Every Olympics has its surprise breakout stars. Eric “The Eel” Moussambani inspired swimmers in Sydney; Steven Bradbury’s unlikely gold in Salt Lake City cemented him as a sporting legend. The list goes on.
This year, it’s all about the “Muffin Man.”
While that’s not his real name, after millions of views on TikTok — it might as well be.
Henrik Christiansen, a Norwegian swimmer who’s been competing in his third Olympics, is not a medal favorite in either of his events. That hasn’t stopped him from taking the social media world by storm.
The Olympic Village has received decidedly poor food reviews, with Team USA gold medalist Hezly Rivera saying that she was not a fan.
“I don’t think it’s very good, at least what we’re having in the dining hall,” Rivera said in the news conference after Team USA won the gold medal in the women’s gymnastics team competition.
She continued, “I definitely think French food is good, but what we’re having in there — I don’t think it’s the best. But it gets the job done.”
The one exception to this, it seems, are the chocolate muffins — which apparently “take just like cake.”
In a TikTok video post posted on July 25, Christiansen reviewed several dishes from the cafeteria at the Olympic Village.
While the chicken gyoza was “OK” and the pesto pasta with pork skewer was “pretty solid,” the chocolate muffin, or “choccy muffin,” as Christiansen called it, was “insane.”
“11/10,” he said.
In the video, Christiansen can be seen grinning as he eats the muffin.
Several follow-up videos ensued, with one showing Christiansen’s face covered in chocolate flashing back and forth with a picture of the now-legendary muffin with a bite taken out of it.
Other TikTok videos have featured Christiansen carrying multiple muffins around the Olympic Village and “rating” the food compared to other French pastries.
True to the Olympic spirit, athletes from other delegations have also been raving about the chocolate muffin on social media.
“It tastes just like cake.”
Weitzel agreed, noting the inside was “melty fudgy.”
“For a chocolate muffin, nine out of 10,” Huske said, adding that it would be better if it were warm. Weitzeil also gave the muffin a score of nine.
The two also noted that they had spotted Christiansen – “the Muffin Man” – on their way to the dining hall.
“We passed the Muffin Man! Muffin Man, if you see this, I sat next to you on the bus, and I went, ‘Oh my God, you’re the Muffin Man,’” Weitzeil said.
Celebrities have also taken notice.
Christiansen qualified for the Olympics in the men’s 800m and 1500m freestyle.
Coming up, he has the men’s open water 10K marathon swim in the Seine River — with the marathon swim set for August 8-9, the AP reported.
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