Olympians’ rudest moments – including swimmer who bared it all and volleyball team forced to wear rivals’ used thongs
FOR the most part, the Olympics is an arena of excellence, showcasing the best athletes in the world.
But over the years, it has also been the perfect stage for some unbelievably rude blunders.
Last week, pole vaulter Anthony Ammirati had his dreams of winning an Olympic medal shattered by his own bulge.
The 21-year-old was attempting to clear 5.70m after easily overcoming two other heights. Everything looked set to go his way before the unimaginable happened.
His manhood had gotten in the way and caught the pole, meaning he failed to qualify for the final.
The moment immediately went viral and has since racked up millions of views across TikTok, Instagram, and X.
He’s not even the only pole vaulter to have an unexpectedly rude moment, with Canadian Alysha Newman – who also works as an OnlyFans model – sending fans wild by twerking to celebrate.
After clearing a height of 4.85m on her second attempt at the Paris Olympics, she made her way towards the stands before stopping to dance cheekily for the crowd.
A BBC commentator could be heard saying, “I’m not sure about that celebration.”
Here, we look at the raunchiest blunders Olympians have faced.
Battle of the bulge
As disappointed as Anthony may have felt, there is one person who knows exactly what he went through.
In 2016, Hiroki Ojita, who represented Japan in pole vaulting, was trying to clear a 5.3m in group A of the first round.
First, his leg hit the bar, and then his shin came in contact with it, making it wobble.
But the final blow arrived when his bulge hit the bar and dislodged it from its holding.
On his second attempt, he did manage to clear the height.
But he only managed 5.45m, landing him in 21st place and ending his dreams of clinching a medal.
Row no!
American rower Henrik Rummel was ecstatic when he and his team won the bronze medal in the coxless four event at the London Olympics in 2012.
But fans went truly wild after the ceremony, when one shared pictures of Henrik on Reddit and posted: “One US rower was particularly excited by his bronze medal.”
Other users could not believe their eyes, with the post receiving more than 1,000 comments.
The clip of him receiving his medal was posted on YouTube and went viral. Henrik soon caught wind of the chatter on social media and decided to address it.
Replying in the Reddit post under the username Rummelator, he protested: “I don’t know why it ended up in that position but there you go.”
Needless to say, this didn’t help matters and led to even more comments, with one implying that at least he had a place to “hang his medal.”
Beren it all
At the 2009 World Championships, Olympian Ricky Beren lived up to his name when he bared it all for the audience at the World Aquatics Championship in Rome.
The US representative’s swimsuit ripped heavily at the backside as he stretched before diving into the pool for the men’s 4×100 relay.
Undeterred by the mishap, Ricky, who won a gold medal at the Beijing Olympics, kept going and helped his team claim the gold medal.
Luckily for him, his mishap came at a time when social media was not as prevalent, meaning his awkward moment wouldn’t be too remembered.
While talking about the incident later, he said: “I was kind of freaked out for just a second.
“I felt like [the split] was almost down to my knees. I felt like I was putting on a pretty good show.”
All gone thong
When it comes to women’s volleyball at the Olympics, very few come close to Sarah Pavan and Melissa Humana-Paredes, who plays for Canada.
The two stars have won medals in several competitions, but that did not stop them from suffering what they described as the most embarrassing moment of their careers.
At the World Tour event in the Netherlands in 2017, they wore leggings all throughout the tournament.
But just before another game was set to begin, they were told they wouldn’t be allowed to play without wearing matching bikini bottoms.
Explaining the incident in a YouTube video, they said that with their hotel being 45 minutes away and not having any other options, they faced a serious risk of being disqualified.
They were later advised to borrow the bikini bottoms that had been used by the tournament dancers beforehand. But they quickly realised they were more like thongs and inappropriate.
They then had to ask the Swiss team – who had just played and won their game – for their sweaty bikini bottoms. Although initially confused, Team Switzerland let them have them.
Unfortunately, they suffered a bitter defeat at the hands of their Brazilian opponents.
Melissa said: “That’s probably one of my most embarrassing moments, just like a rookie move. And now we pull our pants down before every game to make sure we’re wearing the same bottoms.”
Paris Olympics with 300k condoms
Nearly 15,000 residents – around 10,500 of which are athletes – will be cramming into the Olympic village between July 26 and August 11.
To ensure the athletes feel at home, a number of provisions have been made by organisers.
One of these is the stocking of some 300,000 condoms, in theory enough for around two every day during the run of the Games.
A number of Olympic athletes have opened the door on their steamy lives behind-the-scenes when in camp, including huge sex orgies and parties.
London 2012 had claimed the title of “the raunchiest Games ever”, but the 150,000 condoms ordered paled in comparison to the 450,000 ordered for the Rio Games four years later.
Condoms have been laid on by organisers at every game since Seoul 1988, when it they were used to spread awareness of HIV and AIDS.
Even with an intimacy ban at Tokyo 2020 due to Covid-19, some 150,000 johnnies were handed out.
Read the full story here.
Trouser slip
In 2014, Henrik Harlaut was embarrassed when his trousers fell to his knees during the skiing event at the Sochi Winter Olympics.
The Swedish freestyle skier had donned a pair of oversized white trousers for his qualifying round event.
As he came down the slopes, the cheering crowd were amazed at his landing skills.
But their applause soon turned to gasps when his trousers fell down to his knees, revealing a pair of blue undergarments at the Rosa Khutor Extreme Park.
Thankfully, the trousers did not trip him up, and he was able to finish the event.
Wear and tear
Flavia Zoccari, one of the top swimmers in Italy, was left in tears when she was forced to sit out a competition due to a rip in her swimsuit.
She wore the £318 Jaked J01 swimsuit, which is said to be top of the line, at the 2009 Mediterranean Games in Pescara, Italy.
But she burst into tears after being informed she could no longer complete after the swimsuit ripped and exposed her backside.
The costume had come under fire prior to the incident. Many critics had said that it gave swimmers an unfair advantage.
It was banned by the International Swimming Federation before being allowed again just a month later. Flavia later issued an apology.
Snow dear!
In 2011, Gillian Cooke gave the world a right eyeful when she flashed her bum at the World Championships.
As she prepared for her bobsled event, her skin-tight lycra costume ripped open, exposing her bum and a black G-string.
Completely unaware of what had just happened, she was laser-focused on the race and kept going.
But for viewers and spectators, the concentration on the race was long gone. Even an official behind her burst into laughter at the sight of the blunder.
The Scottish athlete still managed to come in seventh place. In an interview with The Sun, she joked: “I’m just so grateful I was wearing underwear that day.”
She added: “I hesitated only for a second. But if we’d pulled out we’d have been disqualified. There was nothing I could do but go for it.”