Italy’s Olympian high jumper, the always-unpredictable Gianmarco Tamberi, must’ve seen his (marital) life flash before his eyes, as his wedding ring flew off his finger and vanished into the Seine River during the Games’ opening ceremony in Paris.
“I’m sorry my love, I’m really, really sorry,” Tamberi wrote in an open letter of apology he posted on Instagram on Saturday to his wife of two years, Chiara Bontempi.
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“Too much water, too many kilograms lost over the last few months and maybe the uncontrollable enthusiasm of what we were doing. Probably all three things,” added Tamberi, who shared flag-bearing duties for Italy with fencer Arianna Errigo during Friday’s ceremony, which featured boats parading athletes instead of the usual procession inside a stadium.
Last month, Tamberi pretended to hide springs in his shoes when he won gold at the European Championships then jumped into the arms of Italy President Sergio Mattarella.
And when he shared gold in the high jump with his good friend Mutaz Barshim at the 2020 Tokyo Games, Tamberi celebrated exuberantly..
He was only the second athlete in Team Italy’s history to achieve the feat.
While Tamberi looks to take home a medal again, he views the wedding ring mishap as a good omen, writing: “It will forever remain in the river bed of the city of love. May it be a good omen to return home with greater gold.”
Fortunately, for the Oympian, his wife has agreed to forgive him.
The men’s high jump starts with the qualifying round on Aug. 7 and concludes with the final on Aug. 10.
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