As it approaches the halfway mark, Paris has already provided us with a number 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 first week of the Games has definitely delivered.
In truth, there are already too many memories to list. But here’s a selection of moments that, in particular, seem to have caught our collective imagination. Perhaps even now they will be providing inspiration for the next generation of athletes – those aiming to make their own pieces of history in Los Angeles, four years from now, in Brisbane, in 2032, and beyond.
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 Yeji 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 “dad core” like attire, he gave off the air of a man who had just popped out to pick out some milk. Like Kim, he won a silver medal, albeit with one hand nonchalantly placed in his pocket throughout, leading some to jokingly 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
The British team have really been tugging at the heart strings in Paris – thank you Adam Peaty – and 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 meal. “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 eventually spring into action, 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.”
New career beckons for Olympic ambassador Snoop Dogg
“As you see, it don’t stop ‘til the casket drop. They’re rockin’ and rollin’, back and forth.” So said rapper Snoop Dogg after observing the US badminton team. The musician has been a welcome addition to the Paris Games, but quite why the 52-year-old is so heavily involved is 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 has been 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.
The best of these captured his look of pure astonishment, glasses raised, while watching the victorious US women’s gymnasts led by superstar Simone Biles.
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 tiebreaker 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.
Source Agencies
