"Most people never say how much we are proud of our mother": Gianmarco Tamberi on "intense" picture with his mother at World Championships in Budapest

Olympic and World champion Gianmarco Tamberi has stated that the intense picture of him with his mother defined the relationship between mother and son. Moreover, he chose the photograph as his favorite image from all the pictures captured during the World Athletics Championships 2023.

The picture was taken immediately after Tamberi won the gold medal at the World Athletics Championships 2023 that was hosted by Budapest, Hungary.

In the image, Tamberi’s mother is seen hugging him with her arms wrapped around her son’s neck. Tamberi is seen holding her mom’s arms, with a relieved smile on his face.

In an interview with World Athletics, Gianmarco Tamberi talked about the emotions related to the picture captured by photographer, Marton Mohos:

“I think most of the people never say to a mother what they really think about them, how much we are proud of our mother, how much we love them. We never say anything about these things because we are too shy to say what we really think, what we really feel about our mother.”

He further added:

“But when it happened to live these moments like winning a gold medal in the World Championship, when you're there with your mother, you can feel with the hug with just one moment, one second, all these feelings come out. And this picture, I think, represents it all.”

Tamberi stated that many people often hold back from expressing their emotions to their mothers, especially due to shyness, even though they hold deep love and pride for them. However, unspoken feelings like these become evident in instances like winning a gold medal at the World Championships, especially in the presence of their mother.

Tamberi also mentioned that the picture depicted the love of a mother for his son. It showed the mother had witnessed the hardships and sacrifices the son had made to reach that level of success. Therefore, the image of him with his mother holds huge significance to him.

At the World Championships 2023 in Budapest, Gianmarco defeated the USA's JuVaughn Harrison on a countback, after both had cleared the same height of 2.36 meters, to win the men’s high jump title.

Previously, Gianmarco had made the headlines when he won the gold at the Tokyo Olympics after tying with Mutaz Essa Barshim. The medal was then shared by the two athletes.

Gianmarco Tamberi is known for his half-beard face

Gianmarco Tamberi is known for his half-beard face (Getty Images)

Italian high jumper Gianmarco Tamberi is not only famous for his skills in his discipline but also for his half beard/half-shaven face among athletics fans. In an interview during the Sainsbury's Anniversary Games, he stated he kept it that way to "entertain the crowd".

Tamberi is known to keep the beard full during qualification rounds, while he shaves it half after reaching the final during major international events.