Italy’s Gianmarco Tamberi, the reigning Olympic high jump champion, is set to defend his title in the final on Saturday. Tamberi’s participation had been in doubt after he experienced a recurrence of kidney pain that had previously sent him to the hospital days before the preliminary round. However, the Italian Athletics Federation released a statement confirming that medical investigations revealed no absolute impediments to his participation in the final.
The Federation’s statement read, “The federal medical staff, following the investigations carried out by Gianmarco Tamberi in the early afternoon at a hospital in Paris, verified that there are no absolute impediments regarding the athlete’s participation in the Olympic final tonight.”
Earlier, FIDAL President Stefano Mei had stated, “He is undergoing investigations and we are waiting to understand how the situation evolves. The athlete’s will is to compete, but there is a need to make sure there is no risk.”
Tamberi himself revealed on social media that he had experienced renal colic during the night. The 32-year-old, who shared the gold medal with Qatar’s Mutaz Barshim at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, said he awoke at 5 am on Saturday with stabbing pain from kidney colic, which had previously troubled him a few days before. Tamberi’s latest Instagram post confirmed his presence in the final, but his ability to successfully defend his title remains uncertain.
The journey to the final wasn’t smooth sailing for Tamberi. He failed three times at 2.27 meters, while Barshim cleared the height after extensive treatment for an injury. This comes after Tamberi had been hospitalized three days prior with kidney pain, delaying his travel to France.
With his determination to compete unwavering, Tamberi’s performance in the final will be eagerly watched as he strives to maintain his Olympic high jump dominance.
