The O.K. List: Olympic Edition
The O.K. List: Olympic Edition
If going viral earned you a gold medal at the Olympics, this would be the list
I am not a sports fan. But I love the Olympics. Mainly because I don’t have to watch every minute of it, and it is easy to catch up on the highlights that make it through the tough selection mill of TikTok memes, viral news, and YouTube snippets.
So if going viral was a sport, this would be my Olympic podium for 2024.
🥇 The memefication of the Olympics makes for great coverage of the event.
🥈 Off-field platforms (OnlyFans, TikTok) help athletes sponsor their dreams.
🥉 “Sad I didn’t make the cut” trend shows it is not easy to be an Olympian.
Let’s jump in!
GIVING MAIN CHARACTER ENERGY
Winning is not the only thing take makes you stand out. Your attitude while competing matters even more.
For instance, Olympic shooting has never been more popular than in 2024, and the success has mainly come from meme platforms, like 9Gag and TikTok that have started a wave of comparisons between the viral shooters and MCs from their favorite games.
Turkish shooter Yusuf Dikec has become a social media sensation for his nonchalance at the shooting range at the Paris Olympics. It was the 51-year-old's casual attire as he fired with his other hand in pocket at the Chateauroux Shooting Centre that prompted the myriad of memes.
South Korean pistol shooter Kim Yeji has gone viral across social media for her style and cool demeanor after she clinched the silver medal in the women's 10m air pistol event at the Olympic Games Paris 2024.
After winning two bronze medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics, U.S. gymnast Stephen Nedoroscik’s eyes and trademark glasses have been the focus of intense interest at the games, turning him into a breakout star. Nedoroscik takes off his glasses when he competes on the pommel horse, his only event. The routine has now become famous.
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Sources: 9GAG / Reuters / Today / Eurosport
SEX SELLS AND SPONSORS DREAMS
A plethora of athletes in the 2024 Olympics have turned to OnlyFans as a way to fund their careers in sports.
Great Britain's bronze medalist diver Jack Laugher posts paid content to the subscription website OnlyFans to make ends meet. He joins other four members of the Olympic GB team who are also on the saucy website sharing sexy photos with fans.
The New Zealand rower Robbie Manson—who placed sixth in the men’s double sculls—shared that most of his income doesn’t come from athletic sponsorships or competitions. Instead, he’s been making his money on OnlyFans.
"I get more than double what I would be on otherwise as an athlete—read into that what you will, but I am making more from OnlyFans than I am from rowing at this stage”
Sources: The Sun, Forbes, ENews
ATHLETES BECOME INFLUENCERS
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Henrik Christiansen swam the men’s 800-meter freestyle and the men’s open water 10k marathon swim in the Seine River. But fans on social media love him for his chocolate muffin TikToks. They’ve boosted his social platform from what he estimated was about 3,000 followers before the Paris Olympics to more than 340,000 and 16.7 million likes.
Luana Alonso, a 20-year-old influencer based in Texas, was excluded from the Paraguayan team after announcing her retirement from the sport when she was dumped out of the heats of the women’s 100m butterfly.
But the row seems to have done her no harm in her other career—as a social media influencer. As of Tuesday, Alonso had more than 700,000 followers on her Instagram account, up by around 250,000 in a week.
Ilona Maher, the American rugby player who went viral at both the Tokyo and Paris Olympics before her team went bronze this year, said she has put much of her off-field effort into building a social media following in the millions in hopes it will help her "make sports a career.”
In addition to Maher, other Olympians who are trying their hand at social media influencing include Dani Ramirez, Suni Lee, Hunter Woodhall, Tara Davis-Woodhall and Ariana Ramsey, who called content creation "a whole second job."
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Source: Forbes / Yahoo News / USA Today
CREATIVE REACTIONS
Tilibra, a popular Brazillian stationary brand, announced on its Instagram profile that the image of surfer Gabriel Medina floating on the sea of Teahupoo, in French Polynesia, will be used in its notebook collection.
On social media, many people remembered the iconic images of notebook covers in which athletes stand out in certain maneuvers and suggested that that image of Medina would certainly make a beautiful cover.
After the comments, the brand decided to honor the requests.
An unofficial reactive piece created by the Creative Director Zed Anwar for One Minute Briefs, featuring Simone Biles completing her routine, is also making the rounds on social media, and fans are calling Mercedes Benz to actually do it for real and sponsor Biles. Will it happen?
Sources: Meio e a Mensagem / One Minute Briefs
SAD TO ANNOUNCE I DIDN’T MAKE IT TO THE OLYMPICS
The internet being the internet, a new trend has sparked where users are sharing their sports fiasco with variations of the title “Sad to Announce I didn’t make the cut for the Paris Olympics”.
The trend seems to have originated as a humorous answer to people who constantly point out sports are easy and say things like “I could do that”.
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Brands and celebrities were quick to catch up on the trend which is only growing on Instagram and TikTok.
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HONORABLE MENTION: SNOOP DOGG
When there is an American athlete vying for a medal in Paris, there is a camera ready to pan to the American rapper cheering in the stands.
After multiple clips went viral from Snoop Dogg's time hosting a highlight show with comedian Kevin Hart on NBC's streaming platform Peacock during the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 - the network gave the rapper an even bigger role in 2024: special correspondent.
The musician even has his own Olympic pin — the collectibles that athletes are given to trade throughout the games — and it's seriously in demand. His piece depicts Snoop smoking and exhaling rings of smoke in the color of the Olympic rings.
The International Federation of Tennis even noted when accomplished athlete Coco Gauff obtained one from the artist himself, which is reportedly the only way to add one to your collection.
Source: BBC / Entertainment Weekly