Tokyo Olympics memes: Coaches are freaking out, skateboarders are wiping out

These sporty jokes deserve gold medals.

Gael Fashingbauer Cooper

CNET
July 26, 2021


Like most large sporting events, the Tokyo Olympics is filled with the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. But since we live in a world where the tiniest moment can go viral faster than Usain Bolt, the games are also filled with the mirth of memes and the jabs of jokes. Remember #PhelpsFace from 2016? Yeah. Social media is forever fascinated with the weird expressions, the painful-looking tumbles and the shirtless Tongan flagbearers.

We'll keep a running tally of our favorites, and the opening ceremonies deserved its own post.

Coach goes crazy

Australian swimmer Ariarne Titmus won gold, beating legendary American Katie Ledecky in the 400-meter freestyle. But it was Titmus' coach, Dean Boxall, who made the meme list. When Titmus won, Boxall tore off his face mark, screamed and, uh, mimed intimacy with a guardrail. You do you, coach.

Even NBC Sports' official Twitter account got in on the joke, tweeting, "THAT'S MY SONG, TURN IT UP" with a video of Boxall's reaction.

And some people felt sorry for the poor Olympics staffer seen in the background, writing, "Thoughts & prayers to the woman trying to keep Ariarne Titmus's coach from falling over the barrier during his celebration."

This injury is nuts

Skateboarding made its Olympics debut, and Peruvian skateboarder Angelo Caro Narvaez took an early fall, landing groin-first into a rail. No medal, but lots of sympathy.

"And he made it to the finals after doing this in the prelims," one Twitter user wrote. "I would not have made it to the finals after doing that in the prelims, I'll tell you that. I would have made it to the hospital."

Air ball

The US basketball team is packed with pros but still lost to France, 83-76, snapping a 25-game win streak that it had kept rolling since 2004. And while i

t might not seem fair to make fun of amateur athletes, all bets are off when it comes to poking fun at the professionals.

Wrote one Twitter user, "American teams win an NBA championship and call themselves World Champions until they actually have to play against the world."

But as one Twitter user pointed out, it wasn't as if only the US used pro players, tweeting, "You realize these dudes on the other teams are NBA players too, right?"

The memes will keep on medaling; the Olympics run through Aug. 8.