Japanese athlete Hiroki Ogita denies his penis was the cause of pole vault miss

HIROKI Ogita has denied reports that his penis cost him a place in the pole vault final in Rio and has slammed the media for attempting “to take him down.”

Japan's Hiroki Ogita and ‘that incident’ in the Olympic pole vault.

Hiroki Ogita has denied reports that his penis cost him a place in the pole vault final in Rio and has slammed the media for attempting “to take him down.”

Pictures and video of Ogita hitting the bar with what looked like his manhood went viral around the world earlier this week, but the 28-year-old has denied that is what cost him his place, Instead saying he missed the jump because of his leg.

SELF HARM: pole vaulter’s Olympic dream crushed by own penis

“I never expected the foreign media to take me down like this,” he posted on Twitter.

“It’s one thing if it was true, but I have to say I’m pretty devastated that they’d go so far to make something up to mock and ridicule me so much.

Japan's Hiroki Ogita and ‘that incident’ in the Olympic pole vault.

“To be honest, it’s pretty rough, but I guess I’m in the spotlight so this might be some kind of opportunity. I’ll do my best and get the results so that I get the last laugh.

“It doesn’t matter if you do it for a joke or whatever, I ask you to go and watch an actual game at a stadium for once. I hope you appreciate, even a bit, what a great sport pole vaulting is.”

Having expressed his disappointment, Ogita later reassured his followers that he could see the funny side in the coverage.

“Watching again, this is pretty funny, if I say so myself. LOL,” he tweeted.

At the time, Ogita was attempting toclear 5.3m. He succeeded on his second attempt but dropped out of contention after failing to clear 5.45m.

He finished the round in 21st spot.

Originally published as Japanese athlete Hiroki Ogita denies his penis was the cause of pole vault miss