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Here Are the Top 6 Olympic Athletes to Follow on TikTok Right Now
The best athletes in the world are posting behind-the-scenes videos that are heartfelt, hilarious, and smart.
Gen X had Facebook. Millennials had Instagram. And Gen Z has TikTok.
During the 2024 Olympic Games, athletes from all over the world — many of whom count themselves among the latter generation — converged on the Olympic Village in Paris to sleep on now-infamous cardboard beds, take their meals in communal dining halls, go on the hunt for other teams' national pins, and socialize with the other best athletes in the world... and, like many young people, document much of it online.
And while you can see all the in-stadium, on-field, in-pool action on NBC and Peacock, the real scoop on what's happening behind the scenes (or, at least in the heads and hearts of the mostly-young people behind the scenes) falls to the athletes themselves.
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But TikTok can be a confusing place for the uninitiated to navigate, and the mysterious algorithms of its For You Page (FYP) often serve up more than you bargained for. So, which athletes should you follow to get a look at both the serious and not-so-serious aspects of the 2024 Games?
Ilona Maher
Team USA Women's Rugby 7s winner Ilona Maher (@ilonemaher) already had more than a million followers on TikTok alone going into her medal-winning Olympics, but she earned that following for more than just her impressive feats on the field. At 5'10" and almost 200 pounds of lean muscle, she's spent years educating her followers (and schooling her trolls) about how every body type is beautiful, including tall, strong, muscular women like her.
She also has a seriously silly side, filming videos pretending like the Olympic Village is a version of Love Island, participating in TikTok trends, and hyping up her sisters Olivia (@liviemaher) and Adrianna (@thedoctordoctor) — who not only wore Hawaiian style shirts emblazoned with her face to cheer her on, but got former Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelse to do so as well.
Simon Biles
Given her status as America's sweetheart and gymnastics G.O.A.T, you might not expect Simone Biles (@simonebilesowens) to be running her own social media — but her TikTok account shows she's more than just an athlete who can literally jump over the tallest player in the NBA.
It probably goes without saying that she has fun dancing to a few TikTok trends and hyping up Team USA Women's Gymnastics gold medal win, but she also took some time out of her busy Olympics schedule to get in on hyping up the food (or at least the desserts) in the Olympic Village.
Henrik Christensen (a.k.a. The Muffin Man)
Team Norway swimmer Henrik Christensen (@henrikchristens1) is competing in his third Olympic games but, before this week, he wasn't exactly a household name in the United States.
That is, until he discovered the (apparently) delicious, gooey chocolate muffins available to athletes in the Olympic Village and fell in love. Now, he's all over Americans' FYPs, featured on TODAY.com, and the muffins of his dreams are being consumed live on TODAY to showcase their taste and texture.
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He told TODAY.com's Joseph Lamour that he normally consumes 7,000 calories on training days (he's a distance swimmer) but has probably filmed with more muffins than he's actually eaten ... including when he's been stopped by other athletes, who have been trying the muffins at his suggestion.
Tara Davis-Woodhall
Team USA Track and Field athlete Tara Davis-Woodhall (@tara), whose event is the long jump, is competing at her second Olympics and living it up in the Olympics Village (and the associated dining halls) while waiting for her events to begin. (The Track and Field events began on August 1.)
She was also waiting for her husband, Paralympian Track and Field athlete Hunter Woodhall, to join her in Paris.
Hunter Woodhall
Tara David-Woodhall's husband, Hunter Woodhall (@hunterwoodhall) is a track and field star in his own right and will be competing for Team USA in the Paralympics in Paris — his third Paralympics appearance.
In the meantime, he'll be cheering on his wife of two years as she goes for gold. It's the second time they've competed at the same Olympics but, because of the pandemic restrictions at the Tokyo Olympics, the first time they'll be able to cheer one another on in person.
The two met at a track meet in Idaho as teenagers and have been together ever since, Elle reported in 2021.
(They also have a shared TikTok account — @thewoodhalls — and a YouTube channel — @taraandhunter — documenting their Olympic journeys.)
Tilly Kearns
Team USA women's water polo has Flava Flav, but Team Australia has Tilly Kearns (@tillykearns). One of the social media stars of her team and her delegation, according to Australia's ABC News, she also understands the power of her platform to connect with young women and girls ... and to counter negative social media messages they might have about appearing strong and participating in sports.
"I think it's a platform that's given me an opportunity to speak up about [staying healthy]," she told the network. "I know how many young people follow me and kinda watch what I do and maybe even copy some of the things I do."
