Aside from Leon Marchand, who clinched his fourth swimming gold medal yesterday, another French athlete, 21-year-old pole vaulter Anthony Ammirati, has become an instant viral phenomenon after an incident involving his crotch.
Ammirati missed his target height and knocked down the pole with his bulge on Saturday, which caused him to fail his qualifying track for the final. The scene left commentators scrambling to find words but it quickly sparked memes and jokes all over social media.
“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 on X (formerly Twitter) wrote.
Shortly after the viral moment, Ammirati shared his thoughts on failing to qualify for the final. “It’s a big disappointment,” he 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.”
“I was 100% physically, but I was missing a bit of pole vault. The conditions were good,” Ammirati added.
“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.”
While social media has been flooded with jokes over Ammirati’s crotch, French outlets are highlighting the unfortunate twist of fate for Ammirati who won’t have another chance to compete for a medal and has exited the Olympics, along with other French pole vaulters. But the viral scene is providing needed comedic relief amid a series of controversies surrounding these Olympic Games, which have seen several people, including the event’s artistic director Thomas Jolly and Algerian boxer Imane Khelif, victim of online hate speech.