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While he could not have made headlines for performances within the pool on the Paris Olympics, Henrik Christiansen nonetheless managed to depart the French capital with an enviable social media following after turning into arguably probably the most ‘viral’ sports activities star of the Games.
In a high-performance atmosphere like an Olympic Village ‘treats’ are sometimes in brief provide, however the Norwegian swimmer actually made probably the most of his ‘Olympic muffin’ expertise, along with his TikTok escapades fascinating tens of millions.
“I was just having fun doing it,” says the 11-time World and European medallist with a smile.
“That was the main thing because in a way my performance in Paris (top 25 in the 800m and 1500m Freestyle and the 10k) was really bad, so it was a way for me to cope with everything and still enjoy the whole Olympic experience.”
Henriksen’s Olympic Muffin associated posting started with easy storytelling, score the Muffin “insane 11/10” however it started to evolve into wider inventive mimics with scenes impressed by Love Island and different actuality TV programmes.
As such, he turned one thing of a ‘celebrity’ determine within the Olympic Village, however he was initially comparatively unaware of his elevated social following as he was “off TikTok for a couple of days while competing” and solely found the quickly rising numbers when he returned.
“I logged back in afterwards and I had 50,000 new followers overnight. The following night it was 80,000, then 140,000,” he remembers enthusiastically.
“It was surreal walking around the village and taking selfies with people, it’s like only the biggest stars in the Olympic Village do that, so to be that guy was just unreal and something you will never forget.”
Medals used to imply cash, now social elevation results in social experiences for athletes put up Games and Henriksen actually loved loads of the latter after the conclusion of the Games.
“I had a really long break after Paris, it was needed as I hadn’t had a real break for like 12 years, so that was nice and it meant I was able to actually do some of the things that came with the whole social media stuff,” the Norwegian tells World Aquatics.
“One of the weirdest issues? I imply, I went to a style present in Milan straight after the Olympics, which was so enjoyable, however I felt so misplaced!
“It was really cool to see what was happening behind-the-scenes and it’s probably not something I’ll ever get the chance to do it again, I’m so happy I did it.”
As a multi-major-medal-winning athlete, does he ever really feel frustrations although that he’s now better-known for his social performances, moderately than these as a swimmer?
“You know, at this point, I just have to live with it,” he says whereas laughing.
“It’s sort of become a part of the job, to be a swimmer, athlete and the social media comes with it and most people have just been so positive about what happened”
Henriksen continues; “I’ve had a lot of people say, like, ‘aren’t you mad that you’ve spent so much time trying to be a swimmer and then now you’re the ‘Muffin Man’?’ but I saw it’s like all part of a master plan, in a way.”
And what of his main learnings from the creativity he confirmed at Paris 2024? He had the next recommendation for fellow swimmers, or athletes heading to the Milano Cortina Olympic Winter Games in Italy subsequent month, about tips on how to develop their very own social media presence.
“I think you just have to be to not be scared about what other people think”
“Obviously some individuals are gonna hate on you they usually’re gonna name you silly, however for those who take pleasure in what you are doing, then simply put up it and simply have enjoyable with it.
The swimmer continues; “That’s what I’ve been doing and it seems genuine, like the ‘real me’ is showing and that’s what I love people seeing.”
And what of that grasp plan in the case of life within the pool? The swimmer made his main occasion aggressive comeback on the 2025 European Aquatics Short Course Swimming Championships in Lublin, Poland, final month the place he reached the 800m Freestyle ultimate.
“It’s not quite what I had hoped for coming into this meet, but I think you just have to look at it face value and see that I’m just not there yet as we just haven’t been able to do enough of the work that’s required to be at the highest level,” Henriksen admits.
“But it was inspiring to see that my previous PBs (private bests) would have given me a gold medal right here and I do know I can get again to that stage.
“It’s also great to draw some attention to the sport, especially for Norway, so although I didn’t win a medal (in Lublin) and it’s not the Olympic stage, I still absolutely loved doing it.”
The European (Long Course) Championships in Paris (FRA) would be the swimmer’s subsequent main goal, with the 2027 World Aquatics Championships in Budapest (HUN) additionally a significant stepping stone in direction of the 2028 Olympic Games.
“I’ve gotten so many silver and bronze medals over the years, so I’m missing the gold medal and it would be amazing to finally get one of these, but I’m at an age where I don’t have too many years left, so now it’s all about just enjoying it,” he tells World Aquatics.
“There’s a long way to go before 2028, but I have the motivation and I just hope they have muffins in LA!”
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