Paris 2024 ones to watch: The playful Olympians who could bring a feel-good factor to the Games in France
The Irish rowing brothers who went viral, the TikTok-tastic American rugby player and British gymnasts, Olympics.com brings you the feel-good athletes who could add an additional joyful vibe to Paris 2024.
“It isn’t too complex really," proclaimed Irish rower, Paul O'Donovan, on describing the tactics he and brother Gary O'Donovan were planning on employing in the men's lightweight double sculls final at Rio 2016.
"A to B as fast as you can go."
Fast the twosome did go, winning Ireland's first ever Olympic medal in rowing – silver on the Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas – but it was their post-race interviews that provided the comedy gold.
We'll get to more of the O'Donovan's in a bit, particularly as Paul is favourite to defend the Olympic title he won at Tokyo 2020 alongside Fintan McCarthy, at Paris 2024.
But whereas O'Donovan's quirky character belies a steeliness that has seen him claim six world titles, for many athletes the Olympic Games are a serious business requiring tunnel vision and full focus on the job in hand with barely enough energy left for playful quips.
Yet for a quirky few, humorous personas are part of the package of handling the pressures that come along with the quadrennial extravaganza.
Usain Bolt was the ultimate showman-plus-supreme-talent combo, the eight-time Olympic champion chatting to volunteers just seconds before the starting gun launched the Jamaican into an explosive sprint, then taking selfies with fans post-race complete with iconic lightning bolt stance.
But who are the current characters who could be the ones to engage fans come the Games in France in less than seven months?
Qualification stages are still ongoing, so only a few athletes have been selected by their National Olympic Committees for the XXXIII Olympiad, but we showcase the characterful athletes who could be making fans smile come 26 July when the Games begin.
Let's start with the man who also described his rowing plan for the Rio final as, "Close your eyes and pull like a dog”, Paul O'Donovan.
Ireland's hilarious rowing Olympic champion Paul O'Donovan
If you want to keep the complexities of Olympic sport to a minimum, Paul O'Donovan is your man.
His "pull like a dog", quip resulted not only in its own viral hashtag, but unexpected moments such as partying at a nightclub when a fellow reveller rolled up his sleeve to reveal a tattoo with the phrase etched on his forearm.
Thick Cork accents added to the fun provided by the smile-inducing pair who admitted that sometimes they couldn't even understand each other.
In an interview on a UK TV chat show, actress Marion Cotillard, who was seated alongside the athletes, was asked if she'd understood any of what the boys were saying, specifically after the famous interview from Brazil was replayed to the audience.
"Nothing," said the bemused French star. After giving it some thought she revised it to: "I understood the word 'since'."
Since the gold medal at the delayed Tokyo 2020 Games, this time alongside Fintan McCarthy who usurped Gary from the boat during the 2019 season, Paul has won his third and fourth consecutive lightweight double sculls world titles.
He looks favourite to reclaim his Olympic crown, should he be selected, as expected, for the lightweight double sculls event, and also to add to his notoriety come the start of the rowing disciplines on 27 July.
Should he make it to the Games, make sure you stick around for the post-race interview – it'll likely be gold.
Rugby sevens content queen Ilona Maher
"When your mum's love language is acts of service, so she brings you a full charcuterie board while in the bath," posted Ilona Maher alongside a video showing the rugby sevens player raising a glass of wine toward the camera in situ with a lovely spread of meat and cheeses on the aforementioned board bridging the tub.
The American, who played for Team USA at Tokyo 2020 – knocked out in the quarter-final by the Brits – also posted a video of herself giving the camera a worried sideways glance when in the passenger seat of a car driven by her mum.
"Anybody else's mom drive on empty until the very last second," she quipped. Apparently so according to the comments.
The fun-loving stories posted by Maher have secured her a legion of fans with even the Team USA social account announcing, "The content queen @ilonamaher has arrived on set 👑 #RoadToParis", while Maher posed up a storm having photos taken for promotional material ahead of the big Olympic year.
USA women have qualified a team for Paris 2024, and Maher is looking not only to be selected for her second Olympic Games but also keep fans entertained with her social content, no doubt repeating her viral videos from her time in Japan.
TikTok-tastic British gymnasts
Sparkly leotards, sunglasses and TikTok dances, Team GB's women's gymnasts have found a creative way to enjoy their downtime together during competitions overseas or between long hours of training at Lilleshall National Sports Centre. Iconic routines to favourite tracks often make their way onto the field of play in celebration.
One viral video was posted ahead of the 2022 European Championships in Munich, Germany in which Jessica Gadirova, Jennifer Gadirova, Alice Kinsella, Georgia-Mae Fenton and main protagonist Ondine Achampong, quickly flipped a normal hotel room hang out into a nightclub-looking dance scene.
After claiming the floor title at the championships, Jessica, who is renowned for her wholesome reactions to her increasing medal count at world events, performed one of the moves on the podium in celebration much to amusement of twin sister Jennifer who came fifth in the same final but joined her sibling on the podium to celebrate.
A few months later, at the World Gymnastics Championships in front of a home crowd in Liverpool, the British women's (and men's) team secured a five-person squad for the Paris Games.
Team selections won't be known until a few weeks before the Games begin, but whoever is chosen, the behind-the-scenes content from Paris will be epic from the playful Brits.
- The Paris 2024 Olympic Summer Games take place from 26 July to 11 August.
