People think pole vaulter's tattoo now 'makes sense' after bulge cost him medal at Olympics

People didn't realise they were fans of pole vaulting until Anthony Ammirati stepped onto the podium at this year's Olympic Games.

The pole vaulter, 21, attempted to clear the 5.70 metres on Saturday (3 August) when his knee - along with his private parts - sort of got in the way.

Competing alongside his compatriot Thibaut Collet, the pair successfully managed to pass 5.60 metres at the Paris Olympics.

Although Collet, 24, completed the 5.70 metre jump, Ammirati found it challenging for some very different reasons.

After he made his leap forward, the well-endowed athlete collided with the pole - first with his knee and later with his third leg.

Sadly for him, the blunder meant that he finished 12th as he missed out on qualifying for the next round.

But soon after Ammirati's clip went viral, X users simply couldn't help themselves, as one posted on X: "He's got to learn to pack better before he travels."

"Man, that's a tough way to lose out on the Olympics. But also, uh, quite the unique reason! Wonder how that conversation went with the coach," a second added.

While a third joked: "I am sure he will be compensated at the Olympic Village."

Meanwhile, with close inspection, some fans now think they can spot the correlation with the Frenchman's tattoo.

The athlete seemingly has a tattoo of a long snake wrapped around his arm, and some have let their imagination run wild.

"Anthony Ammirati will never have to explain the forearm tattoo again. Message received and understood," one person wrote.

"Never forget: This is the moment when the tattoo made sense," they added.

Others noted it was a reference to his trouser snake.

Anyhow, Ammirati did break his silence after the game, telling the French Athletics Federation: “I’m a bit gutted, because I didn’t miss anything on the third attempt at 5.70 m.

"What I did miss was a bit of jumping in training to fine-tune the settings. Just a technical session.

“I was 100 percent physically, but I was missing a bit of pole vault.

"The conditions were good. It’s the first time I’ve started a competition without any stress. As I was a total outsider, I only had one goal: to interact with the audience. I was almost there.”

His colleague Collet also didn't qualify after coming 11th.

"When people say that the Games are different, well, it really is different," he said.

"I thought it wouldn't necessarily affect me by arriving with potentially the third world performance of the year, but that doesn't mean anything.

"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."