Yahoo News 17 Unique, Weird, And Surprising Facts About Olympic Athletes
The Paris 2024 Olympics have been chock full of legendary athletes and breakout viral stars.
Here are 17 surprising facts about famous Olympians competing in Paris:
1.American gymnast and two-time bronze medalist Stephen Nedoroscik can solve a Rubik's cube in under 20 seconds.
He told Today, "It's a stress relief. Sometimes I make the excuse that it's good for wrist rehab too. I love to solve it — it's just fun."
2.Many Olympic athletes accept sponsorships as a form of income. In 2021, Italian gymnast and silver medalist Giorgia Villa became a brand ambassador for Parmagiano Reggiano.
Photos of her posing with wheels of parmesan cheese have recently gone viral.
3.American gymnast Simone Biles — who has seven gold medals, two silver medals, and two bronze medals — holds dual citizenship in Belize.
She has Belizean citizenship through her mom, Nellie Cayetano Biles, who lived in Belize City until 18, when she moved to the US.
Nellie was Simone's step-grandmother before she and her husband Ron adopted Simone and her sister Adria.
4.American track and field sprinter and silver medalist Sha'Carri Richardson is known for wearing long, intricate nails on the track. Her manicures were initially inspired by her grandmother, but they also pay homage to Olympic record holder Florence Griffith Joyner.
Sha'Carri told AP, "Those two were the mix of the athlete I wanted to be. An athlete that shows I know where I came from and been through things, but I’m not going to allow that to define me, and to always present myself in a way that is dominant — but that is also appealing."
5.Norwegian swimmer and viral chocolate muffin fiend Henrik Christiansen was involved in theater as well as swimming growing up. At 14, he had to make a High School Musical-esque decision — act in a play he was supposed to be in, or compete in a swim meet the same weekend.
Though he ultimately chose swimming, his theater experience helped shape him into an Olympic athlete.
He told the New York Times, "When you're competing here, in the Olympics, there are thousands of people in the stands just watching you compete, so it's similar in a lot of ways."
6.At 11 years old, Chinese skateboarder Zheng Haohao is the youngest athlete at the Paris 2024 Olympics as well as China's youngest Olympian ever.
This year's oldest Olympian, 65-year-old Spanish equestrian Jimenez Cobo, made his Olympic debut 12 years before she was born.
7.South Korean sharpshooter and silver medalist Kim Ye-Ji's competition outfit included a sentimental special touch — her daughter's elephant toy.
Her very cool, Matrix-esque style went viral.
8.In the early '90s, American basketball player Stephen Curry appeared in a Burger King commercial with his dad, NBA player Dell Curry.
In the ad, Steph said he wanted to be a basketball player when he grew up.
Here's the commercial:
9.Egyptian fencer Nada Hafez is seven months pregnant while competing in her third Olympics.
On Instagram, she said, "What appears to you as two players on the podium, they were actually three! It was me, my competitor, & my yet-to-come to our world, little baby!
My baby & I had our fair share of challenges, be it both physical & emotional. The rollercoaster of pregnancy is tough on its own, but having to fight to keep the balance of life & sports was nothing short of strenuous, however worth it.
I’m writing this post to say that pride fills my being for securing my place in the round of 16!"
10.American gymnast and gold and silver medalist Jordan Chiles was named after fellow Olympian Michael Jordan.
She told Koin, "[My mom] is literally in love with sports."
11.British diver Tom Daley — who has a gold medal, a silver medal, and three bronze medals — knitted a sweater while watching the Paris 2024 diving competitions.
He previously went viral for knitting during the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
12.American rugby player and bronze medalist Ilona Maher isn't the only TikTok sensation in her family! Her sister Olivia Maher is a social media personality who coined the viral term "girl dinner" in 2023.
In 2024, Ilona told People, "She’s right over there, girl dinner inventor. Come here, come say hi for a minute. This is the inventor of Girl Dinner. She’s my manager, my boss, my everything. She does it all."
13.Turisk sport shooter and silver medalist Yusuf Dikeç's favorite hobby is dancing.
He's also reportedly a cat lover.
14.American gymnast Suni Lee — who has two gold medals, a silver medal, and three bronze medals — has her sister or a friend braid her hair before every competition. She's superstitious about only giving the person braiding her hair one try.
She told Elle, "I always say it will dictate how my meet goes."
15.Australian swimmer Emma McKeon — who has six gold medals, two silver medals, and four bronze medals — has been dating singer and former Olympic hopeful Cody Simpson since 2022.
They reportedly got close while preparing for the Commonwealth Games together.
He's been in Paris supporting her.
16.American tennis player Coco Gauff is an avid anime fan. She's tried using Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba protagonist Tanjiro Kamado's breathing styles on the court.
She told TIME, "I’m not out here slaying demons, but it does help in the pressure moments."
17.And finally, when American swimmer Katie Ledecky — who has nine gold medals, four silver medals, and a bronze medal — made her Olympic debut at the 2012 London games, she was only 15, making her the youngest American there.
Her gold medal win in the 800-meter freestyle came as a surprise at the time, and now, at 27, she wants to make sure her younger teammates feel welcome.
She told People, "I want to make sure that I'm being a leader for our team, both in and out of the pool, and making sure that the younger swimmers feel like they belong on that team and belong at the Olympic level."
