Meet the breakout stars from the Paris 2024 Olympics
Gold-worthy moments
From thrilling competitions and stunning victories to record-breaking accomplishments, the Paris 2024 Olympic Games have provided us with non-stop entertainment that has us glued to our screens. But that’s not all that everyone is buzzing about. Thanks to social media, the Olympics have also produced several meme-worthy moments and athletes-turned-internet-crushes. This Olympic season, several athletes have entered the pop culture history books and will be remembered for a long time.
The Olympic #shootingsport stars we didn’t know we needed.
🇰🇷 Kim Yeji 🤝 Yusuf Dikeç 🇹🇷 pic.twitter.com/gfkyGjFg4I
— The Olympic Games (@Olympics) August 1, 2024
From the Pommel Horse Guy and Turkish Dad to a questionable breakdancer, we glean 10 athletes the internet cannot stop talking about (complete with the best social media reactions) as Paris 2024 officially comes to a close. Ahead, discover the breakout stars who have gone viral from this year’s Olympic Games.
John Wick, is that you?
View this post on Instagram
Introducing Yusuf Dikeç AKA Turkish Dad. Yes, his casual look may make him look harmless but people are convinced it’s all part of his disguise as a secret hitman. During his mixed 10-metre air pistol event, netizens went absolutely crazy when the Turkish pistol shooter showed up with a pair of black-rimmed glasses, ear plugs and an almost-bored look on his face.
With his unbothered demeanour, he casually shot near-perfect points with his hand in his pocket and bagged a Silver medal. His now iconic pose has been subject to many edits, from John Wick-inspired fan art to being a part of the Avengers and even murals. Now this is one cool dad!
Turkey sent a 51 yr old guy with no specialized lenses, eye cover or ear protection and got the silver medal pic.twitter.com/sFKcsRzvrw
— non aesthetic things (@PicturesFoIder) July 31, 2024
— Rothmus 🏴 (@Rothmus) August 3, 2024
Did Turkey send a hitman to the Olympics? pic.twitter.com/nPfNQMKtX7
— DD Geopolitics (@DD_Geopolitics) July 31, 2024
Currently the most famous man in the world
— Enez Özen (@Enezator) July 31, 2024
Olimpiyatlardaki temsilcimiz Yusuf Dikeç'in atış yaparkenki görüntüsü RDR2 posterine yerleştirildi. pic.twitter.com/zVO5YlSRep
— Webtekno (@webtekno) July 31, 2024
Born a model, forced to be a swimmer
China sure knows how to make a memorable entrance. While the entire Chinese swim team made a big impression, we think Qin Hai Yang deserves a special mention. During the 100m breaststroke semi-finals, the 25-year-old swimmer turned the Paris Olympics into Paris Fashion Week with his outfit.
Clad in a full-length red puffer jacket with his head cap and goggles already on, Qin walked out with an air of quiet confidence and swagger that had onlookers thinking they were watching a catwalk. Naturally, the internet did its thing and soon, there were many reenactments of the athlete’s entrance complete with runway music. Don’t worry, he won that race too.
@a.great.soul I like his Chinese name, “海洋 / Haiyang” means ocean 🌊 # #覃海洋 #QinHaiyang ♬ 原创音乐 – AGREATSOUL
@woknrolllondon The reason to start watching more of the olympics 🥹 • • • #parisolympics #paris #olympics #fyp #strut #china #swimteam #olympicswimming #highlights #olympics #fashion ♬ original sound – Wok’n’Roll London
@ehhhudaaa China coming out for their Olympic events behaving like it’s a Balenciaga catwalk #qinhaiyang #swimming #olympicparis2024 ♬ suara asli – penjahatmemee
The modern Clark Kent
Oh, the pommel horse never looked so good. Male gymnastics doesn’t quite get the same level of hype as its female counterpart but Stephen Nedoroscik changed all of that this Olympics. Nicknamed “The Specialist”, the 25-year-old was included in Team USA’s Men Artistic Team All-Around for his prowess at the pommel horse and was considered the country’s best shot at the podium. Turns out, they were right.
Obsessed with this guy on the US men's gymnastics team who's only job is pommel horse, so he just sits there until he's activated like a sleeper agent, whips off his glasses like Clark Kent and does a pommel horse routine that helps deliver the team its first medal in 16 years. pic.twitter.com/0D1ZqJjFa1
— Megan 📚 (@MegWritesBooks) July 29, 2024
After a three-hour wait, Nedoroscik took off his glasses and delivered a performance so powerful that it earned America a Bronze—its first medal in the category in 16 years. Netizens couldn’t stop gushing about the athlete’s duality on and off the apparatus and gave him another nickname: the “Clark Kent” of men’s pommel horse. Fun fact, he can solve a Rubik’s cube in under 10 seconds and can’t see without his glasses. We love a nerdish jock!
me watching stephen nedoroscik without understanding a single thing about pommel horse pic.twitter.com/RVBlMauyBC
— 🫐🪐 ً (@douwanttodance) August 3, 2024
This is Pommel Horse specialist Stephen Nedoroscik. He didn’t move from his spot for two hours while he simply waited for his one special moment.
He mentioned that he is cross-eyed and that he can inexplicably switch his dominant eye. Before his routine, Nedoroscik removed his… pic.twitter.com/AP9pnStCHa
— Sarah Fields (@SarahisCensored) July 31, 2024
Stephen Nedoroscik is him #Olympics pic.twitter.com/8GQFbNxEB4
— nascarcasm (@nascarcasm) July 29, 2024
Stephen Nedoroscik on the sideline vs. Stephen Nedoroscik on the pommel horse pic.twitter.com/YUo5t9NBYs
— BetMGM 🦁 (@BetMGM) July 29, 2024
taking off your glasses to then perform a near perfect routine on the pommel horse is so freaking metal
— sean yoo (@SeanYoo) July 29, 2024
obsessed with this one guy on the US men's gymnastics team who looks like he's getting his phd in anthropology and his only job is pommel horse
— marie ✨ (@hanyuchopin) July 29, 2024
Main character energy
If there was an Olympic category for “Aura”, a Gen Z slang to describe unparalleled charisma, then South Korean sharp shooter Kim Ye Ji would be the obvious winner. Equipped with a mechanical iris, baseball cap and a cool, blasé attitude, the 31-year-old went viral on social media for exuding “main character energy” while contending at the 10-meter air pistol event in which she won Silver.
Her daughter’s stuffed elephant keychain on her track pants was just the cherry on top. A baddie but a softie! Fans loved her so much that they even found her previous appearance at the ISSF World Cup which made her all the more cool.
no matter what you do in life, you’ll probably never look this cool doing it pic.twitter.com/ORjRhnI1hO
— Aubrey Strobel (@aubreystrobel) July 30, 2024
Omg her daughter’s elephant doll was with her during the olympics🥹 Kim Yeji is MOTHERING. pic.twitter.com/kiZlb7Beia
— Lit 🍉 (@mixedrelay) July 30, 2024
I’m gonna tell my kids these were the Avengers pic.twitter.com/LtxdFUxbpS
— greg (@greg16676935420) July 31, 2024
same pose. same aura. insane pic.twitter.com/2zX3iiorxT
— Michaela 🍓 (@Michisugussy95) July 30, 2024
The most "Main Character Energy" I've ever seen in my life.pic.twitter.com/ExuXVxB3VB
— Del Walker 🇵🇸 (@TheCartelDel) July 30, 2024
The Diving Darling
With her iconic “no splash” dives, Quan Hong Chan left judges and audiences absolutely stunned at this year’s Games. The Chinese diver first made a splash by winning gold at Tokyo 2020 at only 14 years old. Three years later, she once again cemented herself as the undisputed diving Queen after she bagged another gold and scored perfect 10s across the board on her first dive in Paris.
Videos of her forward 3 ½ somersault barely making a ripple in the water did their rounds on the internet and netizens couldn’t believe what they saw. Even her practises are just as good!
17 year-old Chinese diver Quan Hongchan wins gold with a dive so flawless that the water does not splash,
— Science girl (@gunsnrosesgirl3) August 7, 2024
My poop have more splash than this https://t.co/cmXUBWxkAt
— o-mores ◓ 🔜 (@Ming2Chua) July 30, 2024
Quan Hongchan after wining a gold medal for her perfect dive that received 10's from all the judges pic.twitter.com/jFbI2kTDhi
— Women Posting W's (@womenpostingws) August 8, 2024
The Bulge
Name a more embarrassing iconic way to lose, we’ll wait. While not qualifying for the finals at the Olympics is an unfortunate thing, the reason why French track and field athlete Anthony Ammirati missed out was not.
During his third semifinal attempt at 5.7 metres, the 21-year-old pole vaulter managed to twist his body over the bar…until a certain protrusion in his nether regions quite literally knocked it over. We imagine he’ll be telling this story over the dinner table for years to come!
French pole vaulter Anthony Ammirati fails to medal after his Male organs knocked the bar over.
Wow, even though he lost the game, in a way, he won his life.#OlympicGames #Olympia2024 pic.twitter.com/OgDTFGXJ1A
— Alistair Pallesen (@yzimng2) August 3, 2024
Anthony Ammirati failed the bar and the commentators are clearly having a hard time acknowledging what happened 😂 HELP I'M DYING pic.twitter.com/5hOHttVA5g
— Gladys Wotching (@Glodyswotcher) August 3, 2024
University lecturer by day, breakdancer by night
Kangaroo-hopping, floor swimming and knee slides. Those were some of the moves that Australian breaker Rachael Gunn AKA Raygun pulled out during the B-girls round against the USA, France and Lithuania (she lost 0-3, by the way). It didn’t take long for clips of her dancing to go viral due to her meme-worthy movements. Many netizens were left confused about the 36-year-old’s skills and how she qualified for the Games.
my five year old niece after she says “watch this!” : pic.twitter.com/KBAMSkgltj
— alex (@alex_abads) August 9, 2024
As it turns out, Gunn won the 2023 Oceania Breaking Championship and represented her country at the 2021 and 2022 World Championships, so she more than qualifies on paper. She also has a PhD in cultural movement at Macquarie University where she lectures. While she lives and breathes hip hop, breaking has unfortunately been excluded from the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics. Whether Raygun had a part to play in this decision remains unclear. But we love her confidence!
my dog on the lawn 30 seconds after i've finished bathing him pic.twitter.com/A5aqxIbV3H
— David Mack (@davidmackau) August 9, 2024
Raygun really hit them with the "Tyrannosaurus." pic.twitter.com/ZGCMjhzth9
— Mike Beauvais (@MikeBeauvais) August 9, 2024
Raygun actually comes from a rich Australian dance tradition pioneered by Renata Bliss pic.twitter.com/cwX2Q8dRCF https://t.co/v4BnTCBOIZ
— Laurence Barber 🍉 (@laurencesmb) August 9, 2024
The Italian heartthrob
Chances are, you’ve seen videos, photos and *cough* certain fan edits of this swimmer on your feed. We get it, his chiselled jawline, green eyes and broad shoulders are hard to look away from. Simply called the “hot Italian swimmer,” Thomas Ceccon has been collecting medals and hearts at this year’s Games.
He podiumed at the Men’s 100m Backstroke and Men’s 4x100m Freestyle Relay in first and third place respectively. But perhaps his best-known stint in Paris was when he went viral for sleeping in the park rather than at the Olympic Village because it was comfier.
@robinmanny it’s truly ceccon’s world #thomasceccon#olympics#italy#gold#viral#swimming ♬ original sound – mywatchhistory
@alicebrowneee I love swimming #olympics #thomasceccon ♬ som original – zogratis_017
Italy's Swimmer, Thomas Ceccon sleeping outside because he was fed up with no A/C in the Olympic village. Bro, got his rest and locked🥇 pic.twitter.com/YIjjG3lwFo
— Del Walker 🇵🇸 (@TheCartelDel) August 4, 2024
The exes who won gold together
No, this isn’t the plot of a romantic comedy film—it actually happened to Katerina Siniakova and Tomas Machac, who went viral for their amazing backstory of winning the mixed doubles tennis category. The couple had reportedly split back in July just before the Olympic Games but decided to reconcile and play together in Paris.
After winning, the Czech athletes shared an emotional and teary kiss in front of audiences, sparking rumours that they had gotten back together. While the pair have not commented on their current relationship status, their Olympic story was enough to get netizens swooning and urging Hollywood writers to take inspiration.
My new Olympics obsession is Kateřina Siniaková and Tomáš Macháč of Czechia, who were together for four years and recently broke up… but committed to playing mixed doubles and won the gold medal. pic.twitter.com/fFKH6T5rsW
— amy o’connor (@amyohconnor) August 2, 2024
This is a hallmark movie wating to happen. They win gold and realize they made a mistake and are in love with each other as they kiss on the gold metal stand
— Brandon D. Washington (@ghostzapperfan) August 3, 2024
The best Paris 2024 Olympic picture goes to…
Not only did Brazilian Gabriel Medina ride a wave to an almost-perfect score of 9.90 and set an Olympic record, but he also has one amazing image to remember it by. Raising his index finger upward with his surfboard parallel to him in midair, photographer Jerome Brouillet captured what could very well be the Paris Games’ most iconic photo yet. It’s a perfect photo for a near-perfect surf!
For more Paris 2024 coverage, head here.
| SHARE THE STORY | |
| Explore More |
