By Lucy Clarke-Billings, BBC News
Gianmarco Tamberi of Team Italy celebrating his wife Chiara Bontempi after winning the gold medal in the Men's High Jump Final during day five of the 26th European Athletics Championships at Stadio Olimpico in Rome, Italy, on 11 June, 2024. Photo: Massimo Valicchia / NurPhoto / NurPhoto via AFP
Italian high jumper Gianmarco Tamberi has issued a grovelling apology to his wife after losing his wedding ring during the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics.
The 32-year-old world champion was flag-waving for Italy, as the boat carrying its athletes sailed down the River Seine, when the ring slipped off his finger.
"I'm sorry my love, I'm so sorry," he wrote on Instagram in a post dedicated to his wife, Chiara Bontempi Tamberi.
The athlete blamed "losing too many kilos" and "irrepressible enthusiasm" for the mishap.
"If it had to happen, if I had to lose this ring, I couldn't imagine a better place," he wrote, claiming the ring will now "remain forever in the riverbed of the city of love".
He called the bad luck "poetic" and suggested they throw Chiara's ring in the river too.
"[Then] they will be together forever and we will have one more excuse to renew our vows and marry again," he said.
"Only you could turn this into something romantic," Chiara wrote under her husband's apology.
The pair have been married since September 2022.
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Flagbearers Arianna Errigo and Gianmarco Tamberi of Italy take a selfie aboard a boat in the floating parade on the river Seine during the opening ceremony. Photo: AFP / NIR ELIAS
Tamberi was waving Italy's flag alongside three-time Olympic medal winner Arianna Errigo when the ring fell off, bounced off the boat and disappeared into the river.
He described it as "a few moments that lasted forever".
Tamberi previously hit the headlines at the Tokyo 2020 Games after he shared the high jump gold medal with Qatar's Mutaz Essa Barshim. Both opted not to go beyond the 2.37m bar they had cleared.
He has also gained attention for sporting a half-shaven beard during competitions since 2011 as his "trademark" style.
- BBC
