Judging by his athletic depth, his unchained exuberance and his ‘practice onerous, celebration onerous’ method to competing, Gianmarco Tamberi isn’t a person for half measures. And but his signature look when excessive leaping is a half-bearded, half-shaved face.
Apparently, there’s a methodology to the Italian showman’s insanity. His track-and-field look — GQ Journal as soon as ran an merchandise about his unconventional grooming habits titled “Don’t do that” — isn’t merely superstition. It’s a ritual that helps him enter ‘the zone’.
“In competitors, the one factor that could be a should for me is to have enjoyable and make the viewer have enjoyable,” he as soon as stated in an interview, explaining his facial-hair model. “When I’ve enjoyable, I chill out. That’s why I began with this half beard, half shave. And that grew to become in time a giant superstition. It additionally turns into a second for me, within the mirror, once I shave, I take into consideration the competitors, I take into consideration what I’ve to do. It turns into a giant second for me earlier than the competitors.”
Human spotlight reel: You’ll be able to’t take your eyes off Gianmarco Tamberi, whether or not it’s his flamboyant athleticism on the monitor or his humorous antics off it. Right here, he leaps over a Components 1 automobile earlier than the Italian GP in Monza.
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AP
When the magic occurs
This second of meditative introspection is the calm earlier than the storm. For when he’s in a stadium, he’s pushed by the feelings of the gang, each feeding it and feeding off it. “I like when I’ve the gang near me, I like this sharing of feelings,” he stated. “After I go to the stadium, that’s the place the magic occurs — the competitors begins, I’m an adrenaline man.”
This was in proof once more on the current World Championships in Budapest, the place the flamboyant 31-year-old, carrying one inexperienced sock and one crimson, claimed his first World title and leapt into the water hazard of the steeplechase in wild celebration with Morocco’s Soufiane El Bakkali, who had simply raced to gold within the males’s 3,000m steeplechase.
The triumph meant Tamberi now has a full assortment of excessive soar golds, having additionally captured the Olympic, World Indoor, European and Diamond League crowns.
His sharing of Olympic gold with good buddy and rival Mutaz Essa Barshim was some of the memorable, heart-warming moments from Tokyo, however after clearing a world-leading 2.36m in Budapest, the Italian stood alone, to the delight of the raucous Italian followers within the crowd, who chanted “Gimbo! Gimbo!” as he waved his lengthy arms in encouragement.
Now the reigning World and Olympic champion — titles that till August 22 have been owned by Barshim — Tamberi mirrored on chasing “the best jumper in historical past” for greater than a decade. “I do know that I competed towards loopy athletes, like Mutaz Barshim, he’s like a superhero for me,” Tamberi stated of the three-time World champion who additionally has the second-best soar ever: 2.43m, behind Cuban nice Javier Sotomayor (2.45 in 1993).
“It’s not straightforward to beat such an amazing expertise. I really feel like a human being who beats superheroes. I reside off these moments. My option to method the competitors is to be myself and to precise all of the feelings I’ve inside. Now realising my CV is lastly full, it’s simply superb.
“Earlier than the competitors, I went to my staff, my coaches and physio, and stated, ‘As we speak we’re not going for victory, in the present day we’re going for historical past’. I needed to write down historical past by successful gold in any respect the key competitions. I simply went for it. Loopy, indescribable. I’ve been rewarded for all of the sacrifices,” Tamberi stated after a contest during which six athletes cleared 2.33m.
The face that launched a thousand jumps: Tamberi’s signature half-bearded, half-shaved look throughout competitors is each a superstition and a ritual that helps him enter ‘the zone’.
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Getty Pictures
The following purpose
Joking that he might finish his profession now that he had received all the pieces at the least as soon as, Tamberi briefly acquired severe and introduced what his subsequent purpose was — nevertheless it got here with a caveat. “There is no such thing as a excessive jumper who received two Olympic golds so making historical past in Paris could be superb. I’ll work onerous, not now, however subsequent month. I need to go all in on this journey. However first, the celebration.”
Maybe Tamberi didn’t get better totally from the festivities of celebrating, for he might handle solely 2.28m and fourth ultimately week’s Diamond League meet in Zurich, which was received by Barshim (2.36) who was keen to enhance on his bronze at Budapest. However Tamberi was his traditional ebullient self, having enjoyable with Indian Olympic and World champion Neeraj Chopra throughout coaching in Zurich after which turning up on the Italian GP in Monza to leap over an F1 automobile!
Tamberi’s Worlds triumph was additionally affirmation for him that his resolution to alter coaches — dad Marco had been his coach till days earlier than final 12 months’s World Championships, when he switched to former Italian excessive jumper Giulio Ciotti — was working.
The transfer had raised questions final 12 months, and Tamberi referenced it whilst he made some extent of acknowledging all the pieces his father had performed for him. “Many had doubts concerning the change of coach, the gold can also be due to my father,” he stated.
Certainly, it was Marco, a former excessive jumper who reached the 1980 Moscow Video games remaining, who satisfied a younger Gianmarco to provide the self-discipline a shot. {The teenager} wasn’t eager and spent most of his time pursuing his ardour for basketball — his jaw-dropping dunks and drives to the rim in final 12 months’s NBA All-Star Celeb Recreation proved that that point wasn’t wasted.
However at 17, he received a national-level colleges occasion with out ever having skilled within the excessive soar and realised that maybe his father did have a case in any case. In addition to, Tamberi knew he would have bragging rights for all times when he finally surpassed his father’s finest.
“From 2009 to 2012, my solely purpose was to beat my father,” he stated. However he didn’t instantly recognise the second, for the one-upping soar got here on the 2012 Bressanone Italian Championships throughout which he cleared 2.31 for gold. When it dawned on him the following day, Tamberi recalled what was at stake. “I remembered he stated to me, ‘Once you beat me, I’ll give 100 euro’. I’m nonetheless ready for that, he by no means gave me.”
Brothers in arms: Tamberi and three-time World champion Mutaz Essa Barshim have constructed a robust, heat bond regardless of competing for lengthy soar’s largest prizes. At Tokyo final 12 months, they shared Olympic gold in an emotional, historic second.
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AFP
Associates, rivals, history-makers
The pursuit of Barshim has been each bit as fulfilling and considerably extra rewarding for Tamberi. The 2 males share a robust bond, having fun with the opposite’s successes whilst they compete for lengthy soar’s largest prizes. Paris 2024 might nicely be their final main showdown, the 32-year-old Barshim saying it will likely be his remaining Olympics.
Each males are trying ahead to the Video games, hoping to script a second that may add to their historic, emotional 2021 one, when Barshim uttered the immortal phrases, “Can we’ve got two golds?” after the 2 couldn’t be separated. For the primary time since 1912, an athletics Olympic gold was shared.
“Sharing with a buddy is much more lovely… it was simply magical,” stated Tamberi, whereas for Barshim it was “past sport”. They might by no means be capable to match the magnitude of what occurred that night time in Tokyo, however when you’ve a showman taking up a superhero, the chance of witnessing one thing really particular could be very excessive.
Tamberi can’t wait. “All the time assume you’ve an opportunity, go for it,” he stated, describing how he’ll method Paris. “By no means quit in your desires.”