Pole vaulter Anthony Ammirati of France likely didn’t expect what happened as he competed Saturday. He flung himself into the air, maneuvering over the bar until… well, the lump on the front of his crotch hit the bar, knocking it down.
The commentators searched for the words to describe what they just witnessed, leaving some awkward silences as they noted that it happened not because he didn’t get high enough with his vault, but instead on the way down. But uh, he didn’t catch his leg on the bar… it was something else.
It’s unknown whether he was wearing a cup, but the visual went viral on social media. User “DenizTheTennis” characterized it by writing, “Imagine losing Olympics cus you have huge d*ck 😭.”
Among the wise-ass remarks in the comments were, “Heck of a pole… vault,” “When you lose but you still kinda win” and “Unlucky but also good flex.” Nodding to the famed party atmosphere of the quarters for the Olympians, SlasheR wrote, “I am sure he will be compensated at the Olympic Village.”
The Gaming Garage wrote, “He broke the rules; you can only use one pole.” Another user went the self-deprecating route and wrote, “Never had this problem,” while another took the opposite approach and wrote, “Relating to this one hard.”
Artist Mark Brooks made an allusion to the recent gender controversy around women’s boxer Imane Khelif, writing, “Sure, but has [he] had a chromosone test yet?” User Cheetara1986 wrote, “oh he brought that baguette to the games.” User Kofi Ntim wrote, “Everything has its advantages and disadvantages,” while Mckinley Bethel added, “he was a few inches short… or a few inches long.” User JustSomeDad noted, “He was clearly cockblocking himself.”
Multiple users suggested that he learn about tucking. Several also pointed to another Olympic pairing whose name juxtaposition on screen had caused some good-natured but lewd online ribbing.
You can watch this year’s Olympic events streaming on Peacock and other NBCUniversal channels.
