Paris 2024 Olympics: Defending champion Tamberi likely to participate in final

Defending high jump champion, Italy’s Gianmarco Tamberi is likely to participate in the final of the event to defend his Olympic title on Saturday.

FILE PHOTO: Paris 2024 Olympics - Athletics - Men's High Jump Qualification - Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France - August 07, 2024. Gianmarco Tamberi of Italy reacts before a jump during the qualification round. REUTERS/Aleksandra Szmigiel/File Photo | Photo Credit: REUTERS

Defending high jump champion, Italy’s Gianmarco Tamberi is likely to participate in the final of the event to defend his Olympic title on Saturday.

Tamberi’s participation in the final was in doubt after the Italian experienced the same stabbing kidney pain that led him to visit the hospital days before the preliminary round.

The Italian Athletics Federation, in an official statement, gave an update on Tamberi.

“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,” the Federation statement read.

It further read, “Previously, FIDAL President Stefano Mei had updated on the health status of the jumper at the top: “ 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 ”. On social Tamberi he said he had a renal colic in the night.

The 32-year-old shared gold with Qatar’s Mutaz Barshim at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics but said he awoke at 5 am on Saturday experiencing “stabbing” pain from kidney colic -- acute pain in the kidney area caused by an obstruction -- that had bothered him a few days earlier.

Tamberi’s latest Instagram post confirmed his presence in the final. However, it is yet to be seen whether the Italian will be able to defend his title or not.

Earlier, Tamberi and Barshim both advanced to Saturday’s final but it was anything but smooth as the Italian had three fails at 2.27 metres while the Qatari cleared it only after lengthy treatment for an injury.

Three days earlier, Tamberi had posted a picture of himself in a hospital bed after being taken ill with kidney pain, which delayed his travel plans to France.

(With inputs from Reuters)