Olympic pole vaulter who hit the bar with his bulge breaks his silence

The Olympic pole vaulter who hit the bar with his manhood has spoken out about the incident.

It's often said that elite level sport is decided by the finest of margins, and that was certainly the case in the men's pole vault qualification at the Paris Olympics on Saturday.

French competitor Anthony Ammirati was looking to reach the final on home soil, and everything was going according to plan until he attempted the 5.70 metre bar.

The 21-year-old looked like he was clearing the bar on his third attempt, but as he went over his genitals appeared to clip the bar and knock it to the ground.

Ammirati had already cleared two heights before the unfortunate incident affected his score, leading him to finish in 12th place with a height of 5.60 metres in Group A.

The awkward incident quickly went viral on social media, with Ammirati becoming something of an internet meme overnight.

Fans picked up on the sheepish comments of the TV commentary who were reluctant to acknowledge exactly how Ammirati clipped the bar.

After his Olympics came to a disappointing end, the French youngster has broken his silence.

"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.

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

Ammirati's compatriots, Robin Emig and Thibault Collet, recorded heights of 5.60 metres and 5.75 metres respectively but also missed out on places in Monday's pole vault final.

There will be no competitors from Team GB or France in the final.