Ammirati was successful in the first attempt at the 5.4m and 5.6m bars, but failed to conquer the 5.7m mark in all three jumps.
In the decisive round, the French athlete thought he had succeeded, but his “little guy” touched the bar and dropped it, causing him to fail. Ammirati only ranked 12th in Group A when he cleared the 5.6m pole and could not enter the final of this event.
Ammirati missed Olympic pole vault medal because of sensitive parts
Ammirati’s failed performance went viral on social media, with many fans calling it an unlucky moment for the French athlete.
“The commentators are also confused in admitting what happened,” one person wrote on social network X.
“This is probably the best way to fail, when Ammirati has shown his masculinity,” another joked.
Before Ammirati, another Japanese pole vaulter – Hiroki Ogita – also had a similar incident in the qualifying round at the 2016 Rio Olympics. At that time, Ogita failed to clear the 5.3m bar in the first jump. Although he later conquered this bar and then 5.45m in the last jump, the Japanese athlete still only ranked 21st overall and stopped playing in Brazil.
With Ammirati’s defeat, France lost its chance to win an Olympic medal in the men’s pole vault, as the two remaining athletes, Robin Emig and Thibaut Collet, also failed to qualify.
Collet – who became the third-best vaulter in French history when he cleared 5.95m in June – acknowledged the difference in class when competing at the Olympics. “I knew the qualifying round would be tough and I had to deal with this defeat,” he said.
Karel Tilga’s failed attempt at pole vaulting in the decathlon was also widely shared on social media. The Estonian athlete took a running start but failed to clear the pole, hanging in the air for a few seconds before falling right where he had taken his running start. He performed better in other events and finished 11th overall out of 20 athletes.
French pole vaulter fails because of ‘little guy’
“I’m not a pole vault expert but I didn’t expect it to be played like that,” one user wrote, linking to a video of Tilga’s performance. “Shameful and disappointing for this man. Hope he’s okay,” another said.
