Tamberi in the high jump final after being fished out at the 2024 Olympics

PARIS – Retrieved in the final, like his friend Marcell Jacobs. Gianmarco Tamberi he did not reach the direct qualification at 2.29, and he did not even manage to overcome the 2.27 mark with three fairly clear errors. But the measurements passed previously on the first attempt allowed him to remain in the final group, compared to other athletes who had failed at the same heights.

His friend-rival also goes ahead Mutaz Barshimwho on the momentum for the first attempt at 2.27 stopped due to a cramp in his left calf, immediately helped by Gimbo who comforted him and wanted to understand if he could help him. The reaction of the jewel of Qatar was immediate, with a safe passage on the second attempt.

Tamberi: “Saturday is completely different”

“Barshim had a cramp in the first test, it happens, it must be a bit of tiredness, tension, it was also cold this morning, then the sun came out. However, he did 2.27, I didn’t, and he will miss the final, I don’t have to think about the problems of others” commented Tamberi at the end of the race. “I thank all the people who were close to me, I didn’t expect so much affection and support from the Italians. I have been working for years for this moment, I got here like this, with what I have been through in the last month, and this is not what I hoped for. I knew it would be the hardest race of my life, because three days ago I was in the hospital with a fever of 38°: I always suffered, I had no energy to waste, at 2.27 my leg wouldn’t hold. Everything will be different in the final, I want to drive you crazy like three years ago in Tokyo”.

The support of the Stade de France

While waiting for his best form, Tamberi has meanwhile taken over the Stade de France. Panicked, with his tracksuit pants on in his first successful attempt at 2.20, the Olympic, world and European champion has reacted to his evident discomfort by calling for applause from the public, the pace that excites him as in June at the Olimpico: the Parisian stadium has responded yes, preparing the atmosphere for the final on Saturday 10th from 19.10. “I will step onto the platform no matter what happens, 100%” he had promised, to confirm himself as a champion like no one in the history of the Games. He was true to his word, even if the state in which he appeared on the platform raised some concerns, due to his evident thinness and the suffering he showed. After the first jump at 2.20, with a small margin, he fell back on the mattress as if he were exhausted. At the next measure he seemed to revive, he even let out a few shouts, he opened his arms wide, but at 2.27 he showed that he was far from the condition that allowed him to win the gold and jump 2.37 in Rome in front of the president Mattarella. Now certain of his qualification, he first took refuge in his tracksuit with the hood up, then he dedicated himself to greeting the public and hugging his wife Chiara and his staff. “I didn’t see him very well at the Village” commented the other Italian qualifier, Stephen Thin, “but we all know how he reacts to certain situations.”