French pole vaulter Anthony Ammirati failed to medal at the Paris 2024 Olympics after a sensitive part of his body made contact with the bar while he was attempting to clear a jump, and as a result he has become an internet sensation.
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After successfully completing attempts at 5.40 meters and 5.60 meters, the 21-year-old was not able to clear the bar at 5.70 meters, as one of his three unsuccessful tries in particular caught the eyes of the world.
— el Ósqar (@elosqar) August 3, 2024
In what was such a rare occurrence, the announcers appeared to be speechless at what they just witnessed.
"It's a big disappointment," Ammirati told reporters at a French news outlet. "I'm a bit gutted, because I didn't miss anything on the third attempt at 5.70 m... I was 100 percent physically, but I was missing a bit of pole vault."
He continued, "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."
Although Ammirati missed out on a medal he certainly got some new fans, as before Saturday, the Olympic athlete had just over 6,000 followers on Instagram, but since going viral, he already has eclipsed over 100,000 followers after 24 hours.
#AnthonyAmmirati , of France, competes in the men's pole vault qualification at the 2024 Paris Olympics. French pole vaulter Anthony Ammirati has become an unlikely internet sensation after a video of his painful crotch mishap during a pole vault attempt #French #Paris2024Olympic pic.twitter.com/fY56khTKXx
— Ashutosh Kumar (@Ashutos59663780) August 4, 2024
When viewing his elimination from the competition, in order to move onto the final, the Frenchman would have had to clear 5.75 meters to qualify as one of the top 12.
With this in mind, the remaining competitors will fight it out in hopes of taking home a medal; the finals will be broadcasted on August 5 at 1:00 pm ET.
The favorite to win is predicted to be Sweden's Armand Duplantis, who will attempt to defend his Tokyo Olympic title, as the 24-year-old is also the world record holder with a career-best jump of 6.24 meters.
Related: Pole Vaulter Spears His "Package" In Gut Wrenching Injury
