If you’re like me, sports aren’t really your thing so you haven’t really gotten into the hype of the Olympics. You know who Simone Biles is and know she’s impressive AF and you even got into the lore of the pommel horse guy Stephen Nedoroscik — but other than that you don’t know what’s what when it comes to sports. Lucky for you, the Olympics are such a huge enterprise and event that there are so many things outside of the realm of sports that you can care about.
And no, I’m not just talking about the jokes about the Olympic Village being like Love Island or even the controversy surrounding the anti-sex beds. Because the Olympics features 204 different countries and about 7,000 athletes, there’s bound to be a lot of really random shit that’s just super entertaining. For the people who love useless trivia, we’ve gathered some of the most random and weird fun facts surrounding the 2024 Olympics.
1. They carry the equestrian events’ horses in a plane called Air Horse One.
Each aircraft can carry up to 85 horses!! I’m not a horse girl but I do love a good pun.
2. Olympic silver medalist and Italian gymnast Giorgia Villa is sponsored by parmesan cheese.
No seriously. She’s an ambassador for Parmigiano Reggiano and frequently posts pictures on social media with full wheels of the cheese. Somebody call up Big Parma because I volunteer as their next cheese influencer.
3. Norwegian swimming Henrik Christiansen is apparently obsessed with the Olympic Village’s chocolate muffins.
I’m obsessed with the Olympic village storyline of Henrik Christiansen being an absolute fiend for the chocolate muffins pic.twitter.com/7vfGcAxYbx
— jocelyn (swimswim4) (@swimswim48) July 31, 2024
He makes many TikToks of himself eating them — and the other athletes have caught on.
4. The badass sharpshooter Kim Yeji competed while carrying her daughter’s elephant doll in her pocket.
Kim Yeji, who set a new world record in women’s pistol and won silver at the Olympics, competes while carrying her daughter’s elephant doll in her pocket pic.twitter.com/DxXJBHhOsZ
— Women Posting W’s (@womenpostingws) July 31, 2024
And still managed to be labeled one of the coolest people on the internet.
5. Egyptian fencer Nada Hafez competed in the fencing competitions while pregnant.
Seven months pregnant, to be exact.
6. Olympic games for babies exist.
While not hosted by the official Olympics, there are Baby Games in Bahrain created by the Bahrain Olympic Committee. Babies compete in games such as basketball, gymnastics, and even weightlifting. There better be a cuteness score!
7. Even with Olympic-level swimmers, they have lifeguards at the events.
If you feel useless today, just remember somebody is working as a lifeguard at the #Olympics pic.twitter.com/Fs5VbCRTry
— Today Years Old (@todayyearsoldig) July 30, 2024
Just in case.
8. The U.S. gymnastics team has its first therapy dog this year.
His name is Beacon, he’s 4 years old, and he’s a very good boy.
9. For the first time ever, there are an equal number of men and women competing.
And that’s on equality.
10. Aside from the pommel horse, Stephen Nedoroscik is a Rubik’s Cube expert.
@teamusa A man of many talents! See how fast Stephen Nedoroscik can complete a rubik’s cube! 👀 #ParisOlympics ♬ original sound – Team USA
He finished one in 10 seconds on the day he was competing.
11. Australians seemingly pronounce “debut” like day-boo.
Listening to Olympics commentators is a sport within itself. And if you think the Australians are funny, you should listen to the Italian commentators shit on Paris for their bad coffee.
12. Simon Biles could easily clear 8 corgis.
That’s a lot of Corgis. Just saying… pic.twitter.com/3wVUZy6XrE
— Jenny 🇺🇸 (@JenJJams) July 31, 2024
Someone on the internet did the important math for us.
