In the Olympics, there are plenty of events that are all about inches. Archery is all about getting as close to the bullseye as possible, a misread by an inch in gymnastics can result in a nasty fall, and track and field events such as shotput and javelin can be decided by the smallest of margins.
Turns out, pole vaulting is a competition of inches as well. Just ask Anthony Ammirati.
The Olympian from France was aiming to qualify for the final of the pole vault event. A gold medalist at the World Athletics U20 Championships in 2022, Ammirati had a chance to clinch a qualifying spot for the finals, however, he was unable to successfully get over the bar on an attempt for 5.70 meters.
That's not the story. There are plenty of Olympians who came up just short of advancing in the pole vault event. It's the way in which Ammirati did not qualify that's the takeaway. It's something that you quite literally have to see in order to believe.
Here is more on Ammirati and why his pole vault clip is going viral.
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French pole vaulter video
On Saturday, Ammirati was able to get over the bar in the 5.40-meter and 5.60-meter attempts. He needed to land the 5.70-meter attempt to keep the hopes of participating in the finals alive.
While a majority of the Frenchman's body got beyond the bar, there was one part of him that did not — likely one of the last parts of the body you would think.
Anthony Ammirati failed the bar and the commentators are clearly having a hard time acknowledging what happened 😂 HELP I'M DYING pic.twitter.com/5hOHttVA5g
— Gladys Wotching (@Glodyswotcher) August 3, 2024
That's right — Ammirati missed out on a medal chance because his penis struck the bar. No part of an athlete can strike the bar in order for it to be a successful attempt. Since he failed, he just missed the cut for the top-10, placing 12th in the heats.
Turns out, sometimes size does matter.
