An Olympic gold medallist faced a medical emergency after vomiting blood but still managed to participate in the men’s high jump finals.
Gianmarco Tamberi, who clinched gold at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, aimed to repeat his success at the Paris Olympics.
The Italian athlete encountered numerous challenges just before his opportunity to defend his title.
Earlier this week, Tamberi was taken to the hospital with suspected kidney stones, putting his participation in the Paris Games in jeopardy.
Even before arriving in Paris, it seemed that Tamberi’s Olympic journey might be over before it began.
On Instagram, he detailed his severe health issues and struggles to his followers.
“Unbelievable… this can’t be true. Yesterday, two hours after writing ‘I deserve it’ on social media, I noticed a stabbing pain in my side,” Tamberi wrote.
“Emergency room, CT scan, ultrasound, blood work. Probable kidney stone.
“And now I find myself, three days after the race for which I sacrificed everything, lying in a bed, helpless, with 38.8 fever.
“I was supposed to be leaving for Paris today to begin my journey toward this big dream, and instead I’ve been advised to postpone the flight until tomorrow in the hopes that with some rest this nightmare will be over.
“All I can do is wait and pray.”
After delaying his travel plans as much as possible, Tamberi managed to reach Paris following slight improvements in his condition.
However, upon arriving in the French capital, he was once again rushed to the hospital. Paramedics assessed the athlete, who was dealing with acute renal colic and vomiting blood.
Writing on Instagram, he said: “It’s been 10 hours and the renal colic still hasn’t gone away.
“Even what was my last certainty (of competing) is about to vanish. I was just taken to the emergency room by ambulance after vomiting blood twice. I’ll update you all.
“I dreamed for this day except living a nightmare like this.”
Miraculously, on August 10, Tamberi was able to compete, despite earlier stating it was ‘all over’ and indicating he would withdraw.
He even managed to clear the 2.22m jump, earning heartfelt cheers from the audience.
Unfortunately, his compromised health led to his elimination from medal contention after the second jump at 2.27m.
Understandably, Tamberi was emotional about his performance. However, on social media, he gained admiration for competing despite his significant health issues.