Tamberi announces surprise return at Diamond League after 299 days
Italian high jump champion Gianmarco Tamberi will make a surprise return to competition at the Diamond League meeting in Monte Carlo on July 10, ending a 299-day absence.
The announcement
Tamberi posted a video on Instagram from the Stade Louis II, with the caption "I'm coming for my revenge." Earlier, he shared a training clip with the message "You can make me fall, but you'll never stop me." The 2020 Olympic champion has not competed since the World Championships in Tokyo last year, where he failed to advance from qualification.
I'm coming for my revenge.
You can make me fall, but you'll never stop me.
A symbolic venue
Monte Carlo holds deep significance for Tamberi. In July 2016, he set the Italian record of 2.39 metres at the same stadium, only to suffer a severe ankle injury weeks before the Rio Olympics. Five years later, on 1 August 2021, he won Olympic gold in Tokyo, sharing the podium with Mutaz Barshim.
- Sets Italian record of 2.39m at Monte Carlo, then suffers ankle injury that rules him out of Rio Olympics.
- Wins Olympic gold in Tokyo, sharing the podium with Mutaz Barshim.
- Last competes at World Championships in Tokyo, failing to advance from qualifications.
- Returns to competition at Diamond League meeting in Monte Carlo after 299 days.
The competition field
Tamberi will face a strong field, including his friend and rival Barshim, rising Italian star Matteo Sioli (winner of two Diamond League meets this season), indoor world champion Oleh Doroshchuk of Ukraine, American JuVaughn Harrison, Jamaican Romaine Beckford, Germany's Tobias Potye, and Czech Jan Stefela.
Road to the European Championships
The Monte Carlo meet serves as a key preparation step for the European Championships in Birmingham, scheduled from 10 to 16 August. Tamberi has won the European title three times (Amsterdam 2016, Munich 2022, Rome 2024). Other Italian athletes competing in Monaco include long jump world champion Mattia Furlani, returning from injury, and triple jumper Dariya Derkach. Sprinters Marcell Jacobs and Nadia Battocletti have withdrawn.
