French pole vaulter Anthony Ammirati’s Olympic aspirations were abruptly ended when his own anatomy caused him to knock off the bar. Competing in front of his home crowd, the 21-year-old was poised to clear 5.70 meters and advance in his event, but an unexpected mishap altered his course.
As Ammirati prepared to release his pole, his manhood brushed against the bar with enough force to dislodge it, bringing his hopes of a medal to an end. Despite having successfully cleared two previous heights, this incident left him with a final height of 5.60 meters, placing him 12th in Group A.
Fellow French pole vaulters Robin Emig and Thibault Collet achieved heights of 5.60 meters and 5.75 meters, respectively. Collet, who recently became the third-best French performer in pole vault history with a 5.95-meter jump, reflected on the challenging nature of the competition.
“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,” said Collet.
Ammirati’s setback was not the only disappointment of the day. British sprinter Jeremiah Azu was disqualified after a false start, preventing him from racing. Azu expressed his frustration, stating, “Honestly, I just reacted to a sound. It’s a shame. The crowd is so excited and the French fans are here.”
Azu plans to appeal the decision, hoping to continue his Olympic journey. “It’s a shame that they didn’t let me run at the protest – I’m not sure what rules are being used but they have said I need to go back and put an appeal in, so I’m going to go through the process and see what happens. I just want to put in this appeal as quickly as possible so that I can come back out here and get into the semi-final,” he added.