Featured Image Credit: FRANCK FIFE/AFP via Getty Images/Richard Heathcote/Getty Images
Topics: Olympics, Sport, World News
Kya Buller
Topics: Olympics, Sport, World News
We've all seen it by now, haven't we? The Olympic pole vaulter who appeared to end up in a rather excruciating situation when his manhood made direct contact with the pole - and it seems this isn't the only mishap of that ilk in pole vaulting history.
In case you missed it - pole vaulter and Olympian Anthony Ammirati, from France, went viral in recent days following his appearance at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
On 3 August, the 21-year-old seemed headed for glory following a run of great results.
The now-viral (and sometimes replayed in slo-mo) footage appears to show Ammirati's penis getting stuck on the pole, leading to much discomfort and confusion, thus leading to his fail.
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While he has spoken out about missing out on the final, he hasn't addressed the footage directly.
Speaking to the French Athletics Federation, he said: "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.
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“I was 100 percent physically, but I was missing a bit of pole vault."
He added: "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.”
And this isn't the only pole-vault-and-penis debacle in history at the Olympics.
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Allow us to cast your mind back to 2016, the Rio Summer Games...
Pole vaulter Hiroki Ogita, from Japan, went viral after similar footage came out following what appeared to show his crown jewels making direct contact with the pole.
Ogita, who was 28-years-old at the time, went to great pains to insist it wasn't what it looked like.
Following the footage doing the rounds, the Olympian tweeted: "I never expected the foreign media to take me down like this.
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"It's one thing if it was true, but I have to say I'm pretty devastated that they'd go so far to make something up to mock and ridicule me so much."
A pole vaulting expert, David Yeo, told the BBC following the incident: "He had already pressed on the crossbar so much.
"The crossbar was bound to dislodge. I think it was just the crumpling of the fabric which happened at the wrong position."
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Ogita's unfortunate mishap ultimately contributed to him failing to progress through to the qualifying stage.
Time is a healer though, and in time he relented against the pressure.
He eventually went on to tweet: "Watching again, this is pretty funny, if I say so myself. LOL."