In the pole vault, fractions of inches can be the difference between a medal and elimination.
But for Frenchman Anthony Ammirati, it’s hard to think that he would trade an inch in one particular area for a better result in Paris.
During the qualifying round of the pole vault on Saturday, Ammirati looked set to clear 5.70 metres on his third attempt, until he clipped the bar with a sensitive part of his anatomy – his penis.
Once the replay showed his bulge and banged the bar, many on social media were quick to have a laugh about it.
“Anthony Ammirati failed the bar and the commentators are already having a hard time acknowledging what happened. Help I’m dying,” a user on X posted.
“Oh he brought that baguette to the games,” another user replied.
Following the viral moment, the 21-year-old admitted his frustration at missing out on a chance at a medal in Paris – but didn’t exactly place any blame on private parts.
“It’s a big disappointment,” Ammirati told 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.”
He added: “I was 100% 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.”
One thing for sure is Ammirati got quite a lot of engagement over this mishap.
“He was a few inches short …. or a few inches long,” one user wrote on X.
“Well, you win some, you lose some,” another wrote to best sum things up.