French Pole Vaulter’s Bulge Costs Him an Olympic Medal

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, 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.

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 has seen several people, including the event’s artistic director Thomas Jolly and Algerian boxer Imane Khelif, victim of online hate speech.

Overall, French athletes are thriving at the Olympics with a total of 41 medals so far — 12 of which are gold medals. The French team is ranking second on the medal table behind China. Australia, the U.S. and U.K. teams are taking third, fourth and fifth. Swimming champion Marchand alone has won four Gold medals in Men’s individual medley, butterfly and breaststroke. Other winning French Olympians include heavyweight judoka Teddy Riner who took his third Olympic individual gold medal last night.