Olympic champion apologises to wife after losing wedding ring in River Seine during opening ceremony

Olympic star Gianmarco Tamberi has offered his sincere apologies to his wife after losing his wedding ring in the Seine during the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics.

The 32-year-old world champion was one of two flag bearers for Italy when his ring slipped from his finger and fell into the water as his boat sailed along the Seine during the ceremony.

“I’m sorry, my love,” Tamberi wrote to his wife Chiara on Instagram.

‘Too much water, lost too many pounds in the past months or maybe the uncontrollable enthusiasm for what we were doing. Probably all three.’

Tamberi said he saw the ring bounce off the boat and then disappear.

“A glimmer of hope… but unfortunately the ball bounced the wrong way and floated through the air more than a thousand times,” Tamberi wrote.

“I saw her dive into the water like that was the only place she wanted to be. A few moments that lasted an eternity.”

Tamberi tried to make the best of the bad situation and said he “couldn’t imagine a better place” to lose his ring.

The high jumper was waving a flag for Italy when the ring slipped off his finger

“It will remain forever in the riverbed of the city of love, having flown away while I was trying to keep the Italian tricolour as high as possible during the opening ceremony of the most important sporting event in the world,” he said.

‘If I had to make an excuse, I would never have been so creative.

‘I think there is a great poetic side to yesterday’s crime, and if you like, we’ll throw yours in the river too, so they’ll be together forever. And then we’ll have an excuse, as you’ve always asked, to renew our vows and get married again.

‘I love you my darling.

‘May it be a prosperous sign to come home with even more gold!!!’

Tamberi described the moment as ‘a few moments that lasted forever’

Chiara responded to her husband’s post: ‘Only you can make this romantic.’

The happy couple have been married since September 2022.