Olympic Secret Santa: Eccentric, loving and playful gifts Olympians would offer their rivals
As we enjoy the holiday season, Olympics.com asked some athletes to be Santa for a day and decide what gift they would give their competitors. Find out who got lucky and who would probably return their presents.
Picking a present for a family member and loved one can be a tricky task, let alone thinking of a gift for a co-worker. In the case of athletes, their colleagues can also be their rivals. What would Olympic Santa do in this case?
Olympics.com asked athletes to play imaginary Secret Santa and decide what they would put under the tree for their competitors. Find out below the most eccentric, loving and playful presents in the sporting world.
Nyjah Huston wearing flip-flops?
Skateboarding is all about style, so it makes perfect sense that Brazil's Felipe Gustavo would choose a fashion item to present to USA's Nyjah Huston.
"I would give Nyjah some Brazilian flip-flops, so he would look even cooler arriving at the event wearing them!" Gustavo told Olympics.com.
Some might think that warm slippers are more suitable for the holidays, but bear in mind that flip-flops are quite popular at the moment in the Southern Hemisphere, where it's summertime in December.
French fencing power couple plays Pranky Santa
When it comes to fencing, where competitors are constantly battling each other, the gift ideas get more spicy.
Two-time Olympic medallist Manon Apithy-Brunet from France said she would give her rival a gift that can be as kind as it is treacherous.
"I would buy a lot, lot, lot, lot, lot of chocolate so she can't move anymore in the match," Apithy-Brunet joked.
Her husband, European champion fencer Boladé Apithy, got even more personal with his prank-themed gift: "I would offer him a pillow with a picture of me on it!"
Lesson learned: be very careful with Père Noël.
Babysitting with Rayssa Leal
It's hard to think of a present for someone who receives a lot of gifts from sponsors and fans all around the world. That's why Brazilian skateboarder Gabi Mazetto, who harbours hopes of becoming an Olympian at Paris 2024, struggled when deliberating what she would give her friend Rayssa Leal.
"She gets all the presents for free. I think I would travel with Rayssa without her parents," she ultimately decided.
Leal could even help Mazetto with babysitting her three-year-old daughter Liz, who is a huge fan of the holidays.
"She [Leal] told me she would take my daughter to places when they are older, so I'm looking forward to it," Mazetto said.
Sharing food and festive spirit with rivals
The holidays can be dangerous for athletes who have to follow a strict diet for competition, but that doesn't seem to be an issue for world No.1 recurve archer Marcus D'Almeida from Brazil.
His present for Republic of Korea rivals Kim Woojin and Lee Woo-seok would be the very tasty thing that unites their two countries: a well-served barbecue.
"They love it so much. Some of them have already proved it when they came to Brazil, so I would offer them a barbecue. The guys love it... I mean, they have to, there's no way not to love it," D'Almeida said.
The trio could even start a new archery discipline - hitting a target 70 metres away after a whole day of eating steak.
Football rivalries and the boxing Matrix
A football shirt is a classic souvenir for any occasion, as long as you don't present your friend (or rival) with the jersey of the 'wrong' team. With that in mind, Italian taekwondo world champion Simone Alessio came up with a neutral solution.
"I would give a present to the American boy who trained with us [Carl Alan Nickolas], with who I made the final at the World Championships," he said. "I would make him a nice AS Roma shirt because it was fun when he came to train with us. He wore the Manchester United shirt and I wore the Manchester City shirt. We put them on the same day and so we were fighting United against City, so I would give him the Roma shirt."
Alessio got inspired by another sport, while Nancy Moreira, the African boxer champion from Cape Verde, compared her rival to an iconic movie character.
"At this moment, occupying second place in the world ranking, I would give a gift to the No.1 in the world, Busenaz Surmeneli, from Turkiye," Moreira said. "The gift I would give her would be an action figure of the Matrix because she fights using the same movements as the character."
What do you think? Does Neo stand a chance against Moreira or Surmeneli?
Olympics and the holiday spirit
Pranks apart, the holidays are an opportunity to strengthen bonds and reach out to people who you compete with all year long. That is the case for Brazilian skateboarder Pâmela Rosa.
"I would give my rivals a hug and a kiss, with lots of love," she said.
Although USA's Torey Pudwill is not yet an Olympian, he proved to be the most generous Santa of skateboarding.
"I would make something for them," he said. "Try to do something nice and not make it about competing. It's all about competition when it's competition time, but outside of it I like making connections with these people and getting to know them better."
