Athletes in the 2024 Paris Olympics are competing for the highest honors across more than 300 events and 45 sports, from diving and gymnastics to surfing and even breakdancing. But there’s another, more subjective competition being judged from the sidelines on couches across the country: the battle for a spot as one of the internet’s Olympic “main characters.”
For one reason or another, these individuals have captured the hearts and minds of viewers at home, inspiring countless tweets, TikToks, and articles—thus securing their spots as icons of this year’s games. Here are the top contenders of internet fame who have emerged so far.
Stephen Nedoroscik, American gymnast
The scores were tight at the end of the men’s gymnastics all-around finals on Monday. To make it to the podium for the first time in 16 years, the U.S. needed to edge out both Great Britain and Ukraine, and it all came down to one final performance. Cue the unexpected dark horse of the competition, Stephen Nedoroscik, now known to the internet as “Pommel Horse Guy.”
When Nedoroscik officially joined the team, he took some flak for being a pommel horse specialist. But when the fate of the team rested on Nedoroscik, he rose to the occasion, shedding his glasses like a real-life Clark Kent to perform a clutch routine that brought the U.S. to a bronze medal.
So far, the internet has taken to comparing Nedoroscik to Superman, theorizing that he seemed to be napping right before his shining moment, and digging up details on his nerdy non-gymnastics hobbies, like solving Rubik’s Cubes in sub-10 second times. NBC Sports’ official account even honored the newly-minted gymnastic star (and medalist) by creating a parody to the tune of “Me, You and Steve” by Garfunkel and Oates.
Kim Yeji, South Koren sport shooter
Her stance is impeccable. Her glasses are stylish. Her swagger is unmatched. Kim Yeji, a sport shooter from South Korea, turned heads after beating the previous record in women’s 10 meter air pistol—and looking totally unruffled while doing it.
“This girl is a movie character, like how is she real,” one user asked on X (formerly known as Twitter) in response to a video of Yeji setting the new record. The clip shows Yeji taking her shot before setting down her pistol and flipping up the blinder on her shooting glasses, all without cracking a smile. The “cyborgian spectacles,” as Wired once called them, are designed to help the shooter line up her shot—but for the uninitiated audience, they also serve the purpose of making Yeji look completely badass.
Ilona Maher, American rugby player
American rugby player Ilona Maher was already a TikTok star before coming to the Olympics for her day-in-the-life and sports-based content. At the Games, she’s drawn even more of a spotlight by tossing her competitors aside like it’s nothing, recreating the Love Island intro with an Olympics twist, and absolutely schooling ignorant commenters who think it’s appropriate to speculate about her BMI.
Tom Daley, British diver
Tom Daley may be a British diver, but avid viewers know he has another major talent: knitting. When he’s not performing in an event, he can often be spotted on the sidelines, cheering for his teammates while working on a new design. Daley was first seen knitting at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, where he was crafting a pouch for his gold medal.
“It wouldn’t be an Olympics without a Tom Daley knitting-in-the-crowd cameo!” the Olympic Games wrote on its official X account.
Snoop Dogg
“This horse is off the chain, I gotta get this motherf*cker in a video!” Snoop Dogg commented about one Equestrian competitor in a viral video from the 2020 Toyko Olympics, providing his signature flavor of commentary for a clip on NBC. Now, Snoop is back with his fan-favorite insights as an NBC Paris 2024 Olympic special correspondent. He may not have any athletic background, but he does have the hearts of American viewers, and newfound Olympic stardom because of it.
On Sunday, Snoop weighed in on a badminton match between China and the U.S.: “As you can see, it don’t stop ‘til the casket drop.” That same day, gymnasts Simone Biles and Jordan Chiles were also excited to find Snoop dancing in the stands at the women’s gymnastics qualification round. And just yesterday, he jumped in the pool with swimmer Michael Phelps, declaring, “Me and MP? We go back like the backstroke,” and then refused to don any goggles.
The Phryge, Olympic mascot
An honorable mention goes to this year’s Olympic mascot, the Phryge—a nod to a French revolutionary cap. This little guy has popped up everywhere throughout the games, and when BBC aired an image of him in swimming goggles, the cuteness was enough to bring one viewer to tears. A star since day one in our book.