Italian Olympian Apologizes to Wife for Losing Wedding Ring During Opening Ceremony
Italian high jumper Gianmarco Tamberi is letting his wife — and the world — know just how bad he feels about losing his wedding ring during the 2024 Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony.
“I’m sorry my love, I’m so sorry,” Tamberi began the lengthy caption via Instagram on Saturday, July 27.
Tamberi, 32, who's been married to Chiara Bontempi Temberi, 29, for nearly two years, went on to explain that he lost the precious piece of jewelry in Paris’ Seine River while carrying Italy’s flag, and speculated as to how it could have happened.
"Too much water, too many kg lost in the past few months or maybe the uncontrollable enthusiasm of what we were doing. Probably all three things,” he wrote.
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Tamberi elaborated that he attempted to save his wedding ring from sinking in the river but unfortunately failed.
“I saw it fly ... I followed her with a glance until I saw her bouncing inside the boat. A Glimmer of Hope ... But unfortunately the bounce was in the wrong direction and floating more than a thousand times in the air I saw her dive into the water like that was the only place she wanted to be,” he revealed.
Despite the mishap, Tamberi chose to look on the bright side, noting that of all the places to lose his ring he “couldn't imagine a better place.”
“It will stay forever in the riverbed of the city of love, flown away 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.”
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Tamberi ended the post with aspirations to bring home a gold medal to make up for the loss.
“I love you my love ?? May it be auspicious to come home with even bigger gold!!!” he added.
Tamberi broke the news with a series of photos, starting with images from his wedding to Chiara, where he is seen kissing her on the cheek and the couple is showcasing their wedding rings. He also posted a picture from the opening ceremony, capturing the moment he proudly waved Italy's flag on the team’s boat, noticeably missing his gold band. The last image in the series seemed to be an AI-generated picture of him reaching out for a falling golden ring.
The 2024 Paris Olympics run through Sunday, August 11.
