As Paris comes to a close, it has provided us with plenty of classic Olympic stories – some of them in the greatest tradition of athletic brilliance, others unexpected or downright odd.
From surfers seemingly defying gravity thousands of miles away, to breakout, eccentric internet sensations and British tales of agony and ecstasy, the Games has definitely delivered.
In truth, there are too many memories to list. But here’s a selection of the weirdest and most wonderful moments that seem to have caught our collective imagination.
South Korea’s sharpshooter queen and Turkey’s ‘dadcore assassin’
Shooting relies on the Olympics for a rare moment in the sun, but in Paris two competitors have ensured the sport is shining like never before.
South Korean Kim Ye-ji won silver in the women’s 10m air pistol, but will be remembered more than the winner, her teammate Oh Ye-jin, for her all-black outfit, replete with bespoke glasses with echoes of Blade Runner. The science fiction gun-for-hire vibe was somewhat undercut by dangling her daughter’s stuffed toy elephant from her waist as a lucky charm, but nonetheless, she was widely hailed as the “coolest” athlete at the Games.
Oddly, a shooter with the exact opposite of Kim’s swagger, Yusuf Dikec, has also rocketed to similar global fame. Representing Turkey in the 10m air pistol mixed team, Dikec appeared without any specialist lenses or ear defenders. Dressed in “dadcore”-like attire, he gave off the air of a man who had just popped out to pick up some milk. Like Kim, he won a silver medal, albeit with one hand nonchalantly placed in his pocket throughout, leading some jokingly to question whether he was an actual assassin.
Table tennis diplomacy provides a moment of unity for Koreans
A small band of North Korean athletes chose to do something truly revolutionary (and potentially very dangerous) when they posed for a selfie with their South Korean rivals on the podium at the mixed doubles table tennis event.
The silver medal winners from the Democratic People’s Republic were snapped smiling and laughing with their bronze medallist rivals from the south after Lim Jong-hoon whipped out his phone for a picture. Despite occasional rapprochements at previous Games, tensions between the two countries – technically still at war – are on the rise. So, let’s hope North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un was distracted on the golf course, perhaps peeling off 11 holes-in-one again, when the rare moment of unity took place.
Emotional Lola Anderson’s diary date with destiny
You’d have to be made of stone not to be moved by the story of rower Lola Anderson, a gold medal winner in the women’s quad.
In 2019, Anderson’s father handed her a note she had written about her ambition to win a gold for Britain after watching the Games in London seven years before. She had thrown the note away at the time, embarrassed by the entry, only for him to retrieve it from the bin, keep hold of it for seven years and then, finally, give it back to her just two months before he passed away from cancer. “I’ve been thinking about him a lot,” she said after receiving her medal. “I know he’d be very proud.”
“I always get a bit nervous taking it anywhere with me,” she added of the note. “What happens if a suitcase gets lost, or something like that? It’s a piece of paper but it’s the most valuable thing I have, maybe joint with this [the gold medal] now.”
Clark Kent wins the nerd Olympics for America
US pommel horse specialist Stephen Nedoroscik helped his team clinch bronze in the men’s gymnastics – its first medal in 16 years. But what really got the 25-year-old noticed was his wait to perform. During nearly three hours on the sidelines, Nedoroscik often sat motionless, eyes closed behind his thick glasses (which he wears because he’s cross-eyed), only to spring into action eventually, whipping off his glasses, and deliver a history-making performance.
Compared variously with Spider-Man and Superman’s alter egos, Peter Parker and Clark Kent, the mechanical engineer from Penn State University’s status as a cult star was cemented when his new-found fans discovered he is also able to solve a Rubik’s cube in under 10 seconds.
Brazil’s evangelical surfer walks on water
Hailed as the picture of Paris 2024 after only three days of competition, despite being taken almost 15,700 miles away from the French capital, Gabriel Medina “standing” in mid air with his surfboard beneath him is destined to join the pantheon of iconic Olympic images.
Photographer Jerome Brouillet was perched on a boat in Tahiti waiting for the Brazilian world champion to exit from a wave during a heat event, when Medina emerged pointing his finger in the air in celebration.
Medina was expecting a perfect score of 10, but had to make do with 9.9. In a post on social media following the event, the Christian surfer quoted Paul from Philippians 4:13: “I can do everything through Him who strengthens me.”
Snoop’s top Dogg moments
“As you see, it don’t stop till the casket drop. They’re rockin’ and rollin’, back and forth.” So said rapper Snoop Dogg after observing the US badminton team. The musician was a ubiquitous addition to the Paris Games, even if the reason that the 52-year-old was so heavily involved was unclear.
Ostensibly present as a commentator and roving reporter for the American news network NBC, he was given the honour of carrying the Olympic torch during the opening ceremony and was the subject of a number of memorable images while travelling from venue to venue, supporting his compatriots by wearing T-shirts featuring the faces of his favourite US athletes.
Other memorable Snoop Dogg appearances include: his look of pure astonishment, glasses raised, while watching the victorious US women’s gymnasts led by superstar Simone Biles; matching with Martha Stewart in full equestrian kit at the dressage; and showcasing his own dance moves while opening the breaking competition.
Murray and Evans jump for joy
In the penultimate match of Andy Murray’s epic 19-year journey through professional tennis, he was able to provide the nation with one final moment of hallmark jeopardy and redemption.
Two days before the tears of the quarter-final defeat to the American third seeds, Murray and his partner, Dan Evans, completed an astonishing win, which came on the back of squandered match points, then saved match points and, finally, a tense final tie-breaker which ended 11-9.
Their reaction to victory – and to prolonging Murray’s competitive career for what turned out to be just one more match – was undisguised children-on-Christmas-morning glee. Leaping into the air uninhibited, they encapsulated what competing at the Olympics, and what Murray’s career meant – to him, and us.
The 51-year-old GB skateboarder who won the medal for most fun
Older athletes won spectators’ hearts, if not always medals, in Paris. Among them was Team GB’s “rad dad” Andy Macdonald, who became the oldest Olympic skateboarder in history, despite coming up against competitors as young as 17.
Although Macdonald was knocked out of the skateboarding final, the 51-year-old, a professional skateboarder since 1994, dazzled in front of a packed Parisian crowd, many of whom were visibly stunned by his moves.
Born in Massachusetts with a father from Luton, the veteran is well known in skateboarding circles as a nine-time world champion in the World Cup Skateboarding Series. Speaking about qualifying for Paris, Macdonald told reporters: “I said to my coach and team manager, ‘I’m going to embarrass you. I’m sorry, I’m just going to ham it up and have so much fun.’”
He added: “After you reach 50, you’re not self-conscious. I’m just going to enjoy myself to the fullest and hopefully that will come through for skateboarding. I feel like I’m representing for the old dudes.”
The moment John Lennon defused a beach volleyball spat
Tempers ran high in the third set of the women’s volleyball final match between Brazil and Canada, which saw players from both teams locked in a tense and heated argument at the net.
As the referee intervened to diffuse the situation, the DJ at the Eiffel Tower stadium also took action by playing John Lennon’s 1971 hit Imagine – an anthem for peace.
As the opening bars of the song echoed around the stadium, the players’ fury dissolved into smiles and clapping.
While Brazil ended up defeating the Canadian team by two sets to one, it was Love and John Lennon that ultimately won the day.
Walking away with a silver medal, Canada’s Brandie Wilkerson said: “Immediately after the game, it’s all love and respect. We bring out the best in each other, and I’m honoured to play against this team.”
Australian breakdancer’s kangaroo-hopping routine
Few knew what to expect when breakdancing made its Olympic debut at Paris 2024. But it certainly wasn’t what Australia’s top-ranked breakdancer brought to the competition.
Rachael Gunn, a 36-year-old academic, who has spent the past decade studying the discipline – also known as breaking – at Macquarie University, in Sydney, failed to score a point, losing each of her three round-robin bouts by two rounds to zero.
Raygun, her breakdancing name, finished in 16th place – but her moves quickly went viral. Her idiosyncratic take on breaking involved jumping around on stage imitating a kangaroo, rolling around and, at one point, squirming on the floor while attempting to touch her toes.
Critics quickly claimed the mockery that followed her performance has put the sport back 40 years. However, Gunn, whose academic work tackles the “cultural politics of breaking”, said she knew she couldn’t compete with the other athletes’ tricks and spins, so had to be more creative. In a post on Instagram following the backlash, she wrote: “Don’t be afraid to be different. Go out there and represent yourself, you never know where that’s going to take you.”
French steeplechase runner’s proposal
Alice Finot came fourth in the highly competitive women’s steeplechase race won by the current world champion, Winfred Yavi of Bahrain, but managed to record an impressive personal best of eight minutes and 58.67 seconds.
It may not have been enough to secure her a medal, but the 33-year-old’s performance was sufficient to allow her to fulfil a promise she had made to herself before the race. After crossing the finishing line, Finot made her way to the stands at the Stade de France, to get down on one knee and ask her boyfriend – fellow athlete Bruno Martínez Bargiela – to marry her.
“I told myself that if I ran under nine minutes, knowing that nine is my lucky number and that we’ve been together for nine years, then I would propose,” she said later.
Instead of a ring, the Olympian attached a “Love is in Paris” pin to her boyfriend’s shirt.
“I don’t like doing things like everyone else,” she said. “Since he hadn’t done it yet, I told myself that maybe it was up to me to do it.”
Source Agencies
