journey this time around, from losing his wedding ring within the River Seine to vomiting blood prior to the ultimate event.
The 32-year-old Olympian finished in eleventh place on Saturday, August 10, throughout the high jump final, shortly after revealing on Instagram that he had been hospitalized for kidney colic. This health issue affected his performance, leading to a rating of two.22 meters. He shared, “The pain I’ve been feeling this morning, regardless of how strong, is nothing in comparison with what I’m feeling inside. Even what was my last certainty is about to fade away.”
He continued, noting, “The whole lot I’ve dreamed of for at the present time, except living such a nightmare.”
Reflecting on his health issues and loss, he wrote in a separate post, “I managed to beat fate once after that injury in 2016, but this time, unfortunately, I actually think it won. I’m speechless, truly, so sorry.”
The 2024 games marked Gianmarco’s second Olympics, as he previously missed out on the 2016 Rio de Janeiro tournament. He made his debut on the 2012 London Olympics and returned for a second time within the 2020 Tokyo games, where he earned the gold within the high jump competition.
His battle with kidney colic got here shortly after he lost his wedding ring throughout the opening ceremony. This incident led the high jumper to write down his wife, Chiara Bontempi Tamberi, a love note that gained worldwide virality. In a post, he expressed, “It should stay eternally within the riverbed of town of affection, flown away while I attempted to hold the Italian tricolor as high as possible throughout the opening ceremony of an important sport event on this planet.”
He added, “I believe there is perhaps an enormous poetic side to yesterday’s misdeed… and we’ll have another excuse to, as you’ve at all times asked, renew our vows and get married anew. I like you, my love. May or not it’s auspicious to come back home with even greater gold!”
Though Gianmarco experienced these two setbacks, he still went on to thank everyone for his or her support, despite his defeat.
