From Cardboard Beds and Kanye Spoofs to the Muffin Man

In the Olympic Village in Seine-Saint-Denis, athletes stroll in their team colors, their long and lean limbs moving gracefully along the banks of the Seine. Hungarian Olympians in matching sports gear cuddle on a giant beanbag, a Dutch marathon runner converses with a journalist, and the Greek water polo team heads to the onsite supermarket.

Traditionally an exclusive enclave with heavily guarded entry points, the Olympic Village has been off-limits to outsiders. What happened in the village stayed in the village—until TikTok changed the game.

Now, fans eager for a glimpse of Olympian life can feast on hours of content. From gymnastics star Simone Biles, with 4.9 million followers, sharing her pre-routine nerves and makeup routine before the Olympic all-around final to Tom Daley, with 1.6 million followers, testing out the athletes’ cardboard beds. There’s even slow-motion footage of a French pole-vaulter’s unfortunate incident that cost him Olympic gold.

In the Village Plaza, French table tennis player Audrey Zarif, whose arrival video at the Olympic village has 3.2 million views, raises her eyebrows when asked about her TikTok presence. “For the money,” she says, laughing. “But it’s not just that; I want people to see what we are doing. We get a lot of support from people on social media, and I also like to dance and make videos.”

There is indeed money involved. Zarif’s followers jumped from 2,000 to 10,000 after she started posting about life on the French Olympic table tennis team. Now, if one of her videos is watched 1 million times for at least five seconds, she earns a reward.

“The videos help sports like table tennis that people don’t know very well,” she adds. “We want to show the world that it’s a difficult sport. So it’s exposure for me and exposure for the sport.” TikTok confirmed that athletes can join its “Creativity Program,” which generates money for popular creators, but they are not contracted by TikTok to produce content.

Social media wars are heated at the Olympics, and in 2024 TikTok stands out. With concerns about data access by the Chinese state, TikTok has still dominated the scene as much as Chinese divers dominated the Aquatics Centre in Saint-Denis.

TikTok data shows that 43,590 users posted content using the hashtag #Olympics on the opening day of Paris 2024, compared to 3,151 in Tokyo 2021. This marks a 1,283% increase. By mid-week, 1.3 million Olympics-related videos had been posted on the platform, rising 1,828% from the 67,000 videos posted at the same point in Tokyo.

TikTok, now six years old, saw the platform reach new heights in Paris. USA rugby player Ilona Maher’s posts, including humorous takes on the Olympic Village being likened to the Love Island villa, have garnered 95 million likes from her more than a million followers.

This surge of TikTok content is no accident. TikTok paid Team GB an unspecified sum to become an official partner at these Games. Consequently, athletes were given training on creating engaging videos after each kitting session, leading to popular “haul” videos showing Olympians unboxing sponsored kits.

For Rollo Goldstaub, TikTok’s head of sports partnerships, the investment has been worthwhile. He notes that TikTok strives for broad, diverse, and joyful content, which has been achieved. He believes the partnership is mutually beneficial, providing exposure to lesser-known sports and helping athletes build a personal brand that can attract external sponsorships.

Browsing expensive merchandise in the Olympic Village official shop, the Ukrainian canoe sprint team, who placed fourth in the 500m kayak quadruple sculls final, says the platform has helped Ukrainians learn about the sport. “Many people confuse rowing with canoeing,” says Ihor Trunov with a sigh. “So, it helps people understand what we do.”

But there’s more to their posts than just sport. Like the numerous posts of French crowds celebrating Léon Marchand’s victories, they aim to spread joy. “That’s important right now,” says Ivan Semykin. “Many people defend our country, many people stay in our cities—so we want to give them something to make them smile.”

The Muffin Man If you’re into Olympic TikTok, you’ve likely seen Henrik Christiansen, the Norwegian swimmer, whose love for the chocolate muffin available in the Olympic village has sparked the ChocolateMuffinTok trend, with other athletes joining in.

“I guess we’ll never know” Gold medalists mimic Kanye West’s Grammy acceptance speech. “Everybody wanted to know what I would do if I didn’t win,” they mouth, showing their medals and adding, “I guess we’ll never know.” Simone Biles stands out as a master of this genre.

Léon Marchand fever Watching French crowds react to Léon Marchand’s swimming victories has been a joy. Whether in fan parks, bars, the Grand Palais, Roland Garros, or the Stade de France, their enthusiasm is contagious. Notably, even LeBron James was caught thinking the crowd was cheering for him!

“Je suis Matrixé!” Despite initial skepticism about the Games, many Parisians have been pleasantly surprised. Comedian Antek encapsulates this sentiment, stating, “I was one of those who said, ‘ohhh Paris, it’s going to be shit, it’s going to be cataclysmic.’ A few weeks later, I cried in front of the ping pong.”

Aura Turkish sports shooter Yusuf Dikec has won new fans on TikTok for his nonchalant approach, shooting with one hand in his pocket while wearing regular prescription glasses. It’s an aura.