They are friends and opponents. They were the protagonists of one of the greatest sporting moments: they shared the gold medal at the Olympic Games in Tokyo last summer. Gianmarco Tamberi and Mutaz Essa Barshim will renew their rivalry at the Golden Gala Pietro Mennea in Rome on 9 June. In the fifth meeting of the Wanda Diamond League, the Rome Olympic Stadium will welcome the two high jump stars, who perfectly personified the values of friendship and fair play, by sharing their triumph after clearing both 2.37m in the first attempt. A few months before the World Championships in Oregon, the Golden Gala will offer a new high-level clash between 2021 Diamond League champion Tamberi, who won the Zurich final with 2.34m last September, and Barshim, winner of the World Championship in London 2017 and Doha 2019.
Tamberi competed only once during the 2022 indoor season at the World Indoor Championships in Belgrade, where he won the bronze medal with 2.31m. On 9 June he will chase the first win of his career at the Golden Gala Pietro Mennea in front of his home fans after placing second in 2020, third in 2016 and 2021 (edition held in Florence with 2.33m), and fourth in 2019. The Italian high jumper, who will turn 30 on 1 June, just a few days before the Golden Gala, and cleared his PB of 2.39m in Monaco in 2016, will use the meeting in the Olympic Stadium as an important test in the build-up to the World Championships at the Hayward Field in Eugene, where he will chase the only international title which is still missing from his trophy cabinet after the Olympic gold medal, the world indoor title, the Diamond League win and the European Indoor and outdoor titles.
Rome recalls a good memory in Mutaz Essa Barshim, who cleared 2.41m (one of his best performances) in 2014 in a season crowned by his PB of 2.43m, which ranks him second in the world all-time list, just two cm off the world record held by Sotomayor. The 30-year-old jumper from Qatar returns to the Golden Gala one year after his fifth place in Florence with 2.30m, with the goal to achieve another win in the build-up to next July’s World Championships, when he will try to add another title to his fantastic collection: three Olympic medals in the last three editions (gold in Tokyo, silver in London and Rio) and three world outdoor and indoor titles.
