By ANDREW DAMPF
PARIS (AP) — Drama is never far from the surface when it comes to flamboyant high jumper Gianmarco Tamberi and big events.
This time it involved what went below the surface.
The Italian lost his wedding ring in the Seine River during the rainy opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics.
“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.
“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 with his good friend Mutaz Barshim at the Tokyo Games, Tamberi celebrated wildly, which drew more attention than his performance.
Tamberi, along with Errigo, had the honor of flying to Paris on the presidential plane with Mattarella, which he called “the most emotional flight of my life” — a play on words with his jumping “flights.”
Tamberi said he felt the ring sliding off his finger and saw it dropping as Italy cruised down the Seine on a boat with Israel and Jamaica.
“I followed it until I saw it bounce inside the boat,” he said. “But the rebound went in the wrong direction unfortunately. … But if it had to happen, if I really had to lose this ring, I couldn’t imagine a better place. It will remain forever on the riverbed in the City of Love.”
Tamberi is favored to win another gold when the men’s high jump competition starts Aug. 7.
“Hopefully this is a sign that I’ll come home with an ever bigger gold medal,” he said.
Tamberi invited his wife to throw her ring into the Seine, too.
“Then they’ll be together forever,” Tamber said, “and we’ll have another reason to renew our vows.”
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AP Summer Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games