The 7 funniest moments at the 2022 Winter Olympics
While the Beijing Olympics have been shrouded by scandal and controversy since before Day 1, there have been a few light-hearted moments as well. Here are seven people whose antics had us laughing out loud.
1. The French snowboarder who competed in a tiger onesie
After Lucile Lefevre injured herself in the slopestyle, she knew she couldn’t do her usual tricks for the big air event that followed. She also knew that Beijing would be her final Olympics. So Lefevre decided to go out with a bang. Hence, the tiger onesie.
2. The Chinese figure skater who body-slammed the Olympics mascot
As the figure skating exhibition gala ended, all the participants came together for a group skate — and were delighted to be joined by Bing Dwen Dwen, the adorable Olympics mascot.
[Check out Medal Heist, Currently's Olympics blog]
However, Chinese pairs gold medalist Sui Wenjing ran into Bing Dwen Dwen (we assume accidentally) and knocked him down. She then had to roll the rotund mascot in circles while trying to help the person inside stand up.
3. The Norwegian snowboarder who got a round of 69s
After two stellar runs in freestyle skiing, Birk Ruud had already clinched the gold. So for his third run he decided to celebrate. He brought the Norwegian flag and, after landing his jump, unfurled it behind him.
All six judges rewarded him with a score of 69.
4. The British speed skating couple who shared KFC for Valentine’s Day
Ellia Smeding and Cornelius Kersten posted a faux-sexy Instagram video that saw them hand-feeding each other burgers and suggestively leaving a trail of fries to the tune of Michael Buble's cover of "Love." Check it out:
5. The South Korean short track skater who did a BTS dance on the podium
Before the South Koreans stepped on the podium as a team to accept their silver medals in the 5,000-meter men’s relay, Kwak Yoon-gy got on first to do BTS’s famous dance in “Dynamite.” His version isn’t nearly as good at the band’s, but it still got the attention of BTS member RM, who shared the clip.
6. The Swiss skier who dropped his wallet mid-flip
On Kim Gubser’s final run in the men's freestyle skiing big air qualifiers, he felt his wallet fly out of his pocket in the middle of his last flip. Luckily, he finished close to where it fell. Watch:
7. The Taiwanese skier who scooted up the mountain to re-do the gate she missed
When Taiwan’s Maggie Lee missed the third gate on her first run, it didn't ever cross her mind to quit and take a DNF (“did not finish”), as most skiers at the Olympic level do. Instead, Lee scooted up the mountain — to the cheers of spectators — to return to and properly go around the gate.
The image of an Olympian scooting up the mountain was adorably awkward, but Lee finished and got to do a second run, where she skied cleanly.
“I did think, is it okay for me to climb like this at the Olympics?” she told The Associated Press.
—Pauline Vu
