Olympic athletes faced an unusually high amount of pressure in the lead up to the 2016 Rio Games. There was the standard pressure of qualifying and working to keep themselves at peak physical condition. Added to that were concerns with the Zika virus, super bacteria in the water, and the threat of armed robbery. Zika may be the Games’ greatest legacy, but that won’t be clear for months to come. In the meantime, one track star from Japan will be wishing he had a smaller head after his penis brought his Olympic dreams tumbling down.

Hiroki Ogita pole vault rio olympics penis japanese

Hiroki Ogita, the 28-year-old pole vaulter at the center of the story, had excelled in the 2016 Rio games. Going into the qualifying round for the finals, he attempted to elevate himself into the hunt for a gold medal with a vault of 5.30 meters (a little over 17 feet). Despite a good approach, he came very close to the bar. As he cleared the bar, the ubiquitous cameras at the Olympics appeared to show his crotch catching on the bar. A second later, the bar toppled down on the athlete. Through countless slow motion replays, news agencies announced to the world that Ogita’s manhood was large enough to dislodge the bar from its moorings.

Hiroki Ogita pole vault rio olympics penis japanese

Although Hiroki lost points for the foul, he had a chance for redemption. On his second vault, he successfully cleared the crossbar at 5.45 meters (a little under 18 feet). However, his earlier pole-on-pole incident cost him too much. He finished the competition in 21st place. As the media covered the story about Ogita’s penis costing him a chance at the gold, another Olympic coach explained there’s more to the story. The coach, David Yeo, explained that Ogita has already touched the crossbar with his arm. Even if his shorts had not made contact, in all likelihood, the bar was going to fall.

Hiroki Ogita pole vault rio olympics penis japanese

In the beginning, Hiroki did not understand why people blamed his penis. However, after seeing the video footage, he now understands why people are talking about his pecker. Without question, despite the Olympian failing to medal in Rio, the stream of marriage proposals on his social media account shows he has gained many new fans.

Hiroki Ogita pole vault rio olympics penis japanese

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Pammy Lin

Pammy Lin

I'm a travel writer based in Washington state. I'm on the road over 200 days every year and have visited over 70 countries.