French Olympic pole vaulter Anthony Ammirati found himself caught between a bar and a hard place when his crotch hit the crossbar during his vault.
The clip subsequently went viral, and the pole vaulter expressed his “huge disappointment” at failing the vault.
The men’s pole vault qualifier took place on 3 Aug.
21-year-old Ammirati was coming into the event with a gold medal at the World Athletics U20 Championships in 2022 and was one of the favoured athletes.
But during his vault, Ammirati’s crotch got caught on the crossbar and sent it crashing.
Source: @Glodyswotcher on X
His bulge visibly shook as it connected with the crossbar while he fell to the ground.
Ammirati eventually placed 15th in the qualifier and failed to advance. Only the top 12 or those who vault over a bar at least 5.8 metres in height would qualify for the final.
One of those who posted the video online was @Glodyswotcher on X.
They captioned the post: “Anthony Ammirati failed the bar and the commentators are clearly having a hard time acknowledging what happened.”
Someone responded that he definitely brought a baguette.
Source: X
Another user commented that the competition had to be stiff at the Olympics.
Source: X
Someone else wasn’t sure if the athlete should be happy or sad. After all, he lost at the Olympics, but now the entire world has been made aware of something else.
Source: X
In a statement posted on the French Athletics Federation (FFA) website, Ammirati expressed his huge disappointment at the result.
Source: US Weekly
“I’m a bit disgusted because I was so close on the third attempt at 5.70m,” he said. “What I lacked was a few more jumps in training to fine-tune the adjustments. Just one technical session.
He went on to note that he was lacking practice in the pole vault although he was “100% physically fit” and the conditions were good.
As I was a complete outsider, I had only one goal: to interact with the audience. I almost made it.
Ammirati did not address the nature of the blunder that has gone viral. But surely, Ammirati will live long in the memories of everyone, as well as in his future endeavours.
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Featured image adapted from @Glodyswotcher on X.
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