Italian high jumper wins European gold and has greatest celebration ever

Olympic high jump champion Gianmarco Tamberi of Italy is track and field’s greatest showman. On Tuesday night, Tamberi won gold for his country on home soil at the 2024 European Championships in Rome, celebrating his winning jump of 2.37 metres with a theatrical twist: faking an injury and then pulling springs out of his spikes.

The greatest showman in athletics! 🕺

Gianmarco Tamberi soars over a championship record of 2⃣.3⃣7⃣m at home in #Roma2024! 🇮🇹🥇🇮🇹🥇#IgniteTheFire pic.twitter.com/mzfNyUACum

— European Athletics (@EuroAthletics) June 11, 2024

Tamberi’s antics captivated the crowd. After his gold-medal-winning jump, he grabbed his foot, rolled around on the ground, and dramatically removed his Puma spike to reveal the springs inside his shoe. To be clear, the springs in the shoe would only hinder his performance and be extremely uncomfortable, adding a hilarious/impressive touch to his celebration.

This marks Tamberi’s third European gold medal in the high jump, adding to his victories in 2022 and 2016. At the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, he shared the gold medal with Qatar’s Mutaz Barshim, a historic first for the high jump event.

What an entrance for Gianmarco Tamberi 🇮🇹 in #Roma2024! 😍

And the reigning champion goes clear on his second attempt at 2.26m in the high jump final.#IgniteTheFire pic.twitter.com/b6dKqR5iH2

— European Athletics (@EuroAthletics) June 11, 2024

Currently the top-ranked high jumper in the world and the reigning world champion, Tamberi loves to play to the crowd, using their energy to gain an edge over his competitors. At the 2023 World Championships in Budapest, he conducted the crowd like a symphony orchestra, building momentum to clear 2.36 metres for gold.

The 34-year-old is one of Italy’s most popular sports figures, boasting nearly 800,000 followers on Instagram. He has already been selected as the country’s flag bearer for the 2024 Paris Olympics, where he aims to defend his Olympic title.