French Pole vaulter Anthony Ammirati saw his Olympic dream go up in smoke in unfortunate circumstances with his penis causing his downfall.
The 21-year-old, competing in front of his home crowd, looked all set to clear 5.70m and take a major step towards the final of his event, before disaster struck.
As the Frenchman prepared to relinquish his pole, his own manhood grazed the bar with enough force to send it crashing to the floor, thus ending his hopes of a medal.
Ammirati had already cleared two heights before his bulge brought a premature end to his competition. He eventually finished 12th with a height of 5.60 in Group A.
Robin Emig and Thibault Collet, Ammirati’s compatriots, meanwhile, recorded heights of 5.60 meters and 5.75 meters, respectively.
Collet, who become the third best French performer in pole vault history in June after clearing a bar at 5.95 meters, said of his performance on Saturday: ‘When people say that the Games are different, well, it really is different.
‘Today, I missed my competition. I knew that this qualification was going to be tough and now I’m taking it in the face.
The Olympic Games are over. I’m going to pack my bags before going home.’
Ammirati wasn’t the only athlete to suffer a disappointing premature exit on Saturday with British sprinter Jeremiah Azu disqualified without even getting the chance to race after a false start.
Source: Metro
