One of the 2024 Paris Olympics most iconic stars had his ability to defend his gold medal thrown up in the air after being rushed to hospital.
Italy's Gianmarco Tamberi was this week hospitalised with suspected kidney stones, threatening his place in the Paris Games.
Back in the Tokyo Games, 32-year-old Tamberi won gold in the men's high jump. It was a significant event with joint winners after Qatar's Mutaz Essa Barshim also secured gold after they both jumped the same height.
Tamberi also became the (quite literal) face of the Tokyo Games, which were delayed until 2021 due to the Covid pandemic, after shaving off half his beard as a good luck charm.
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It's something he's sported since the 2016 Rio Olympics where, sadly, his games ended due to injury.
Taking to Instagram this week, Tamberi revealed he was hospitalised with a 'stabbing pain' where he was left 'lying in bed, helpless'.
"Unbelievable... this can't be true. Yesterday, two hours after writing 'I deserve it' on social media, I noticed a stabbing pain in my side," Tamberi wrote.
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"Emergency room, CT scan, ultrasound, blood work. Probable kidney stone.
"And now I find myself, three days after the race for which I sacrificed everything, lying in a bed, helpless, with 38.8 fever.
"I was supposed to be leaving for Paris today to begin my journey toward this big dream, and instead I’ve been advised to postpone the flight until tomorrow in the hopes that with some rest this nightmare will be over.
"All I can do is wait and pray. I don’t deserve all this, I did everything for this Olympics, everything. I really don't deserve it.
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"One thing is certain, I don't know how I'll get there, but I'll be on that plateau and I'll give my soul until my last jump, whatever my condition is. I swear to you but even before I swear to myself."
Tamberi has since updated fans on his condition, with time not on his side. Qualification for the men's high jump takes place on Wednesday morning (7 August), with the best athletes then making it through to the final on Saturday evening (10 August).
His first hint that things are on the way came via his Instagram Stories, which showed Tamberi discharged from hospital.
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He was now in a plane and on a runway on Monday; an image posted alongside a praying emoji.
Local Italian press report that he set off from Fiumicino on a 4.30pm flight with Ita Airways, taking photos with fans before boarding the plane.
Landing in Paris, he told local press: "How am I? I was feeling better a few days ago. This morning I woke up with a fever of 38, now with the pharmacological treatment it seems to be going down.
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"My kidney no longer hurts like two days ago, when I felt a really excruciating pain, even if I still have a bit of discomfort. Let's hope for the best.
"I thank everyone for the support and affection received on social media in recent days – he added – It went beyond expectations, I will do everything to deserve it."
Posting to Instagram on the morning of the high jump qualifications, Tamberi posted images of his banner that'll be pinned to his uniform alongside a picture of a thermometer, showing his body temperature was back to a normal level at 36.3 degrees Celsius.
In a fresh post on Instagram, Tamberi wrote that it will be the 'hardest race of my entire life'.
"Now it’s not about how I’m doing, it’s about what I’m capable of doing," he said.
"I will fight with all of me. Of course, the work done up to three days ago cannot vanish in to nothing. I’ve always said that the heart and the head make the difference, now it’s simply time to prove it."
Topics: Health, Instagram, Olympics, Social Media, Sport, World News
Tom Earnshaw