How Barshim helped Tamberi ‘live again’

Italian high jumper Gianmarco Tamberi has written of how his Qatariworld champion friend Mutaz Barshim’s advice and counselling helped himthrough a crisis of confidence after he suffered a career-threateninginjury almost two years ago.Tamberi had a dream start in 2016, winning the gold medal at the WorldIndoor Championships in Portland in March before breaking his ankle atthe Monaco Diamond League meeting in July.He spent a year recovering and building his strength before making acomeback in June 2017 at the Ostrava Golden Spike event in the CzechRepublic.Tamberi, a bit of a showman, often turning up at events with half hisbeard shaved off, was happy with his seventh position at Ostrava but hisconfidence nosedived just a week later when he failed to clear hisopening height at the Paris Diamond League meeting.“I remember, I went from Ostrava to Paris, and I did badly in Paris,really awful. I couldn’t clear my opening height. I was feelingfrustrated, because I didn’t know whether I’d ever get back to the shapeI was in in 2016,” Tamberi wrote in a column for the IAAF website underthe headline ‘My Friend Mutaz’.“You’re jumping, but you’re not jumping-jumping. You’re diving into themat. And in that first Diamond League it was very frustrating. Otherjumpers would come to me afterwards, but I didn’t want to talk tonobody. I went directly to my room,” Tamberi wrote.“The day after, Mutaz started knocking on my room and he wouldn’t goaway. First I just wanted him to leave. He persisted and was shouting:‘Gimbo. Gimbo, please I want to talk to you.’ So I gave in and let himin.“We talked. I cried in front of him. He tried to calm me down, and told me what he had to say.”According to Tamberi, Barshim told him not to “rush it”.“You had a big injury, you’re already back in the Diamond League. No oneexpected that. But now you need to take your time, don’t expect toomuch too early from yourself. Just see what happens,” Barshim told hisItalian counterpart.According to Tamberi, Barshim made him realise that he had nothing to prove to anybody, except himself.“The most important thing he helped me realise was that I had to do it for myself, not for others,” said Tamberi.“Over the last few years I received a lot of support from people. Idon’t know why, but so many people I would meet in the street would put ahand on my shoulder, or give me a hug and tell me they knew I’d be backand that they believe in me,” the 25-year-old wrote.“So I started the season thinking I am doing it for them and not for me.I was putting pressure on myself, felt like I have to jump for thepeople that helped me. “And that’s what Mutaz told me: you don’t jump for them, you have tojump for yourself. For you. He said: ‘You do a lot. I know you workhard. You work every day, every morning and afternoon in the swimmingpool, with an elastic, all year. But it’s not an easy thing to come backfrom an injury like that. Just do it for yourself, in your own time.’”Barshim won the competition in Paris and although Tamberi ended up rightat the bottom, the Qatari’s advice helped him boost his confidence.Tamberi then entered an event in Budapest, requesting the meetingdirector to allow him to compete and keep his inclusion a secret.“I went to Budapest and I did a great competition. Nobody knew I wasthere, because I didn’t want to jump for anyone. I wanted to jump formyself. “I was there, just me, concentrating and I jumped 2.28m. It was my bestcompetition of the year until then. I had jumped 2.21m, 2.20m, a noheight, and there I jumped 2.28m. Something inside me changed, there Ireally started to live again. I was a high jumper again.”