A hard defeat: French pole vaulter goes viral after his penis costs him the Olympics

French pole vaulter Anthony Ammirati lost at the Olympics over his manhood hitting the crossbar, but to the Internet, he won the gold in comedy.

 Anthony Ammirati of France in action gripping his vault pole at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, on August 3, 2024. (photo credit: KAI PFAFFENBACH/REUTERS)
Anthony Ammirati of France in action gripping his vault pole at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, on August 3, 2024.
(photo credit: KAI PFAFFENBACH/REUTERS)

French pole vaulter Anthony Ammirati went viral after his stiff performance at the 2024 Olympics on Saturday, where he failed to advance after the crossbar had a sudden and unexpected collision with his penis. 

Footage of the incident clearly showed Ammirati attempting to clear the vault, only for his manhood to collide with the crossbar, visibly flopping in his singlet as he fell to the ground, rather than sticking the landing. 

For Ammirati himself, his loss was very serious. An unfortunate mishap surrounding his genitalia ended up thrusting him out of the competition and ending his dreams of Olympic gold this year. But for the Internet, Ammirati ended up winning the gold in Olympic comedy. 

Internet reacts to French pole vaulter's penis-related defeat

Many online immediately declared that Ammirati lost due to his rather sizeable endowment.

One commenter wrote that Ammirati lost the Olympics, "but he already won the genetic lottery."

Another wrote that losing the gold medal isn't the worst thing when it is because "you're packing a French Baguette."

Several others pointed out the snake tattoo on Ammirati's forearm, which social media users now claim is in reference to his trouser snake, and one other user took the time to add a cartoonish "boing" sound effect.


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Several X users also showed Ammirati's Instagram page, highlighting how his follower count began to climb. Indeed, at the time of writing, it has grown to over 61,000.

Others also shared images of the 2024 Paris Olympics logo, where the rings were arranged to look like an Eiffel Tower but could also arguably look like a penis, shaft, and balls and all. 

Many others pointed out the sheer irony of Ammirati's loss: His pole vaulting attempt was foiled by his own "big pole."