Along with Leon Marchand, who claimed his fourth gold medal in swimming yesterday, another French athlete, 21-year-old pole vaulter Anthony Ammirati, became an instant viral phenomenon after an incident involving his pubic area.
Amirati missed his target height and toppled the pole with his bloated body on Saturday, causing him to fail to qualify for the final. The scene left commentators at a loss for words, but it quickly sparked memes and jokes all over social media.
“When you're about to win an Olympic medal but your huge dick is in the way while the whole world watches in slow motion,” one user wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
While social media was awash with jokes about Amirati’s pubic area, French outlets highlighted Amirati’s unfortunate fate, which saw her never get another chance to compete for a medal and eliminated from the Olympics, along with other French pole vaulters. But the viral scene provided much-needed comedic relief amid a series of controversies surrounding the Games, which have seen several people, including event technical director Thomas Joly and Algerian boxer Imane Khelif, fall victim to online hate speech.
Overall, French athletes are thriving at the Olympics, with a total of 41 medals so far — 12 of them gold. The French team is second on the medal table behind China. Australia, the United States and the United Kingdom are third, fourth and fifth, respectively. Swimming champion Marchand alone has won four Olympic gold medals in the men’s individual medley, butterfly and breaststroke events. Other French Olympic winners include heavyweight judoka Teddy Riner, who won his third individual Olympic gold medal on Friday night.
