Heading into the 2024 Summer Olympics, headline-making American athletes like GOATed gymnast Simone Biles, record-breaking swimmer Katie Ledecky, and star sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson were already destined to rule the news cycle. But thanks to the power of social media, the Paris games have also unleashed a crop of surprising main characters onto the internet, athletes who hail from every corner of the globe. Hordes of meme-making viewers have fallen in love with everyone from Team USA’s resident “pommel horse guy” to a muffin-loving Norwegian swimmer—competitors that, even if they never see an Olympic platform, deserve gold medals in pop culture. Ahead, a roundup of all the Olympic athletes who have gone unexpectedly viral in Paris.
South Korean Sharpshooter Kim Yeji
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“The most aura I have ever seen in an image,” one X user captioned a photo of the 31-year-old sharpshooter as she positions her pistol. Her steely presence and no-frills vibe has drawn viewers to compare Kim to characters in Bond movies and The Matrix. “I hope she knows the internet is in love with her,” one person commented. Others simply refer to her as “Mother.” A first-time Olympian, already labeled a “breakout style star” by GQ for her ornate eyewear, Kim won silver at the 10-meter air pistol event, with her teammate Oh Ye-Jin taking gold.
Norwegian Swimmer Henrik Christiansen
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Do you know the muffin man? That would be this 27-year-old Olympic swimmer from Norway, who is still awaiting his first medal—but has won plenty of hearts for his viral odes to a certain breakfast pastry. Christiansen’s love affair with the double chocolate-chip muffin at Olympic village, which he rated an 11/10 on TikTok, began less than a week ago. In the days since, Christiansen has sampled several more of the muffins—documenting his carb-loading journey in increasingly theatrical fashion at his second games since Rio in 2016.
American Rugby Player Ilona Maher
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There is perhaps no Olympic athlete this year with as much internet finesse as Maher, whose younger sister Olivia coined the term “girl dinner” on TikTok. While competing at the Tokyo games, the 27-year-old won fans for her blunt review of the Olympic Village’s cardboard beds and her unfiltered commentary on the COVID-era dating scene: “It is not that easy to go up to a pack of 6’7 Romanian volleyball players and shoot my shot.”
At Paris, where she helped lead the U.S. women’s rugby team to a bronze medal, Maher has shared her love for wearing lipstick while competing, expertly spoofed Love Island at the Olympic Villa, and lured everyone from Jason Kelce to Snoop Dogg into her videos. Most importantly, she slammed body-shamers, telling her nearly 2 million TikTok followers: “All body types are worthy, from the smallest gymnast to the tallest volleyball player or rugby player to a shotputter and a sprinter. All body types are beautiful and can do amazing things, so truly see yourself in these athletes and know that you can do it too.”
American Gymnast Stephen Neodoroscik
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Better known online as “pommel horse guy,” the 25-year-old Team USA member has emerged as a viral sensation simply for being himself. Neodoroscik is a single-event athlete, meaning that when he’s not performing on the pommel horse, he can simply settle in for a nap on the sidelines, where his bespectacled appearance has earned him comparisons to Superman’s Clark Kent. When he’s not turning in a near-perfect performance on the pommel horse to help the men’s U.S. gymnastics team win its first Olympic medal since 2008, Neodoroscik can be found solving Rubik’s cubes. His profile has risen to such a degree that NBC even started an onscreen countdown clock for “Nedoroscik Pommel” in the corner of its video feed.
Italian Gymnast Giorgia Villa
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The 21-year-old gymnast, who earned a silver medal with Team Italy at the Paris games after a sprained ankle kept her from Tokyo in 2020, has gained notoriety for another cheesy reason. She is an ambassador for a parmesan cheese company, a deal that largely requires Villa to pose with various wheels of the dairy product—going so far as to do the splits across four wheels in one photo. Lizzie McGuire would be proud.
Egyptian Fencer Nada Hafez
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Although she previously competed in Rio and Tokyo, this was Hafez’s first time fencing on a global stage while expecting an “Olympian little one.” After advancing to the round of 16 in women’s individual saber, where she fell to South Korean Jeon Hayoung, Hafez revealed on Instagram that she was competing while seven months pregnant. “What appears to you as two players on the podium, they were actually three! It was me, my competitor & my yet-to-come to our world, little baby!” the 26-year-old wrote. “My baby & I had our fair share of challenges, be it both physical & emotional. The rollercoaster of pregnancy is tough on its own, but having to fight to keep the balance of life & sports was nothing short of strenuous, however worth it.”
Fiji’s Olympic Team
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Viewers have gotten a heartwarming glimpse into Olympic village via footage of Fiji’s Olympic team singing in unison between competitions. In one video shared by Australian water polo player Matilda Kearns, Team Fiji croons “Mo Ravi Vei Jisu,” a Fijian hymn which translates to “Put your trust into the Lord and he will guide your way.”
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