«I have deep respect for rules and opponents, always. But on the floor I want to be free. Free to dance, free to dive into the stands, to play the drums like in Budapest or to drive the crowd crazy with a lap of the track before instead of after the race. Does anyone turn up their nose? It does not matter. I will always use every legitimate means to charge myself up and jump a millimeter higher.”
On Tuesday evening Gianmarco Tamberi enchanted Rome with a performance that the French sports newspaper l’Equipe defined as “a formidable performance as a clown, as a high-school gladiator with moments of almost religious intensity and depth”.
Gimbo, you took the Olimpico and turned it inside out.
«For years I have been haunted by a nightmare: jumping into an empty stadium. When I looked out and saw that the Curva Sud was full of fans, my heart exploded with joy. I thought: I’ll drive you crazy tonight.”
Going crazy and shaking: the two nulls at 2.29 that could have closed his race with an incredible joke, the liberation at 2.31, the fake injury at 2.34, the spacey 2.37 and then the gag of the springs coming out of the shoe.
«When I landed on the bags after the third attempt I had a moment of panic: what if the bar falls? It couldn’t fall: I was programmed to jump 2.34 and I knew I was worth 2.37. The bar should have remained high and it remained high.”
And the fake injury?
«A prepared gag, a tribute to the public. Even my wife fell for it and she told me to go to hell. I exaggerated? I have suffered very serious injuries, if I can joke about it it’s because I overcame them. It’s a message for those who are sick.”
Drums like Valentino Rossi.
“Valentino is an unsurpassed model, an idol: he won by having fun, entertaining and making fun of himself and if he was misinterpreted he didn’t care.”
How did he achieve this crazy confidence in himself?
«It was a wonderful winter: I worked with enormous sacrifices but without any problems. This has never happened to me in 12 years and this gives me enormous confidence.”
She is impressively thin.
«I weigh 75 kilos, one less than Tokyo. I have controlled myself a lot with food even in the two winter months, I don’t want any drools. I put athletics in the very first place, the result before everything with total sacrifices. I will only be happy if I win the Olympics.”
Don’t you risk pulling the strings too much?
«It’s a risk. But now I know how to read my body: at the slightest sign of difficulty I slow down and reintegrate.”
It’s a bit obsessive behavior.
«It is: the gold medal in Paris is an obsession, not a goal. For months I have been thinking and working only for her: I have filled the furniture in my house with miniature Eiffel Towers. If someone jumps higher than me I will shake their hand and compliment them. But the only thing that will make me happy that day is winning. There is obsession and obsession, however.”
Explain.
«In Tokyo I was obsessed with victory because in the previous five years I had not achieved any of my dreams, only suffering from very serious injuries. That was a heavy and painful obsession, this is joyful and positive.”
The presence of Sergio Mattarella and the embrace with the president were unprecedented.
“The fact that such a busy man found three hours for us was a wonderful gift.”
Today she will receive at the Quirinale, together with Arianna Errigo, the tricolor which she will parade in the opening ceremony of the Paris Games.
«It is the tricolor of an extraordinary team that I limit myself to representing. I worked a lot on the speech before focusing on the European Championships.”
There are 58 days left until the Alto final. What approach path do you have in mind?
«I will work hard with my staff and especially on the eleven steps of the new run-up which I have to improve a lot. On Tuesday I started very badly, the subsequent jumps were more natural: I struggle to break away and run well when I’m too far below the bar.”
And the races?
«On July 9th I will compete in Hungary, on the 12th in Monte Carlo to exorcise the 2016 injury. And then… something special».
Which?
«Shortly before leaving I will compete in Ancona, in front of my people. I want to look everyone in the eyes and take on their love to bring it to the stage in Paris.”
