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French Athlete Anthony Ammirati in Tears After ‘Blessed’ Manhood Stops His Quest for Gold

Pole Vaulting Misadventure: French Athlete Anthony Ammirati Goes Viral for Unusual Reason

By THEDISPATCH.DIGITAL TEAM

French pole vaulter Anthony Ammirati became an unexpected internet sensation for a reason he would have preferred to avoid. Competing in front of a packed home crowd at the Stade de France on Saturday, August 3, the 21-year-old narrowly missed securing a spot in the men’s pole vault final due to a most unusual mishap.

During his second attempt at clearing 5.70 meters, Ammirati’s leg initially disturbed the bar, but it was ultimately his bulge that dislodged it, preventing a successful vault. The moment, captured on video and shared widely on social media, quickly went viral.

Ammirati, dressed in a tight leotard, was aiming to clear the height but fell short due to his manhood making contact with the bar. The incident left him in 15th place, well outside the qualifying range for the final.

Social media users were quick to react, with many making light-hearted comments about the unfortunate event. “Not the worst thing in the world losing a gold medal because you’re packing a French baguette,” joked one user on X, formerly Twitter. Others humorously noted that Ammirati was “vaulting with the wrong pole.”

Despite the disappointment, Ammirati remained composed. In a statement from the French Athletics Federation, he expressed his regret but also his enjoyment of competing in front of a home crowd. “It’s a big disappointment,” he said. “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 play with the audience. I was almost there.”

While the incident marked a low point in Ammirati’s Olympic journey, it also highlighted the lighter side of sports. Fans and commentators alike found humor in the situation, with some even imagining a new Olympic flag in his honor, playfully altering the traditional rings.

Excerpt

“French pole vaulter Anthony Ammirati became an unexpected internet sensation after a viral video showed his bulge dislodging the bar during an Olympic attempt. Despite missing out on the final, social media users humorously celebrated his ‘genetic lottery win.’ Ammirati, who remained gracious, expressed disappointment but was glad to compete in front of a home crowd..”

Sedjati Gunning for Rudisha’s World Record at Olympics

Djamel Sedjati has two aims coming into the Paris Olympics: to medal for Algeria after the country drew a blank in Tokyo three years ago and to break David Rudisha’s 800m world record.

Algeria’s failure to medal at the Covid-delayed Tokyo Games in 2021 was seen as a massive disappointment.

It had come in the wake of Taoufik Makhloufi winning 1500m gold in London in 2012 and double 800-1500m silvers in Rio four years later.

But now the north African country has an athlete in the form of his life and gunning for what remains one of the toughest world records.

Rudisha set the mark of 1min 40.91sec when winning gold in the London Olympics in 2012.

It was a simply stunning run, but for the first time since that heady night in the British capital, there is a feeling Sedjati could be the one to threaten the time.

This year has been a real breakthrough season for the 25-year-old, born in the northern Algerian city of Tiaret.

He broke Makhloufi’s national record at the Paris Diamond League meeting this month, clocking an outstanding 1:41.56 to become the third fastest athlete in the history of the race after Rudisha and Denmark’s Wilson Kipketer (1:41.11).

Algeria’s Olympic legacy

Sedjati did not sit on his laurels after Paris, improving his time to 1:41.46, a Diamond League record and new world leading time, just five days later in Monaco.

“I am now thinking of the world record, I hope to run it at the Olympic Games,” said the Algerian, who claimed silver at the 2022 Eugene world championships.

“I will focus on that and put in the necessary work so that I can achieve my goal.

“It’s the fourth time I’ve run a world lead and the second time an Algerian record, I have worked really hard for that.”

Sedjati, who this year has also set a world lead of 2:13.97 over the 1000m, in Johannesburg, added: “I will keep the preparation the same.

“My mindset is that the hard work I have put in will pay off.”

A trip to the Paris Olympics will hold extra meaning for Sedjati, who was forced into quarantine at the Tokyo Games after contracting Covid-19 shortly after his arrival in the Japanese capital.

And as an Algerian at the Olympics, he has a lot to live up to.

The north African country, which made its Olympic debut in 1964, has garnered nine medals in athletics, including four gold.

Those to have topped the podium aside from Makhloufi in 2012 are all middle-distance runners: Nouria Benida Merah (1500m, 2000), Noureddine Morsli (1500m, 1996) and Hassiba Boulmerka (1500m, 1992).

Tellingly, Sedjati is currently coached by Ammar Benida Merah, who also oversaw his wife Nouria’s pathway to gold in Sydney.

Impressive South Sudan Braces for Ultimate Olympic Basketball Test Against US Stars

Olympic organisers might have played the wrong national anthem before South Sudan’s opening basketball game at the Paris Games, but the star-studded US team know for certain what they are up against next.

America’s men have never lost to an African side at the Olympics but they had a scare when they played South Sudan in a warm-up game in London on July 20.

US-born JT Thor, who plays for Charlotte in the NBA, hit a three-pointer with 20 seconds left to put South Sudan ahead, only for LeBron James to snatch a 101-100 win.

Wenyen Gabriel, a centre who was born in Sudan’s capital Khartoum and played eight seasons in the NBA — including a stint as a team-mate of James with the Los Angeles Lakers — said South Sudan could take positives from their defeat.

“A lot of people doubted us, and going toe-to-toe with the US, it brought our team together, it brought our country together,” he said.  

South Sudan won their first-ever Olympic basketball match 90-79 against Puerto Rico on Sunday while four-time defending champions the United States crushed Serbia 110-84.

New York-born coach Royal Ivey warned they would be facing a different United States on Wednesday.

“That was a friendly,” Ivey said, referring to the London contest. “They’re gonna be ready for us.”

“This is a movie,” he added. “This is so surreal. I couldn’t experience anything better than this.”

Ivey played 11 seasons in the NBA and was a teammate of American forward Kevin Durant at Oklahoma City.

“That’s definitely my little brother. I’ve known Kevin since he was 18 years old,” said Ivey. 

‘The happiest time’

After the Bright Stars beat Angola to qualify for Paris, Luol Deng, the former NBA star who is president of South Sudan’s basketball federation, told American broadcaster NBC that if there was an indoor court in the country he was not aware of it.

“It’s a new beginning for all of us,” said small forward Bul Kuol, who fled Sudan aged nine, spent time in a refugee camp in Kenya and plays professionally in Australia.

“The next generation now has a platform to grow on. And this is it right here.”

“No matter what tribe you’re from or what you’re facing — adversity, the war, or whatever — I think this has united us. It’s like every single tribe, every single town.”

He said the team’s approach was simple.

“We gotta win, we gotta win.”

South Sudan became an independent nation after it broke free from Sudan in 2011 but has lurched from crisis to crisis, enduring persistent armed violence, extreme hunger and natural disasters.

“It’s been a tough journey for me personally and for every single one of us. We all got a big story,” said forward Majok Deng, a refugee at the age of eight.

“Right now is the happiest time in our country since we got independence.

“It hasn’t always been a positive narrative coming out of our country. We’re a new country, we’re a new team, and just to paint this new narrative.”

He said South Sudan relished the support they received from the largely French crowd during their opener.

“Wherever we go, they were cheering for us, and they show up tonight (Sunday) again at the game. We appreciate every single fan in the world that is rooting for us.”

Historic River Parade, Dion Show-stopper Ignite Paris Olympics

A historic boat parade down the River Seine launched the Paris Olympics with spectacular French flair Friday, as the City of Light welcomed the world’s greatest athletes for a sporting extravaganza.

A show-stopping performance by Celine Dion, a flaming Olympic cauldron lifted into the night sky by hot-air balloon, and a dazzling Eiffel Tower light show brought the curtain down on a four-hour celebration of French culture, history and art.

Braving torrential rain, some 300,000 people had lined the river banks to cheer on the armada carrying competitors past the city’s iconic sights: the Eiffel Tower bearing the five Olympic rings, the Louvre and Notre Dame Cathedral.

The wildly ambitious display was the first time the Olympic opening ceremony has been staged outside the main stadium, making it the biggest-ever launch for the “Greatest Show on Earth”.

But that gamble also made the ceremony hostage to the weather, with spectators, VIPs, and athletes alike drenched or huddling in transparent ponchos.

Some spectators refused to let the downpour get them down. “I’ve got such an adrenaline rush. It’s very exciting,” said Selene Martinez, 42, who had travelled from Mexico for the ceremony.

But others were less stoic about the heavy rain on the parade, with some leaving the ceremony early to seek shelter.

“It’s a great idea. The performances are awesome. I just wish it wasn’t raining,” said Pauline Brett, 69, who had come from Chicago with her family.

In the City of Love, the ceremony stressed togetherness and unity in a world that has suffered wars, massacres, and political upheaval since the Covid-delayed Tokyo Olympics.

Four jets from the French air force display team drew a large pink heart in the Paris sky to set the tone.

For just over a fortnight, organisers hope the superhuman performances of stars like gymnast Simone Biles, tennis champion Novak Djokovic or sprinter Noah Lyles will provide the world with much-needed distraction.

Beach volleyball at the Eiffel Tower, breakdancing in Place de la Concorde, equestrian sport at the Palace of Versailles: 100 years since Paris last staged the Olympics, the city will provide a stunning backdrop to the sport.

“I declare open the Games of Paris celebrating the 33rd Olympiad of the modern era,” said President Emmanuel Macron.

In a symbol of the Games’ message of gender parity, French track legend Marie-Jose Perec and three-time Olympic judo champion Teddy Riner lit the Olympic cauldron together.

Dion closed the show from the first level of the Eiffel Tower, with her first public performance since revealing she was suffering from a rare illness.

‘Push the limits’

Paris 2024 organiser Tony Estanguet had said the opening ceremony needed to “push the limits as far as possible”, showing from the start France’s ambition for the Games.

And from Moulin Rouge performers doing the cancan to a video showing dancers on the scaffolding of fire-damaged Notre Dame, it was a colourful festival of all things French.

Led out by Greece through jets of water cascading from a bridge, accompanied by an accordion player, around 7,000 athletes cruised down a six-kilometre (four-mile) stretch of the Seine to the Eiffel Tower on 85 boats.

The unprecedented ceremony sparked a colossal security operation in a city where memories of the November 2015 Islamist attacks are still raw.

Around 45,000 police and paramilitary officers were on duty to protect the ceremony, along with 10,000 soldiers and 22,000 private security guards.

Snipers, specialist frogmen, and AI-augmented cameras were deployed, with airspace closed and the area around the Seine virtually locked down.

To everyone’s relief, the ceremony passed off without major incident.

‘Gender equality’

Sporting royalty mingled with celebrities and world leaders on and off the Seine, which will host triathlon and the swimming marathon after a historic clean-up to make it swimmable.

Lady Gaga added global musical star power, with Franco-Malian R&B star Aya Nakamura also performing, defying criticism from far-right politicians who suggested her appearance would “humiliate” France.

The ceremony kicked off with a video of French football legend Zinedine Zidane, who took the torch on an offbeat journey through the Metro, and the Paris catacombs.

Basketball icon LeBron James and tennis player Coco Gauff carried the flag for Team USA, which has topped the medal table at every Olympics since Beijing in 2008.

True to its slogan “Games Wide Open”, the Paris Olympics can boast gender equality for the first time ever — for Paris 1924, the last time the Olympics took place in the city, four percent of athletes were women.

But the ceremony did not shy away from the chaos in the world — to the strains of John Lennon’s “Imagine”, the city was plunged into darkness in an invitation to reflect.

With extra security for Israeli athletes, plus a call from the Palestinian team for Israel to be excluded over the Gaza War, geopolitics has been an unwelcome intruder in the run-up.

Russian athletes have been banned from the Paris Olympics over the Ukraine invasion, and possible Russian destabilisation efforts sparked fears ahead of the Games.

‘Twisties’

But with the Games now open, the stage is set for the 10,500 athletes to fulfil their dreams and turn in the performance of their lives.

Can US legend Biles bounce back from her “Twisties” heartbreak in Tokyo? Will Lyles establish himself as the rightful sprinting heir to Usain Bolt? 

LeBron James on the basketball court, Carlos Alcaraz on the Roland Garros clay, France’s swimming hope Leon Marchand in the pool: the stars are aligned for sporting brilliance.