There was a literal, uninterrupted stream of Paris Olympics content to consume since then the games have started on July 26. We certainly wouldn’t blame you if you hadn’t picked it all up because of things like “having a job” and “going to sleep.” Even the most dedicated Olympic fanatics among us can’t drop it all. all The Time.
So, we’ve rounded up all the inspiring, surprising and just plain funny things you might have missed in between the big events of the first week — from the historic debuts that aren’t getting as much attention as they deserve to the viral moments that happen outside of the competition.
An Egyptian fencer has revealed that she is seven months pregnant.
Competing in the Olympics is impressive enough, but doing it in your third trimester, when things like shortness of breath, back pain, and heartburn are just some of the bodily changes you might experience? Nada Hafez did just that. The 26-year-old Egyptian fencer revealed in Instagram that she was “carrying a little Olympian” after reaching the round of 16 in the women’s sabre on Monday. (She eventually lost to Jeon Hayoung of South Korea but finished in 16th place — her best result in any of the three Olympics she competed in.)
The New Zealand women’s rugby team performed a haka after winning gold.
Defeat Canada in one Confrontation 19–12 On Tuesday, New Zealand’s women’s rugby team, the Black Ferns, won gold for the second year in a row and sealed the deal with a captivating performance from a hakaa ceremonial group dance of the Māori (an indigenous group that makes up about a fifth of New Zealand’s population). Traditionally performed as a way to welcome visiting tribes or prepare warriors for battle, the haka is a common feature of important occasions in New Zealand, such as weddings, funerals and, yes, sporting events — in fact, both the All Blacks (the country’s men’s rugby team) and the Black Ferns have their own. own versions of the dancethat they usually perform before matches. The movements may vary, but the common denominator is an intense display of strength and cultural pride, which is exactly what we witnessed during the Black Ferns’ epic haka at the Olympics.
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The U.S. women’s gymnastics team has given itself a name.
After Simone Biles (jokingly!) said their team name is “Fuck and find out five“—apparently a reference to MyKayla Skinner’s comments on the team in June—Biles enlightened what yours real The team’s name is the “Golden Girls” because they are the oldest U.S. women’s gymnastics team in the Olympics since 1952. (Oh, yeah, and “golden” for “gold,” because let’s not forget that they are once again the best in the world.)
The oldest table tennis player at the Games received a standing ovation.
You might expect the crowd to go wild for any number of Olympic winners — but what about someone who loses? That’s exactly what happened when 61-year-old Ni Xia Lian (who was born in Shanghai, China, but competed for Luxembourg) lost to 23-year-old Sun Yingsha of China, who is ranked number one in the world. (Earlier in the Games, Xia Lian became the oldest table tennis player ever to secure a victory at the Olympics, after defeating Turkey’s Sibel Altinkaya 4-2.) According to The New York TimesXia Lian smiled as she walked across the floor after her defeat, blowing kisses to the crowd whose applause roared. It was her. sixth Olympics — and a reminder to us all that age is just a number.
A Norwegian swimmer has declared himself the muffin man.
The muffins in the Olympic Village could easily have been an afterthought, and it’s unlikely anyone would have blinked. But apparently they’re the unsuspecting heroes of the cafeteria, and we’ve got Norwegian swimmer Henrik Christiansen to thank you for this information. In what is now a series of viral (and hysterical) videos, he professed his ever-growing love for chocolate ones, showing a close-up of his sticky filling and filming himself enjoying one at sunset It is stuffing your face with a private stash. This begs the question: is he really here for the Games or…the muffins? We’re fine either way.
A judo star has proven that celebrating can be just as dangerous as competing.
Moldovan Adil Osmanov managed to defeat Italian Manuel Lombardo in the Japanese martial art of judo and secure a bronze medal only to… apparently injure himself while celebrating his victory. That’s right: Video images of the event shows the 24-year-old raising his arms in celebration, falling to his knees, and then apparently punching the air with his right arm a little too hard, causing what appeared to be intense pain in his shoulder. But it wasn’t just excitement that made him; according to And newsOsmanov later revealed that he had been advised to have surgery on that shoulder before the Games for a pre-existing injury — and chose to go ahead. But it appears the thrill of winning may have caused some momentary amnesia.
The US women’s tennis team is at the center of a drama.
In a quarterfinal match between Danielle Collins and Iga Swiatek of Poland, Collins gave a strong backhand which struck Swiatek in the stomach, causing her to fall to her knees. Later, when Collins retired from the fight due to injury, the two appeared to have a confrontation. According to PeopleCollins told reporters: “I told Iga she didn’t need to be disingenuous about my injury… I don’t need any falsehood.”
Meanwhile, Team USA’s Emma Navarro gave China’s Zheng Qinwen an extremely firm handshake after losing to her and later said, “I didn’t respect her as a competitor,” for The Athletic. Bad vibrations are certainly causing a noise.
An Ethiopian-born Dutch track star has added a *marathon* to her schedule.
Because apparently the 5,000 and 10,000 metres races are just a walk in the park for Sifan Hassan, who won gold in both at the Tokyo Games. The 31-year-old track star will be looking to defend her titles while also running the marathon in Paris, just 35 hours after completing the 10,000 metres. InstagramHassan wrote that she’s just “a curious person eager for challenges and trying to see what’s possible.” Consider us trapped, too.
South Korean sniper Kim Yeji looked pretty cool.
If you haven’t been paying attention to Olympic shooting until now, Kim Yeji is going to make you look: In a now-viral photo taken while she competed in the 10m air pistol, the 31-year-old sharpshooter looks like she stepped straight out of an action movie — she’s basically dripping in cool indifference with a stone-cold stare. Which makes it even better: Like The New York Times reported, Yeji was shooting with a stuffed elephant attached to her belt that belongs to her 5-year-old daughter. AND she took home the silver medal, losing only to her good friend and former teammate, Oh Ye-jin, who she was thrilled to see win. It’s perhaps the best show of women supporting women and looking sick doing it that we’ve ever seen.