Italian high jumper Gianmarco Tamberi has publicly expressed his regret after losing his wedding ring during the 2024 Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony.
“I’m sorry my love, I’m so sorry,” Tamberi wrote in a heartfelt Instagram post on Saturday, July 27.
Tamberi, 32, who has been married to Chiara Bontempi Tamberi, 29, for nearly two years, explained that he lost the cherished ring in the Seine River while carrying Italy’s flag.
He speculated that the loss could be attributed to a combination of “too much water, too many kg lost in the past few months, or maybe the uncontrollable enthusiasm of what we were doing.”
Tamberi detailed his failed attempt to save the ring, describing how he watched it fall. “I saw it fly… I followed it with my eyes until I saw it bouncing inside the boat.
A Glimmer of Hope… But unfortunately, the bounce was in the wrong direction, and after floating in the air countless times, I saw it go into the water, as if that was the only place it wanted to be,” he recounted.
Despite the unfortunate incident, Tamberi chose to focus on the positive, noting that if he had to lose the ring, the “city of love” was the perfect place.
“It will stay forever in the riverbed of the city of love, lost while I tried to carry the Italian tricolor as high as possible during the opening ceremony of the most important sporting event in the world,” he continued. “If I had to invent an apology, I would never have been this imaginative.”
He concluded the post with a hopeful note, aspiring to return home with a gold medal to compensate for the loss. “I love you, my love. May it be auspicious to come home with even bigger gold!!!” he added.
Tamberi shared the news with a series of photos, starting with wedding pictures where he and Chiara display their wedding rings.
He also posted an image from the opening ceremony, showing him proudly waving Italy’s flag on the team’s boat, notably without his gold band.
The final image in the series appeared to be an AI-generated depiction of him reaching out for a falling golden ring. The 2024 Paris Olympics run through Sunday, August 11.
