Italian athlete Gianmarco Tamberi had hoped to defend the men’s high jump gold medal he won in Tokyo – but his body had other plans.
Tamberi, 32, defied the odds on Saturday, August 10, when he competed in the high jump final at the Paris Olympics, just hours after telling his Instagram followers he had been rushed to the emergency room after vomiting twice blood.
Although he was determined to compete, Tamberi fell short of his gold medal targets, finishing second to last in 11th place at 2.22m. The winner Hamish Kerr from New Zealand managed 2.36.
The disappointing performance marked the end of a difficult Olympic journey for Tamberi, who made headlines early in the Games for losing his wedding ring while serving as Italy’s flag bearer during the opening ceremony.
High jump champion Gianmarco Tamberi rushed to emergency room after ‘vomiting blood twice’ hours before his Olympic final
Gianmarco Tamberi in the high jump final on August 10.
Al Bello/Getty Images
On the morning of his competition, Tamberi wrote on Instagram that he was rushed to the emergency room after suffering kidney problems for more than 10 hours and suspected kidney stones.
“The pain I feel since this morning, as intense as it is, is nothing compared to what I feel inside. Even what was my last security is about to disappear…” he wrote in the post, which also included his photo inside the ambulance with IV in hand.
Tamberi wrote that he had vomited blood twice and would undergo tests to find out the cause of his illness.
“I dreamed of everything for this day except living this nightmare…😔”, he concluded his post.
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Silvia Lore/Getty; Gianmarco Tamberi/Instagram
Then, hours before he was due to compete at the Stade de France, he shared a selfie that appeared to have been taken on public transport, with the caption: “I’ll be there! 😡😡😡😡😡😡.”
Tamberi was the reigning high jump champion, having tied for gold at the 2020 Tokyo Games after clearing 2.37. In a rare move, he and Qatar’s Mutaz Essa Barshim were declared joint winners of the competition, as both jumped the same height but neither surpassed it. Instead of skipping, they decided to share the gold.
Italian Olympian Gianmarco Tamberi reacts to losing wedding ring during opening ceremony: ‘Sorry my love’
Tamberi earlier called the high jump “the race of my life” and expressed his excitement at the opportunity to defend his title.
“Tomorrow at 7pm, the race of my life,” he wrote in a post to his more than one million followers. “All for one day …. All for this moment,” he wrote on Instagram. “A little more than 24 hours until the one that I want to remember with all my heart for the rest of my life as one of the best nights ever!”
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Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education