French pole vaulter Anthony Ammirati has spoken out after his manhood appeared to prevent him from winning a medal at the Olympics this weekend.
Ammirati looked set to clear 5.70m until a sensitive part of his body denied him during his third attempt on Saturday, leaving viewers in hysterics on social media.
And following the viral moment, the 21-year-old admitted his frustration at missing out on a medal in Paris, albeit without directly referencing his unfortunate mishap.
‘It’s a big disappointment,’ Ammirati told the French Athletics Federation. ‘I’m a bit gutted, because I didn’t miss anything on the third attempt at 5.70 m. What I did miss was a bit of jumping in training to fine-tune the settings. Just a technical session.’
He then added: ‘I was 100 percent physically, but I was missing a bit of pole vault.
Anthony Ammirati failed the bar and the commentators are clearly having a hard time acknowledging what happened 😂 HELP I’M DYING pic.twitter.com/5hOHttVA5g
— Gladys Wotching (@Glodyswotcher) August 3, 2024
‘The conditions were good. It’s the first time I’ve started a competition without any stress.
‘As I was a total outsider, I only had one goal: to interact with the audience. I was almost there.’
Ammirati’s remarkable gaffe quickly went viral on social media, with fans left in stitches after his private parts cost him a place on the podium.
‘Anthony Ammirati failed the bar and the commentators are already having a hard time acknowledging what happened. Help I’m dying,’ a user on X posted.
‘Unlucky but also good flex’ another pointed out.
‘The best way to lose… man ego still there,’ someone else said.
‘Oh he brought that baguette to the games,’ a fan said.
Ammirati had already cleared two heights before his manhood messed up his score. He eventually finished 12th with a height of 5.60 in Group A.
Robin Emig and Thibault Collet – Ammirati’s compatriots – recorded heights of 5.60 meters and 5.75 meters, respectively.
Collet, who became the third best French performer in pole vault history in June after clearing a bar at 5.95 meters, said of his performance on Saturday: ‘When people say that the Games are different, well, it really is different.
‘I thought it wouldn’t necessarily affect me by arriving with potentially the third world performance of the year, but that doesn’t mean anything.
‘Today, I missed my competition. I knew that this qualification was going to be tough and now I’m taking it in the face.
‘The Olympic Games are over. I’m going to pack my bags before going home.’
The pole vault event final will now take place on Monday.
