French pole vaulter Anthony Ammirati’s bulge might have played a role in costing him Olympic gold — but now it’s given him the chance for some major green.
After Ammirati’s bulge clipped the crossbar during his pole vault heat at the 2024 Summer Olympics on Saturday, August 3, the image spread like wildfire on social media as viewers marveled at his endowment, while lamenting what it had taken from him.
As it turns out, Ammirati’s misfortune also caught the attention of adult entertainment company CamSoda who offered him $250,000 in exchange for a 60-minute cam show.
In a letter obtained by Us Weekly, CamSoda Vice President Daryn Parker made the offer to Ammirati, 21, to show off his “goods” in exchange for the big pay day.
“Although you didn’t bring home the gold medal, you can still capture the gold from your fans via CamSoda – that has to count for something, right?” the offer reads. “Plus, you won’t have those restrictive compression shorts holding you back, so feel free to let it all out and show the world why you should have your own Olympic competition next time around.”
After the event, Ammirati was candid about the viral mishap, saying it was “a big disappointment.”
“The conditions were good,” Ammirati told the French Athletics Federation on Saturday. “This is the first time that I attacked a competition without any stress.”
Ammirati said he missed “a bit of jumping in training to fine-tune the settings” before his bulge knocked over the bar during his third attempt at the 5.70m target.
“I was almost there,” he lamented.
Ammirati finished with a combined score of 5.60 and in 12th position in his heat, failing to qualify for the next round of the competition and the chance to compete for a medal.
Though Ammirati’s blunder made for easy fodder, it actually wasn’t the thing that prevented him from a successful vault. Before his bulge came in contact with the bar, his legs hit the bar first, which disqualified the attempt. It was Ammirati’s third and final attempt at clearing 5.70m, which eliminated him from competition.
While Ammirati ultimately came up empty-handed in the medal department, his appearance at the 2024 Games will live on in Olympic lore forever.
“Not the worst thing in the World losing a Gold Medal in the #Olympics because you’re packing a French Baguette,” one person joked via X. “Anthony Ammirati you sir won at life.”
Another wrote, “Lost the pole vault, won the Schlong Jump.”
