10 Funniest Olympic Moments

The tension is at an all-time high, and you find yourself sitting at the edge of your sit in anticipation. Nonetheless, there is a light side to this event. We laugh and cry at some of the actions of the athletes. Below is a compiled list of some of the funniest moments during the previous Olympics.

Bored Lifeguard

The Rio 2016 Games had some of the funniest moments in the history of the Olympics. Some more memorable than others. The lifeguard sitting bored during the games is one such case. But really, who would blame her! If you are looking for a useless job, then this would be your best bet. Imagine waiting to offer poolside aid to the world's best swimmers who would probably be quicker to assist each other than you would be in the case such an accident did happen!

Phelps' Face

If there were ever a meme-worthy moment, it would be USA competitive swimmer, Michael Phelps’ face when his rival swimmer, SA’s Chad Le Clos was standing a short distance from him. This was minutes before they were to compete in a 200m butterfly semifinal. His face has been used in many memes since the Rio 2016 Games, and even #PhelpsFace was trending. Phelps however, after speaking out on doping, finally revealed he had no intentions with the look but that he had zoned out and had been listening to music hence the intense stare.

Swimmers can’t throw.

The difference between swimming and throwing was made very clear during the 2016 Olympics. When Sun Yang win of a gold medal for the 200m men’s freestyle swimming, he attempted to throw his cap to his fans, but instead it went to a completely different direction than he had intended. Although embarrassing for Yang at the time, it was something for the fans to laugh about at least. Someone should really stick to what they are good at, right?

Celebrating a Win Too Early

You know what they say, ‘don’t count your chicken before they hatch.’ This is what happened to the Chinese boxer, Lu Bin in the Rio 2016 Olympics, who thought he had won and had already raised his fist only to hear his rival, Kenyan boxer Peter Mungai Warui announced as the winner. Lu Bin later wrote a message stating that the ‘judge has stolen my dream’ which has since been shared over 140,000 times on social media platforms.

How do you use these things?

The Olympics are a significant sporting event, and some actions can be excused as resulting from tension. However, it was a hilarious moment watching the Australian goalkeeper attempt to drink water from the wrong side of a water bottle. This happened during the Rio Olympics in the quarterfinals soccer match between Australia and Brazil. Probably her actions were because she was distracted and momentarily forgot how water bottles work while plotting how to beat the Brazilians. This moment resulted in a Gif and the video trended for a while. It proves the Olympians are just human too.

That Winning Grin

You would think that one would have no time to pose for a photo while racing. Well, how wrong you are. Usain Bolt’s winning smile during Rio's 100m men’s race that he had seemed to be loosing has led to the creation of numerous hilarious jokes and memes. It was as if he wanted to prove everyone wrong for even doubting his ability in the first place.

The Green Pool

The internet had a field day when the water in the diving pools turned green during the Rio Olympics and had to be closed resulting in lots of jokes and memes. The organizers had earlier claimed the water had turned emerald green because of sunlight and lack of wind in the area. However, it was revealed later that the contractor had dumped hydrogen peroxide into the pool which then reacted with the chlorine in the water to produce the murky green water.

'The Hunger Games?'

The spotlight of the Olympics doesn’t usually focus only on the performance of the athletes, but also the skill and fashion of the announcers. Even though they were expected to dress up, nobody expected Tara Lipinski and Johnny Weir to show up the way they did. On day one of the spectacular events, the two were dressed like the announcers of the Hunger Games and provided the world with the first memes for the 2016 Olympics. They tried to give Hunger Games vibes at the Olympics, and it worked!

Pride comes before a fall.

Or in this case cockiness. Jeffrey Julmis, a Haitian hurdler, acted cool, cocky and very confident in his ability when the camera reached him just before the Rio 2016 110m hurdles semi-final. However, as soon as the race started, he didn’t live up to the pre-race preening. He tripped over the very first hurdle which turned his situation into a meme and Gif. He still got up and completed the race. If you can watch the video and hold in your laughter, then you are better than the rest.

Surprise! Surprise!

Away from the Rio Olympics, there have been other funny moments in past events. One such case occurred during the 2008 Olympics in Beijing when the Olympians proved yet again that they are actually human. After training and pushing yourself for years all to win the medal, you never practice how will react when you win it, but crying isn’t one of the reactions you expect. Francesco D’aniello, an Italian double-trap shooter, won a silver medal and broke down. Maybe he was happy that his efforts finally paid off after all who wouldn’t. It was fun to watch his surprise at having won.

The Olympics are made fun not only because of the actual talents you get to witness but also because of the lighter moments. You should salute not only the sportsmen who do these actions that make us laugh but also the people who create memes, pictures as well as funny videos that make the activities even more fun.

The funny moments act as good comic relief for the tension we all experience while watching at the edge of our seats. There are many more funny moments that are not listed here. Watch them on the internet or watch the actual upcoming Olympic Games.