The Olympics showcases the best of the best. But social media offers a stage for more average sports enthusiasts.
In a trend that has gone massively viral, wracking up millions of views and likes per video, the athletes of TikTok have taken to sharing some of their worst, funniest and most ouch-inducing moments in their sports careers.
Usually accompanied by a tongue-in-cheek caption along the lines of, “Sad to announce I didn’t make the Olympic team this year,” the videos show amateur athletes of all ages and creeds competing − and fumbling − in a variety of sports events. Usually, the fails are accompanied by a “bass-boosted” remix of “The Star-Spangled Banner” or the Olympic Theme.
From gymnasts flying off bars to divers suffering epic belly flops, the videos showcase the much more relatable reality behind the glamour of Olympic and other pro sports: the faceplants you suffer along the way.
Searching terms on TikTok like “unfortunately I was not chosen for the Olympics,” or “not chosen for 2024 Olympics” will return a slew of viral videos, many easily topping out at 2, 4, 7, 15, even 46 million views.
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Gymnastics, swimming and diving and track and field appear to be overrepresented in the clips, and it gets easier to guess why once you start watching. Here’s a look at just some of the athlete’s on-camera fumble and fails.
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Gymnastics fails look painful
In one such clip, user @charr.grwms shared a video of herself practicing on the uneven bars in a gym. The video starts with an impressive spin on the low bar and jump to the higher. All looks well until her hands leave the bars and her face meets the blue mat below. Other clips show her missing the bars altogether or sticking what look to be painful landings on her back on the tumbling mat.
“Sad to announce I was not selected to be on the 2024 Olympic team. I’ll be back in 2028!” jokes an on-screen caption.
“These look like they really hurt,” sympathized one commenter. “The reactions are killing me,” said another, referring to the surprised faces of coaches and fellow gymnasts caught in the background of the clips.
A perfect belly flop
Another shared by @zofranluvr shows the poster preparing to make a dive at what appears to be a swimming and diving competition. She starts out strong, jumping high off the board and completing several flips in the air. Issues only arise when she untucks to resume a dive position, only to land a perfectly horizontal belly flop into the water.
“Unfortunately, I did not make the 2024 Olympic diving team,” said on-screen text, accompanied by the caption, “Can’t seem to understand why! Maybe next time!!!!”
“I KNOW that hurt,” said one commenter, while another reassured the poster her dive was “Still incredible” but “the reactions are killing me.”
‘My teeth are gone’
In a basketball clip shared by user @reesegibsonbrown, we see an on-court trip go terribly wrong as a player in red lands on top of the TikTok user, dressed in white, as both are going after the ball. In an accidental tumble, the poster’s face ends up smashed onto the hard surface of the court, resulting in an unfortunate tooth mishap.
The poster can be seen grabbing her mouth and running to the sidelines as a teammate jogs over and picks something up off the ground.
“‘My teeth are gone!!!'” reads the caption. “They say there’s a dent left where my teeth were bolted to the ground.” Again, the post had on-screen text joking about the poster failing to make the Olympic team.
“Why is this not viral,” wondered one commenter, while another asked if the poster was OK. “The way I audibly gasped was unreal,” said another.
Of course, the posts are all in good fun – who doesn’t enjoy a little self-deprecating humor, after all? And, as the most amateur to the most elite athletes know, the flops, fails and faceplants are all part of the game.
