Italian Olympic high jump champion Tamberi admitted to hospital

DOHA : Gianmarco Tamberi’s defense of the high jump gold medal he shared in one of the most iconic moments of the Tokyo Olympics is under threat after he was taken to hospital with suspected kidney problems, just four days before the qualifying event. Three years ago, Tamberi and Mutaz Barshim , who had been friends and rivals for years, agreed to share gold after asking permission from the event officials.

On Sunday, the Italian athlete posted a picture of himself in a hospital bed on social media. “Unbelievable… This can’t be true,” he lamented. “Yesterday, two hours after I wrote ‘I deserve it’ on social media, I felt a stabbing pain in my side. Emergency room, CT scan, ultrasound, blood test. Probable kidney stone. And now I find myself, three days before the event for which I sacrificed everything, lying in a bed, helpless, with a fever of 38.8.”

Tamberi’s unexpected health crisis has cast a shadow over his chances of competing in the upcoming qualifying competition, scheduled for Wednesday, with the final on Sunday. His rival and friend Barshim has also faced injury problems recently, further complicating the prospect of either man making history by becoming the first to win two Olympic golds in the high jump event, which has been a part of the Olympics since 1896.