Olympic pole vaulter Harry Coppell smashes front teeth while practicing for 2020 Tokyo Olympics

Team Great Britain pole vaulter Harry Coppell got into an unexpected "bar fight" before the Olympics, smashing his front teeth. And by bar, we mean a bar fell on his face. 

Coppel lost one tooth and cracked another during practice at the team's holding camp. He shared the moment he cracked his smile on Instagram. 

"Got some good vaulting done tonight at the @teamgb holding camp! HOWEVER…

The bar then fell on my face and messed up all my teeth," Coppell wrote. 

In the video, Coppell hit the bar with his chest as he vaulted over. When he landed on the mat, the bar came down with him and landed on his face as he tried to put his hands up to stop it. 

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Coppell posted a picture of his new smile: one cracked tooth and two others that were bloody.

Team USA pole vaulter Sam Kendricks commented, "Don’t worry bro, I knocked out 4."

The Great Britain athlete posted an update on his story with a picture and said, "I was going to tell people I was in a bar fight."

In the photo Coppell has one less tooth and his other front tooth was cracked.

"I hope @tokyo2020 has a good dentist around," he joked. 

Coppell won the pole vaulting event at the 2019 British Athletics Championship and defended the title in 2020 before heading to this year's Olympics. 

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Follow reporter Asha Gilbert @Coastalasha. Email: agilbert@usatoday.com.