Guess you can say it’s a game of inches. French pole vaulter Anthony Ammirati didn’t earn a medal at his first Olympics. He didn’t even make the final of his competition.
But the 21-year-old from Grasse, France, has gone viral anyway.
Ammirati’s Olympic run came to an end over the weekend after he failed to clear 5.7 metres — something he would have done if the bulge in his shorts hadn’t gotten in the way. Instant replays showed Ammirati cleared the bar, but his junk did not.
The internet has had a field day with it ever since.
Goodnight from the #Olympics pic.twitter.com/8Esx22dmCX
— Jerry Saltz (@jerrysaltz) August 4, 2024
Ammirati has garnered international attention, gaining over 200,000 followers on Instagram. It even led to a lucrative offer from porn site CamSoda.
“If it was up to me, I’d award you for what everyone else saw, your talent below the belt,” said CamSoda VP Daryn Parker.
“As a lover of crotch-centric activities, I’d love to offer you up to $250,000 in exchange for a 60-minute webcam show, in which you show off your goods, minus the crossbar, of course.”
Couldn’t resist adding a cartoon boing to Anthony Ammirati’s pole vault. What a way to clip the bar 😵 fair play to the guy. pic.twitter.com/wGPtco2fy6
— Matthew Highton (@MattHighton) August 3, 2024
While Ammirati was obviously disappointed not to advance further in the competition, he did seem to have a sense of humour about his predicament, noting that his package made more buzz than his performance on TikTok.