A U.S. athlete has created new meme material after cameras captured her shocked reaction to the Chinese team winning gold medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
The women’s synchronized 3-meter springboard final was won by 22-year-old Chang Yani and 25-year-old Chen Yiwen, who defeated their American and British opponents.
The divers defeated Yasmin Harper and Scarlett Mew Jensen of Great Britain (302.28) and Sarah Bacon and Cassidy Cook of the United States (314.64) with a score of 337.68.
Yani leaped into Yiwen’s arms as soon as the Chinese pair was declared the winners. They grinned and gave a thumbs up to the camera while their new medals hung around their necks.
Cameras caught American diver Kassidy Cook’s not-so-subtle reaction to Chinese athletes Chen Yiwen and Chang Yani winning gold at the Olympics
Image credits: @womenpostingws
However, the Olympic “Big Brother” lens captures everything and everyone, and Cook’s response to the couple’s celebration was undoubtedly captured.
The American athlete is shown in the widely shared image, which has received nearly 35 million views on X (previously known as Twitter), with her mouth dropping to the ground as she watches her competitors pose for a picture.
People leapt to the comments section to speculate about the diver’s response. Someone said, “That’s the face of ‘Wait, that’s so cute, we should have done that too.”
“The American team’s response is invaluable!” Someone else wrote. “Observing how athletes from various nations react to each other’s celebrations is always interesting.”
The Chinese pair beat the American and British competitors after scoring 337.68 points in the women’s synchronized 3-meter springboard final on July 27
Image credits: Getty
Yani and Yiwen have been competing together since 2019
“That reaction is like a mix of shock and ‘Did we just get schooled?’ Love the drama of sports!” a third individual said.
“It’s likely that everyone watching on screen had the same reaction,” wrote another sports fan.
“As Chinese, we rarely display our happiness, even when we do it’s subtle. Take this as seeing a 4 leaf clover,” shared somebody else.
Another X user praised the athletes for not holding anything back when expressing their emotions, saying they’ve been “loving the more humane side of the Olympians these past days.”
Yani and Yiwen won their first Olympic gold medals at the 2024 Games. The first-time Olympians arrived in Paris having won three consecutive world titles, the StraitsTimes reported.
Priceless US team’s reaction to Chinese winning pose pic.twitter.com/21U9FN0hGj
— Women Posting W’s (@womenpostingws) August 1, 2024
In addition to her new medal, Yani has five gold medals in her collection from the World Aquatics Championships. Meanwhile, Yiwen has six and has competed in 3m and 1m springboard and 3m synchro.
China has won 50 gold medals in the sport of diving over the years, more than any other country.
