Tamberi at the Olympic Preparation Centre in Formia dreaming of a second Olympic gold medal: “Changes stimulate me. I will try to make history"

Gianmarco Tamberi is revving up his engines ahead of a dazzling outdoor season that will culminate at the World Championships in Budapest. The reigning Olympic high jump champion is at the Olympic Preparation Centre in Formia for biomechanical tests with CONI’s Institute of Sports Medicine and Science.

The 30-year-old from Civitanova Marche underwent a 3D kinematic analysis of the high jump aimed at assessing aspects of the technique not immediately visible to the naked eye. The discipline comprises three different movements that are extremely complex and interlinked: the acceleration phase, turn and take-off. It is a sport in which it is particularly important to work on execution of the technique. The Institute has been using the 3D kinematic analysis of the high jump since before the Rio 2016 Olympic Games and, using the information gathered, has created a data archive that makes it possible to assess the athletes' evolution and development.

“I feel great. Really good", says the Tokyo 2020 gold medallist. “I went through a complicated period with a knee issue and other minor issues that I had been carrying for the last few seasons, but thanks to my team I have put it all behind me and now I am very motivated.” Next, he turns to the tests at Formia: “I do them often, at least three or four times a year. They help me a lot to understand where we are at, the times on the ground, the times in the air, the take-off angles, to see what my best jumps look like. I’m very satisfied: I started jumping again a month ago and I can already see things shaping up nicely. In many areas, things seem to be very good technically".

“Gimbo” is preparing for the outdoor competitions with his new coach Giulio Ciotti and physical trainer Michele Palloni: “I get on very well with them. We are a team in tune, very motivated. There is a lot of dialogue between us. We are aiming high. The season’s goals? All that’s missing is gold at the World Championships, that would be the icing on the cake. At the age of 30, the changes are really pushing me on. I’ve got belief. I’ve really got a lot of belief and I am working to try to win that medal. I will face very competitive opponents, I will do my best to make things hard for them". 

Looking even further ahead, thoughts inevitably turn to next year’s main event, not least because Tamberi has already declared that Paris 2024 will be his last Olympics: “I can't wait to be there. I want to live out this remaining year and a half with all the energy I have, to put everything into it and not regret anything. I know I am still strong, I am not going to go to Los Angeles 2028 just to limp over the line. From the World Championships in Budapest in August to the European Championships in Rome 2024 and the Olympics I want to give everything. No jumper has ever managed to win gold twice in a row at the Olympic Games: it would be nice to go down in history".