Gianmarco Tamberi, star of Italian athletics, played on Tuesday with the audience at the Olympic stadium in Rome, from the start to the end of the events, until he won a third European title of his own. He went so far as to fake an injury in front of his haggard supporters… before getting up with a big smile to show the camera the small springs hidden in his left shoe.
Published on: 06/12/2024 – 09:50
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Olympic champion, world champion and reigning European champion, high jumper Gianmarco Tamberi achieved, on Tuesday June 11, the feat of filling the stand in front of the vault, which has often remained sparse since the start of his European championships .
He jumped to a height of 2.37 meters to win his third European gold medal after 2016 and 2022, and finished well ahead of the Ukrainians Vladyslav Lavskyy (2.29 m) and Oleh Doroshchuk (2.26 m).
Although he was quickly assured of the title, “Gimbo” played with the emotions of his audience throughout the competition. First at 2.29 m, when he failed his first two attempts and left doubts of a premature end to the competition, before crossing the bar on his final attempt.
At 2.33 m, the scenario repeats itself and he decides to move on to the next bar, 2.34 m, which he easily clears after asking for complete silence in the Roman Olympic stadium. At the end of the competition, the 32-year-old Italian will clear 2.37 m on the first attempt, a height he has not achieved since the Tokyo Games in 2021.
The Italian athlete then participated in one of the highlights of these Games. He and the Qatari Mutaz Essa Barshim were both crowned Olympic height champions on August 1, 2021. Ranked in a perfect tie for the gold medal, they had the choice between starting in a sort of play-off to designate a single winner or share the gold. And the two friends opted for the second option, falling into each other’s arms in front of the saltire.
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A joke in the shoe
After clearing 2.34m and securing the European title, the Italian showman began celebrating his feat before falling to the ground and cracking his ankle. The howls of joy in the stadium then turned into worried murmurs, with spectators fearing the worst 45 days before the Olympic Games.
It was in fact a (bad?) joke from Tamberi, who quickly got up and, hilariously, took out small springs from his shoe to relieve the entire “Stadio Olimpico”, who were holding their breath.
“I was a little nervous at 2.29 m, but then the show started,” he reacted. “I pretended to be injured and hid the springs in my shoes. I think people believed it.” No kidding…
The Italian Gianmarco Tamberi shows, Tuesday June 11 in Rome, the springs that he has hidden in his left shoe to amuse the spectators at the Olympic stadium. © Anne-Christine Pouloulat, AFP
A leap of 18.18 meters long for the Spaniard Diaz Fortun
The “Gimboshow” almost made us forget the very high level performances which had taken place earlier in the evening. In the triple jump, the competition was illuminated by the Spaniard Jordan Alejandro Diaz Fortun, victorious with a jump of 18.18 meters long which made him the third best performer in history, behind the British legend Jonathan Edwards and the American Christian Taylor.
The Frenchman Thomas Gogois was invited to the triple podium, in his first international championships as a senior, by smashing his personal best by more than fifty centimeters. He improved it from 16.87 m to 17.38 m, winning a bronze medal in the process.
In the 400m hurdles, world record holder, world champion and Olympic champion Karsten Warholm and reigning world champion Femke Bol assumed their status as ultra-favorites by unsurprisingly dominating their final. The latter impressed with ease. With disconcerting relaxation, she completed her lap of the track in 52.49 seconds, ahead of Frenchwoman Louise Maraval (54.23 sec) and Dutchwoman Cathelijn Peeters (54.37 sec) by almost two seconds.
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At the end of this day, the Frenchwoman Hélène Parisot shone in the 200 m by winning the bronze medal in this discipline, with a new personal best of 22 sec 63. The 31-year-old sprinter thus brought to the team of France the 13th medal of these European championships which end on Wednesday June 12.
With AFP
