For me, one of many true highlights of all the European Champs was Gianmarco Tamberi, who took the excessive bounce in grand fashion and entertained all of Italy for a number of hours. Tamberi is each an elite athlete and an entertainer, and PUMA is unquestionably getting its cash’s price.
Stuart Weir wrote this piece on the thrilling occasion on evening 5 of the 2024 European Champs.
The king of the excessive bounce delights the president.
Everybody stood and sang the nationwide anthem when the Italian president, Sergio Mattarella, arrived to observe the motion. I couldn’t perceive what the fuss was a couple of president when the King was already there and leaping. Jimbo (or Gianmarco, when you should) was in his component, clearing the bar and enthralling the gang in equal measure.
A few years on the Golden Gala I used to be sitting in a roadside café in Rome with a buddy who lives in Italy when Tamberi got here alongside, noticed me and came visiting to shake my hand. The buddy couldn’t consider that HE had come to our desk! It’s arduous to think about an athlete on the planet – since Bolt – who has such fame and status in his personal nation. The stadium tonight was lop-sided, with all of the seats on the excessive bounce finish full and the opposite finish fairly empty. It virtually appeared mistaken that 10K runners had been allowed to be racing when he was leaping. A gripping 10K race virtually appeared a distraction to the Tamberi present.
Coming into the occasion, Gimbo was below strain. His season’s finest was simply 2.21, the bottom among the many 13 finalists. He handed at 2.17 – the one one to take action – then opened his account at 2.22, rapturous applause from the gang answered with a bow from Tamberi. This was an elite sport, nevertheless it was additionally pure theatre. Failure at 2.26 – the gang held its breath. These pesky 10k runners continued to interrupt the present.
The second try at 2.26 was profitable; solely 5 jumpers had been nonetheless going. Then, within the disaster, Tamberi had two failures at 2.29, with Vladyslav Lavskyy (Ukraine) already clear. Tamberi obtained it with the third try. Solely Jimbo and Lavskyy had been left, and Ukrainian was forward on countback. Tamberi sailed over 2.31 to wrest the initiative. When Lavskyy couldn’t add to his finest mark of two.29, Italy had one other gold medal. Tamberi nonetheless had a crowd to entertain and a championship report to interrupt. He cleared 2.37 and retired.
He summed up his night’s work: “I knew I used to be in very good form, and I proved it. I didn’t wish to be outdone by my teammates, who had been doing nice issues, and I made it. I knew I had skilled nicely, and I used to be in extraordinary type. Yesterday, I even wrote to Jannick Sinner to attempt to deliver him to the stadium. I needed to make this evening much more magical. I needed him to grasp the feelings that athletics can deliver. I needed to do nice issues in entrance of the President of the Italian Republic, who honored us together with his presence. On Thursday, I’ll see him once more to obtain the flag I’ll carry in Paris for the opening ceremony. I used to be a bit shaky at 2.29 meters, however then the present started. I pretended to be injured and hid springs in my footwear. I feel some folks fell for it. I did nice issues: now it’s time for the Olympics”.
