French pole vaulter goes viral after bar mishap
Pole vaulter Anthony Ammirati has spoken out after becoming an internet sensation by missing out on the Olympic final.
Anthony Ammirati missed the pole vault final but "won the internet". Photo: AAP
Video of the French athlete has gone viral on social media and he has gained more than 60,000 followers after he knocked down a 5.7-metre bar in Friday’s competition.
The footage that is causing all the fuss shows Ammirati, who is wearing a tight leotard, almost clearing the bar – only to apparently knock it down with his ample manhood.
Social media users have had a field day with the clip of the 21-year-old’s disappointing final qualifying jump.
He had already cleared jumps of 5.4 and 5.6 metres – but had to clear 5.8 to go through to the final.
“The most peculiar way to lose a pole-vaulting Olympic competition,” wrote one user on X.
“Not the worse thing in the world losing a gold medal in the Olympics because you’re packing a French baguette,” wrote another,
“Loses vault. Wins internet,” decreed a third.
“Anthony Ammirati failed the bar and the commentators are clearly having a hard time acknowledging what happened. HELP I’M DYING,” said another.
On Sunday (local time), Ammirati addressed his disappointing 15th place in the Olympic qualification.
“It’s a big disappointment. I’m a bit gutted,” he said, according to a translation of the French Athletic Federation page by Athlon Sports.
“I was 100 per cent physically, but I was missing a bit of pole vault. 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 play with the public. I was almost there.”
Meanwhile, one expert has debunked all the online theories. Pole vaulting coach Branko Miric told US outlet Today.com that it wasn’t Ammirati’s crotch that cost him his Olympic dreams.
“He definitely hit the bar with his legs first and was going to miss that attempt anyway,” he said.
Miric said it was common for an athlete not to have enough depth to clear a vault over the crossbar – as was the case for Ammirati’s viral miss.
“When you’re pole vaulting, not only do you need the height, but you need the depth,” he said.
“You have to go deep enough to get over the bar. It’s very common in the vault, you’ll see people who look like they have the height, but they don’t have enough depth and they come down on it and the bar falls off.”
