French pole vaulter Anthony Ammirati’s Olympic dreams were dashed when a mishap involving his manhood prevented him from clearing the bar in the men’s pole vault competition. Ammirati, 21, had been attempting to qualify for the next round, but his combined score of 5.60 was not enough to secure a spot.
The competition saw Sweden’s Armand Duplantis, Norway’s Sondre Guttormsen, and Greece’s Emmanouil Karalis tie for first place, while the United States’ Sam Kendricks finished in seventh. Ammirati’s performance was a disappointing end to his Olympic campaign, which had been his only event at the 2024 Games.
Despite the setback, Ammirati has already achieved notable success in his young career. He won first place at the 2022 World Athletics U20 Championships and came in second at the 2022 Mediterranean Games. Ammirati’s interest in pole vaulting began at the age of 12, when he saw a girl from his club competing in the event.
“I started pole vaulting at 12 because a girl in my club was doing it,” Ammirati wrote in a 2023 Instagram post. “I saw her jump and absolutely wanted to try it.” Although his Olympic debut did not go as planned, Ammirati has already made a name for himself in the sport and will likely be back competing at future events.
