Gianmarco Tamberi has been hospitalized just days before the high jump qualification at the 2024 Paris Olympics. [PC: Getty, Instagram]

"Lying in a bed, helpless" - Gianmarco Tamberi hospitalized days before high jump title defense at Paris Olympics 2024

Modified Aug 04, 2024 20:41 GMT

Olympic champion Gianmarco Tamberi has found himself hospitalized just days before his event at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

The men's high jump was one of the most talked about events at the 2020 Tokyo Games, as Mutaz Essa Barshim and Tamberi shared the gold medal. The two were level round after round, which meant a "jump-off" was needed to pick the winner. However, Barshim and Tamberi decided to share the gold rather than fight each other, a moment that has since been etched in Olympic history.

Just three days before his title defense, a suspected kidney problem has seen Tamberi get admitted for medical assistance. He took to social media to share the news with his fans.

"Yesterday, 2 hours after writing "I deserve it" on social media, I noticed a throwing fight at one side. ER, TAC, ultrasound, blood work....Probable kidney stone," he wrote.

"And now I find myself, 3 days before the race for which I sacrificed everything, lying in a bed, helpless, with 38.8 fever. All I can do is wait and pray. I don’t deserve all this, I did everything for this Olympics, everything. I really dont deserve it," he added.

Gianmarco Tamberi has had an unlucky time in Paris Olympics so far

Gianmarco Tamberi at the 26th European Athletics Championships in Rome (IMAGE: GETTY)

Gianmarco Tamberi's 2024 Paris Olympics journey got off to a difficult start, as the Italian lost his wedding ring in the Seine River during the athlete’s parade at the opening ceremony.

Tamberi later took to social media to apologize to his wife, Chiara Bontempi Tamberi, and even wrote a heartfelt message about love.

“Too much water, too many kilos lost in the past few months, or maybe the uncontrollable enthusiasm of what we were doing. Probably all three things, the fact remains that I felt (the ring) slip away, I saw it fly … I followed (it) with a glance until I saw (it) bouncing inside the boat,” he said in a post on Instagram.

“It will stay forever in the riverbed of the city of love, flown away while I tried to carry the Italian tricolor as high as possible during the opening ceremony of the most important sport evening in the world. If I had to invent an apology, I would never have been this imaginative. May it be a good omen to return home with an even bigger gold!” he added.

Tamberi will be hoping to put the bad luck behind him and recover in time for the high jump qualifying round, which is set to take place on Wednesday, August 7. The final is scheduled for Sunday.