Anthony Ammirati may not be headed home from the Olympics with a medal, but he may just be a winner after all.
The 21-year-old French pole vaulter was vying for a spot in the men’s pole vault final but didn’t qualify.
During his third attempt Saturday, Ammirati was trying to clear a height of 5.70 meters, and he had a bizarre failed attempt.
Unfortunately for Ammirati, his male region clipped the bar twice while he went over it, resulting in a failed vault.
A replay showed it was obvious what happened, and broadcasters seemed uncertain how to address it.
Naturally, social media caught wind of the mishap, and Ammirati quickly became the butt of some crude jokes.
“oh he brought that baguette to the games,” one user wrote in one of the more printable responses.
“Well, you win some you lose some,” added another.
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Given the war on transgender athletes in women’s sports, there were some of those jokes floating around too.
“I can understand this happening to a male athlete. When it happens to a ‘female’ athlete it raises eyebrows,” one user posted.
An X user even tallied Ammirati’s Instagram follower count, which increased from around 8,400 to just over 9,000 in under a minute. At the time of publication, it had reached 32,000.
Ammirati’s best vault was 5.60 meters, giving him a 15th place finish. The men’s final is scheduled for Monday.
Ammirati won the U20 World Championships in Colombia two years ago.
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