High jump superstar Gianmarco Tamberi had pushed his body to the limit before the Olympics. Was the drama surrounding his damaged kidney the result?
It was the great drama of the penultimate day of the Olympics – and its circumstances are causing some discussion about the dazzling high jump superstar Gianmarco Tamberi.
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The Italian world and European champion and defending Olympic champion failed in tears at the height of 2.27 meters, after already suffering from severe health problems in recent days.
Tamberi’s Olympic start was in jeopardy for a long time; he suffered from painful renal colic, was hospitalized several times, spat blood and, even on the day of the competition, repeatedly turned to his fans via Instagram to tell of his ordeal.
The 32-year-old finally made it to the Stade de France, where he ultimately had nothing to do with the fight for the medals. The spectacularly shattered dream of gold was not only accompanied by sympathy, but also by discussions about whether Tamberi himself had brought about his drama.
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Discussions about Tamberi’s extreme weight loss
“I don’t deserve it. I gave everything for the sport,” Tamberi told the public broadcaster in tears RAI: “It was what I felt was the last competition, the one to which you dedicate your life, because that’s how I approach the sport. I’m so sorry.”
Tamberi’s preparation – about which he had revealed many details via social media – included a tough training and weight loss regimen, with which the 1.91-meter-tall man reduced his body fat percentage to just over 3 percent, which is considered an extreme value even for endurance athletes.
At the beginning of July, Tamberi posted a picture of his extremely trimmed upper body, which sparked debates in Italy even then: “Not the body I want, but the body I need,” wrote Tamberi. Various experts then assessed what Tamberi was putting his body through as highly risky – and also raised the question of whether Tamberi was thinking of being a role model for young people who are not under the same medical supervision as him.
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“The line is thin, very thin,” warned sports doctor Michelangelo Giampietro: “Gimbo has to walk the tightrope for a month without falling and injuring himself.” Very specific nutrition and medical supervision are essential, “he and his staff are certainly capable of doing this, but no one should try to imitate him.”
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Sports psychologist Romana Caruso, who also works with ski star Sofia Goggia, found this aspect particularly worrying: “We know that sport requires extreme sacrifice and suffering inflicted on the body. That is a price that has to be paid. However, I am concerned about how many sensitive insights he shares with hundreds of thousands of people on social media. Younger people, like many of Tamberi’s followers, do not know how to read all of this in depth – and the message can easily stick: ‘Tamberi is very thin and very cool – I have to be like him’.”
“It is unthinkable that no one warned him”
Tamberi himself made no secret of the fact that his weight loss was an extreme experience that had a profound impact on him. He also cited it as part of the explanation for the faux pas at the opening ceremony when he lost his wedding ring in the Seine.
His health problems reignited the debate: various observers noted that kidney problems can be a consequence of radical weight loss.
The Sports Courier commented: “It is inconceivable that no one warned him about the risks of such a drastic weight loss, which can make you fly like two months ago at the European Championships in Rome, but can also cut your legs open – like yesterday.”
The sports media also took a swipe at Tamberi’s much-discussed social media behavior: “He feeds off the likes and comments of his followers as if they were probiotics or vitamins.” Nonetheless, the paper was impressed by what Tamberi managed to achieve under the circumstances: “If there was an award for the best technical performance by an injured athlete at these Games, it would go to him.”
The Olympic champion was New Zealander Hamish Kerr, who won the jump-off against American Shelby McEwen.