There’s been a literal non stop stream of Paris Olympics content to consume ever since the Games kicked off on July 26. We certainly wouldn’t blame you if you haven’t caught it all because of things like “having a job” and “going to sleep.” Even the most dedicated Olympics fanatics among us can’t drop everything all the time.
So, we’ve rounded up all of the inspiring, surprising, and just plain goofy things you might’ve missed in between the big events of week one—everything from the historical firsts that aren’t getting as much buzz as they deserve to the viral moments happening outside of the competitions.
An Egyptian fencer shared that she is seven months pregnant.
Competing in the Olympics is impressive enough as is—but doing it while in your third trimester, when things like shortness of breath, back pain, and heartburn are just a few of the body changes you might experience? Nada Hafez did just that. The 26-year-old Egyptian fencer revealed on Instagram that she was “carrying a little Olympian one” after reaching the round of 16 in women’s saber on Monday. (She ultimately lost to Jeon Hayoung of South Korea, but finished ranked 16th—her best result in any of the three Olympics she’s competed in.)
The New Zealand women’s rugby team performed a haka after winning gold.
Defeating Canada in a 19–12 showdown on Tuesday, New Zealand’s women’s rugby team, the Black Ferns, clinched the gold for a second year in a row and sealed the deal with a captivating performance of a haka, a ceremonial group dance of the Māori (an indigenous group making up about a fifth of New Zealand’s population). Traditionally done as a way to welcome visiting tribes or prepare warriors for battle, haka is a common feature at important occasions in New Zealand, like 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 versions of the dance, which they typically perform before matches. The moves may vary, but the common denominator is an intense show of force and cultural pride, which is exactly what we got to witness during the Black Ferns’ epic haka at the Olympics.
The US women’s gymnastics team gave themselves a name.
After Simone Biles (jokingly!) said their squad name is the “Fuck Around and Find Out Five”—seemingly a reference to MyKayla Skinner’s comments about the team in June—Biles clarified that their real team name is the “Golden Girls,” because they’re the oldest US women’s gymnastics team in the Olympics since 1952. (Oh yeah, and “golden” for “gold,” because let’s not forget, they’re once again the best in the world.)
The Games’ oldest table tennis player got a standing ovation.
You might expect the crowd to go wild for any number of Olympic winners—but what about for someone who loses? That’s exactly what happened when 61-year-old Ni Xia Lian (who was born in Shanghai, China, but competing 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 win at the Olympics, after beating Turkey’s Sibel Altinkaya 4-2.) According to The New York Times, Xia Lian beamed 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 really is just a number.
A Norwegian swimmer declared himself to be the muffin man.
The muffins in the Olympic Village could have easily been an afterthought, and it’s unlikely anyone would have batted an eye. But apparently, they’re the unsuspecting hero of the dining hall, and we have Norwegian swimmer Henrik Christiansen to thank for that intel. In what’s now a series of viral (and hysterical) videos, he’s professed his ever-growing love for the chocolate ones, showing a close-up of their ooey-gooey filling and filming himself enjoying one by the sunset and stuffing his face with a private stash. It begs the question: Is he really here for the Games or…the muffins? We’re cool either way.
A Judo star proved celebrating can be just as dangerous as competing.
Moldova’s Adil Osmanov managed to take down Italy’s Manuel Lombardo in the Japanese martial art of Judo and secure a bronze medal only to…apparently injure himself while reveling in his win. That’s right: Footage from the event shows the 24-year-old raising his arms in celebration, falling to his knees, and then seemingly fist-pumping his right arm a little too hard, causing what looked like intense shoulder pain. But it wasn’t just excitement that did him in; according to E! News, Osmanov revealed afterward that he’d been advised to have surgery on that shoulder prior to the Games for a preexisting injury—and chose to power through instead. But it seems like the thrill of winning might have caused some momentary amnesia.
The US women’s tennis team is at the center of a bunch of drama.
In a quarterfinal match between Danielle Collins and Iga Swiatek, of Poland, Collins delivered a strong backhand that hit Swiatek in the stomach, sending her to her knees. Later, when Collins retired from the match due to an injury, the two seemed to have a confrontation. According to People, Collins said to reporters: “I told Iga she didn’t have to be insincere about my injury … I don’t need the fakeness.”
Meanwhile, Team USA’s Emma Navarro gave an extra-firm handshake to China’s Zheng Qinwen after losing to her, and later said, “I didn’t respect her as a competitor,” per The Athletic. The bad vibes are certainly causing a racquet.
An Ethiopian-born Dutch track star added a *marathon* to her schedule.
Because apparently 5,000- and 10,000-meter races are just a walk in the park for Sifan Hassan, who won the gold in both at the Tokyo Games. The 31-year-old track star will be attempting to defend her titles while also running the marathon in Paris, just a mere 35 hours after she’s slated to complete the 10,000-meter. On Instagram, Hassan wrote that she’s just “a curious person looking forward to the challenges, and trying to see what is possible.” Consider us locked in, too.
South Korean sharpshooter Kim Yeji looked cool as hell.
If you haven’t been paying attention to Olympic shooting so far, Kim Yeji will make you look: In a now-viral picture taken while she was competing in the 10m air pistol, the 31-year-old sharpshooter looks as if she was plucked straight out of an action movie—she’s basically dripping in cool nonchalance with a stone-cold glare. What makes it even better: As The New York Times reported, Yeji was shooting with a stuffed toy elephant strapped to her belt that belongs to her 5-year-old daughter. And she took home the silver medal, second 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.
