Culture

Meet the breakout stars from the Paris 2024 Olympics

Gold-worthy moments

11.08.2024

By Marissa Chin

IMAGES: GETTY IMAGES
Meet the breakout stars from the Paris 2024 Olympics
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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.

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?

 

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A post shared by Dr. Osman Aşkın Bak (@oa_bak)

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! 

 

Born a model, forced to be a swimmer

buro malaysia paris 2024 qin haiyang china

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, “攷掋 / Haiyang” means ocean 🌊 # #芃攷掋 #QinHaiyang ♬ 掟戛音äč – AGREATSOUL

@woknrolllondon The reason to start watching more of the olympics đŸ„č ‱ ‱ ‱ #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

buro malaysia paris 2024 viral stephen noderoscik

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. 

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!

 

Main character energy

buro malaysia paris 2024 kim yeji

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, blasĂ© 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.

 

The Diving Darling

buro malaysia paris 2024 quan hongchan

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 Âœ 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!

 

 

The Bulge

buro malaysia paris 2024 viral

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!

 

University lecturer by day, breakdancer by night

buro malaysia paris 2024 viral rachael gunn

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. 

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!

 

The Italian heartthrob

buro malaysia paris 2024 viral athletes

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

 

The exes who won gold together

buro malaysia paris 2024 viral

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.

 

The best Paris 2024 Olympic picture goes to


buro malaysia paris 2024 viral
Image: Jerome Brouillet/ AFP/ Getty Images

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.

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