The 2024 Olympics Moments That Went Viral For All The Wrong Reasons

The Olympics is a combination of elite athleticism and spectacle. Those who planned, watched, or were involved in the original Olympic games 3,000 years ago in Olympia, Greece, could not have fathomed the way the competition would evolve nor the technology on which we all consume the games today. In the 2022 Winter Games, an estimated 2 billion people around the globe watched, per the International Olympic Committee, and that doesn't even count the viral videos. In the 2024 Olympic Games, there has already been plenty of controversy, great viral photos, and some eye-popping viral videos. 

Right from the start, the 2024 games in Paris made a splash with its opening ceremony. With a goal of "thinking creatively and revolutionizing the Games yet remaining accessible to a large audience," per the Olympics website, the effort saw drag queens and trans people featured prominently in parts of the opening ceremonies, and one performance, in particular, was thought by many to denigrate Christianity. Conservatives saw the performance as insulting to Christians because drag queens, trans, and gay people were placed in ways that were erroneously perceived to mock the disciples and Jesus in Leonardo DaVinci's famous painting "The Last Supper." 

Olympics Artistic Director Thomas Jolly denied the accusation, telling news channel BFMTV his intention was to pay homage to the Greek god Dionysus "because he is the god of celebration in Greek mythology and the tableau is called 'Festivity'," adding, "You will never find in me, or in my work, a desire to mock or denigrate anyone" (via Deadline).  

In something of a running theme in moments gone viral for the wrong reasons, Algerian boxer Imane Khelif was called out by prominent conservatives who accused her of being male. The 5-foot-10 boxer began her boxing career circa 2016 and has always competed as a woman. According to Khelif and her father, she was born female and was raised female, never identifying as anything else. 

She competed in the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, but the accusation arose from a competition in 2023 when Khelif was disqualified from the world boxing championships after the President of the Russian International Boxing Association, Umar Kremlev, said that DNA tests proved she had XY chromosomes — those of a male. According to NBC New York, there was never any proof beyond the claims of Kremlev who shared this news after Khelif had beaten Russian boxer Azalia Amineva, effectively taking the win from Khelif. 

As far as the International Olympic Committee is concerned, the IBA nor its tests are legitimate. IOC spokesperson Mark Adams said in a press conference, "The testing, the method of the testing, the idea of the testing which happened kind of overnight. None of it is legitimate and this does not deserve any response," per CBS Sports. 

In the case of Anthony Ammirati's viral moment, gender is still front and center, but no one is questioning the French Track and Field athletes' manhood. On the contrary, Ammirati's effort in a pole vault qualifying competition in which he was trying to clear a height of 5.70 meters was botched by his crotch as he began his dissension back toward the ground. The early effort looked great, he cleared the bar but wasn't far enough away from it, and of all things he managed to clip the bar with his penis which, as they do, had formed a bulge under his leotard. The incident was unmistakable — complete with a little bounce from the inertia in case we wondered if we really saw what we thought we saw — before Ammirati landed on his back on the padding below. 

We live for this stuff in live sports. The unexpected humiliating mistakes elite athletes make remind us that even though they are in peak physical condition, they are human and they too mess up, even in the most important competitions in their lives. Ammirati understands the way the human mind works, saying, "You make more buzz for your package than for your performances," (via Entertainment Tonight). 

There is something to be said about doing one thing and doing it very well. Case in point: Olympic gymnast Stephen Nedoroscik, who went viral not only for his nearly flawless pommel horse event for which he won the bronze and the first Olympic medal for the men's team USA in 16 years but also for his unabashed nerdiness. Nedoroscik was only slated for the pommel horse competition so he had a lot of time on the sidelines while his teammates competed in the other events. During that time, people took notice. The bespectacled gymnast passed the time by solving his Rubik's Cube and taking cat naps. But when he took off his glasses and walked up to the podium, the internet was feeling Clark Kent vibes. Then, Nedoroscik crushed it.

As much as we love a good mishap caught on video, we also love to cheer on the underdog who overcomes a challenge, or the relatable nerd who accomplishes greatness. In Nedoroscik's case, the gamer with an electrical engineering degree from Penn State squinted his way to the pommel horse. According to the BBC, he has strabismus, the condition that causes crossed eyes which makes him have double vision. Nedoroscik executed the event seamlessly, earning the bronze and inciting cheers and hugs from his teammates before saying, "Can someone get my glasses." Nedoroscik described himself as "just a regular dude who happens to be really good at pommel horse" (via gqsports).

Italian swimmer Thomas Ceccon had a viral moment but unfortunately, it wasn't for winning anything. However, it did bring more awareness to the experimental way France is housing the Olympic athletes. Ceccon was spotted sleeping on the ground in a park near a bench inside the Olympic Village. He later said he was napping that afternoon because he's had trouble sleeping in the accommodations provided for the athletes, which lack air conditioning and include cardboard beds. According to Today, Ceccon said in an interview with Rai, "Yes. ... Unfortunately, many are leaving because one eats badly, it's hot, there's no air conditioning, therefore, from different aspects, it's so-so. I'm not complaining because everyone has (the same conditions). I'm only telling those who don't know."

Paris' efforts for the Olympic Village are meant to be used as sustainable housing units after the athletes leave and as such they are not using standard air-conditioning, rather, "they rely on geothermal heating and cooling and passive design strategies like thick insulation and carefully placed shading," per Fast Company. But it doesn't appear to be working very well, so the apartments are being furnished with cooling units, according to France 24. 

Team USA gymnast Suni Lee posted a video of herself on TikTok as she fell off the balance beam during the women's balance beam final on August 5. Taking the opportunity to be self-depreciating, she captioned the video with, "unfortunately, i was selected for the olympics." At the time of this writing, the video has 34.2 million views. 

Lee is an accomplished gymnast who competed in the 2020 games in Tokyo, winning the gold for women's all around, and the Bronze for the uneven bars competition. The women's team took the silver that year. Still, her spill reminds us that everyone makes mistakes, and the best course of action sometimes is to have a sense of humor about it. Her TikTok joke is a nod to other videos that have been popping up of amateurs sharing videos of themselves doing a sport badly with a caption along the lines of, "Sad to say I wasn't chosen for the Olympics," or "Unfortunately I didn't make the cut for the Olympics." 

Lee did make the cut, but after the fall, she is not going forward in the 2024 games. She won two bronze medals for the uneven bars and the all-around, and the team took the gold. She said, "I gave it my all, and that's all that matters," via CBS News.