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French pole vaulter Anthony Ammirati’s pursuit of Olympic gold ended on Saturday, August 3 — but he’s blessed with quite the consolation prize.
The 21-year-old Olympian went viral after he failed to clear the pole by the narrowest of margins, with his bulge smacking on the crossbar and ultimately pulling it off the rack. His flubbed vault left him in 15th place, well out of the range to qualify for the pole vault final and compete for gold.
While it’s no doubt one of the most disappointing moments the young Frenchman’s life, viewers couldn’t help but congratulate him on his bar-boinking baguette. It quickly became one of the biggest (*cough*) Olympic stories of the day.
“When you’re about to win an Olympic medal but your massive d*ck gets in the way while the whole world watches in slow motion,” one user wrote on X, alongside a video of the moment.
Another X user said they were “dying” over the commentators’ inability to directly state what caused the bar to fall. One commenter shared that Ammirati was “vaulting with the wrong pole.”
The first-time Olympian made no mention of his viral fame in a statement put out by the French Athletics Federation after his failure to qualify at his home country’s Olympic Games.
“It’s a big disappointment,” he said. “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 audience. I was almost there.”
A joint post between Ammirati and the French sports academy Envol shared via Instagram said that Ammirati was “frustrated” by the result.
“We are proud of you @anthony_ammirati despite the last two physically disrupted weeks you managed to be present, even if we are frustrated like you for this bar at 5m70,” they wrote. “We wish you an unforgettable Olympic experience.”
Though Ammirati was unable to bring home a medal, France has fared quite while in the Paris Olympics. The host country has earned 41 medals so far (12 Gold, 14 Silver and 15 Bronze). That’s good enough for a third-place tie in gold medal events with Australia, behind China’s 16 wins and the USA’s 14 firsts. Their overall medal count is second only to the U.S., which has netted 61 medals.France has proven to be a powerhouse in swimming, winning four golds in the category. They’ve also placed first in the world in fencing, rugby sevens, judo and mountain bike racing.
