Paris Olympics 2024: Pole vaulter Anthony Ammirati speaks out after ...
Pole vaulter Anthony Ammirati's big blunder on Saturday may have seen his medal hopes crash and burn, but it did earn him tens of thousands of new fans by the time the Olympian woke up on Sunday morning.
The 21-year-old, who took out the gold medal at the World Athletics Under-20 Championships in 2022, suffered an unfortunate mishap as he attempted to clear 5.70m during the men's pole vault qualification rounds, knocking the bar off with his penis as he went over.
Although the French athlete's social media following has grown from 5000 to almost 68,000 in less than 24 hours, he's since spoken out about what the hullabaloo-sparking moment has cost him.
Watch the video above.
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"I'm a little disappointed, because I didn't miss anything on the third try at 5.70m," Ammirati told Fédération Française d'Athlétisme of his loss.
Anthony Ammirati failed to progress after his penis hit the bar during the 5.70m qualification on Saturday. Nine
He ended up coming 12th in the event. Nine
"I was 100 per cent physically, but I was missing a little pole," he continued, referencing his lack of competition in the lead up to Paris 2024 due to a groin injury.
He further explained: "What I'm missing is a bit of jumping around in training to finetune the settings."
"Just a technical session. I had to give up on the last two, following a small grade one [tear] in the adductor. I prioritised the race."
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Footage of Ammirati's 5.70m attempt has gone viral, with Australian Olympian and former tennis player Rennae Stubbs even weighing in on scenes she called "unbelievable".
Stubbs, 53, wrote on X (formerly Twitter): "Seriously!!! When your sport is all about getting your body over a bar and it's a matter of millimetres! My man! Call a drag queen! She'll teach u how to tuck it!"
Ammirati, who had to settle for 12th place after being eliminated in the 5.70m, is not the first athlete to suffer that fate – the same thing happened to Hiroki Ogita of Japan at Rio 2016.
Ogita, however, finished 21st at the time.
