Not all of the breakout stars of the Paris Olympics took home the gold. For every photo of champs Simone Biles and Sha’Carri Richardson, the world’s collective attention was also caught by a bizarre breakdancing routine and, yes, that pole vault guy.
Here, in no particular order, is TheWrap’s list of the biggest viral stars of the games. (Except for Muffin Man, who got his own personal spotlight here.)
Snoop Dogg
Whether he was wearing riding gear with BFF Martha Stewart or proudly promoting various athletes like gold medalist Noah Lyles via custom Olympic gear, the Doggfather, who was also an NBC commentator in Paris, was clearly having the time of his life. One picture in particular, of a startled-looking Snoop in the stands, quickly became the “surprised” meme du jour.
Simone Biles
At 27, the gravity-defying, greatest-of-all-time athlete became the oldest female gymnast to win all-around Olympic gold at the Paris Games. We loved seeing her killer performances, her joyful smile and the way she supported her teammates. And that iconic photo where she and teammate Jordan Chiles bowed to gold medal winner Rebeca Andrade of Brazil was a special highlight.
Sha’Carri Richardson
“Hang this in the Louvre” people said of the “I’m about to leave you in my dust” side-eye Richardson gave a rival seconds before she crossed the finish line and claimed the gold. The so-called “Sha’Carri Stare” naturally went viral.
The track star explained to Refinery29, “I looked over and I just knew that no matter what was going on, there was nobody that I was going to allow — even myself — to be in front of me. I wasn’t going to even allow myself to not cross that finish line in first place and not get that medal,” she said.
Flavor Flav
The Public Enemy rap star not only sponsored the U.S. women’s water polo team, he was at the games in person to root for them. And that’s not all, booyeee! He, along with Reddit cofounder Alexis Ohanian, helped pay the rent for U.S. discus thrower Veronica Fraley so she could compete.
Anthony Ammirati (aka “Pole Vaulter Guy”)
The French pole vaulter became an internet sensation after his own anatomy got in the way of a successful vault. Amidst a sea of memes and videos of the painful moment, and a $250,000 offer from a porn site, the 21-year-0ld gamely poked fun of himself on TikTok.
A short video of him eating lunch was soundtracked with “Sad Spongebob Music.” In the caption, he wrote in French, “POV: tu fais plus de buzz pour ton paquet que pour tes perfs.”(“POV: You create more buzz for your package than your performances.”)
Yusuf Dikec (aka “Turkish John Wick”)
Viewers marveled at the sheer nonchalance of this Turkish competitor, who shot without special gear of any kind — and with his hand in his pocket, no less. He was quickly dubbed the “Turkish John Wick” and he began popping up in memes as someone who should be headlining his own film franchise, preferably with the other too-cool shooter of the games, Kim Yeji.
Kim Yeji
The Internet dubbed 31-year-old South Korean shooter Kim Yeji and her custom pair of glasses the “coolest person ever,” winning points for style, stance and attitude. She went home with a silver medal and millions of new fans. Unfortunately, all that global attention may have led to her unexplained collapse at a press conference on Friday. Forbes reported she was taken to the hospital “for observation until reportedly fully recovering.”
Stephen Nedoroscik (aka “Pommel Horse Guy”)
If you’re going to only do one thing at the Olympics, you’d better nail it as hard as Stephen Nedoroscik did. Interest centered on the 25-year-old American when viewers learned he was only competing on the pommel horse. He won a bronze medal, but, perhaps more importantly, we learned that he, his girlfriend and his cat — pictured here wearing matching pajamas — are wholesome as hell.
Rachael Gunn (aka Raygun)
Australian breakdancer Rachael Gunn’s ridiculously unchallenging routine earned her zero points at the Paris Olympics, but eternal fame as she was Photoshopped into hundreds of memes galore where she was alternately taking the place of the T-Rex menacing Jeff Goldblum, the gun wielded by Turkish shooter Yusuf Dikec or Gandalf writhing in pain at the hands of rival wizard Saruman.
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