The viral stars of the 2024 Paris Olympics

In the age of social media, the Olympic Games are a fount of viral phenomena, whether it's breathtaking moments of sport or behind-the-scenes shenanigans in the athletes' village.

Here are five Olympians who have made an unexpected splash on the world stage during the Paris Games. Not all of them have made it on to the medal winners' podium, but all of them at least have the legacy of a moment in the social media spotlight.

Ilona Maher

Maher – who plays centre for the US women's rugby sevens squad – "has the biggest social media following of any rugby player", said The Associated Press, with three million Instagram followers and two million on TikTok. 

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The 27-year-old first attracted social media fame at the 2020 Tokyo Games for her behind-the-scenes videos of life in the Olympic village, and she's at it again in Paris.

Fans love Maher's body positivity and tongue-in-cheek humour, including a running joke in which the Olympic village is portrayed as a "Love Island"-esque setting for Maher and her teammates to find romance.

Kim Ye-ji (with an honourable mention for Yusuf Dikeç)

South Korean sharpshooter Kim Ye-ji lost out on the gold medal in the 10-metre air pistol competition to teammate Ye Jin-oh – but you wouldn't know it from her ubiquity on social media. 

Kim's "sci-fi shooter glasses and an ice-cold stance" were an instant sensation online, turning her into a "breakout style star", said GQ.

She was not the only viral star to emerge from the discipline. When Turkish shooter Yusuf Dikeç stepped up to the mark for the 10-metre air pistol mixed team event wearing ordinary glasses and a T-shirt, and proceeded to win a silver medal with one hand in his pocket, the stark contrast with Kim's futuristic get-up did not go unnoticed by viewers. "No lens, no headphones, just vibes," Eurosport wrote on X.

Henrik Christiansen

Norwegian swimmer Henrik Christiansen was not a favourite to win a medal in Paris, and his name would ordinarily only be familiar to serious followers of the sport – were it not for a "love affair with chocolate muffins", said NPR. 

Christiansen has shared his obsession with the gooey chocolate cakes served up in the Olympic village food hall in videos showing him "enjoying the sunset with a muffin in hand (and on face) and getting caught in bed next to a drawer full of pastries". 

The gag has since spread across the Olympic village. An aide to Belgium's Olympic squad even posted a TikTok in which he placed a muffin outside the Norwegian team headquarters as a sacrificial offering to Christiansen, to the strains of "Circle of Life".

Stephen Nedoroscik

Stephen Nedoroscik arrived at the Paris Olympics as one of Team USA's lesser-known gymnasts, but he will leave as the star of the show. The bespectacled, mild-mannered Olympic newcomer caught the eyes of viewers, and the intrigue around him was only increased by his participation in a single event: the pommel horse.

The 25-year-old's appearance and demeanour have earned him comparisons to Clark Kent – and, indeed, he appeared to undergo a Superman-esque transformation when he swung on to the pommel horse, pulling off a slick routine to secure Team USA's bronze medal. Nedoroscik himself embraced the comparison, telling NBC: "I'm a goofy guy with the glasses on, but as soon as I take them off, I'm locked in. I'm ready to go."

Nada Hafez 

Most women who are seven months pregnant prioritise comfort, said The Guardian, but Egyptian fencer Nada Hafez "instead donned an electrically-conductive jacket, a sabre and a mesh wire mask". 

Even more remarkably, she won her first match in the individual sabre competition at the Paris Games, choosing not to reveal her pregnancy until she was knocked out at the last 16 stage. "What appears to you as two players on the podium, they were actually three!" she wrote on her Instagram.