Italian High Jumper Gianmarco Tamberi Finishes Second-to-Last in His Event After Leaving Hospital to Compete

Mar. 15, 2025

Gianmarco Tamberi on Aug. 10.Photo:Al Bello/Getty Images

Al Bello/Getty Images

Italian athleteGianmarco Tamberiwas hoping 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, Aug. 10 when he competed in the high jump final at the Paris Olympics, just hours aftertelling his Instagram followersthat he’d been rushed to the emergency room after twice vomiting blood.

Though he was determined to compete, Tamberi fell short of his gold medal goals, finishing in a second-to-last 11th place with 2.22 meters. Winner Hamish Kerr of New Zealand cleared 2.36.

Gianmarco Tamberi at the high jump final on Aug. 10.Al Bello/Getty Images

On the morning of his competition, Tamberi wrote on Instagram that he’d been rushed to the emergency room after dealing with renal issues and suspected kidney stones for more than 10 hours.

“The pain I have felt since this morning, however strong, is nothing compared to what I am feeling inside. Even what was my last certainty is about to vanish…” he wrote in the post, which included a photo of him inside an ambulance with an IV in his arm.

Tamberi wrote that he had vomited blood twice, and would be undergoing tests to find a cause of his illness.

“I dreamed of everything for this day except living a nightmare like this…😔,” he concluded his post.

Silvia Lore/Getty; Gianmarco Tamberi/Instagram

Then, hours before he was set to compete at Stade de France, heshared a selfiethat appeared to be taken on public transportation, with the caption, “I Will be there! 😡😡😡😡😡😡.”

Tamberi had previously called the high jump the “race of my life,” and had expressed excitement at the chance to defend his title.

“Tomorrow at 7pm, the race of my life,” he wrote in a post to his more than 1 million followers. “All for one day ….Everything for this moment,” he wrote on Instagram. “A little more than 24h to the one I wish with all my heart I will remember for the rest of my life as one of the best nights ever!”

source: people.com