Best Olympics 2024 memes: Celebrating victories of Ukrainian athletes with humor and spirit

Ukrainian high jump champion Yaroslava Mahuchikh has been in the spotlight as a gold medal contender and one of the best Ukrainian athletes at the Olympics 2024 since she broke a world record in the high jump that had stood the test of time for 37 years a few weeks before the games.

When Yaroslava arrived to compete in the women's high jump finals at the 2024 Olympic Games, she impressed the judges and audience by jumping the highest score on the first try. As her competitors tried to replicate her result, the Ukrainian athlete was seen napping on the stadium floor, wrapped in a sleeping bag. This unusual ritual between the jumps gained much attention and curiosity among viewers so much that the photos of sleeping Yaroslava Mahuchikh went viral on social media as one of the best Olympics 2024 memes.

The Olympic Games account on X posted the photo with the caption, "You may be chill, but are you taking a nap during the Olympic finals chill?" Users commented on the post, praising the Ukrainian champion's confidence:

• "When you know you're the GOAT (Greatest of All Time)" 

• "She has her own way of winning"

• "She knows she has gold"

While broadcasters discussed her likely winning the Olympic gold, Yaroslava took a nap to relax. She said, "Sometimes I can watch the clouds…not think about that I'm at a stadium." All that rest definitely paid off — Yaroslava Mahuchikh won her first Olympic gold medal in the women's high jump. She was joined on the pedestal by another Ukrainian high jumper, Iryna Herashchenko, who secured the bronze.

Learn five exciting facts about Ukrainian high jump champion Yaroslava Mahuchikh here.

Another Internet sensation of the Olympics 2024 is Illia Kovtun, a Ukrainian gymnast with a few recent and excellent achievements in his professional career — six gold medals at the world and European championships in 2023 and 2024. At the Paris 2024 Olympics, Illia finished fourth twice in the all-around final and men's floor exercise final, edged out by the bronze medalists by less than 1 point. However, the Ukrainian gymnast didn't leave without a prize and won a silver medal in the men's parallel bars exercise.

Illia Kovtun also won something else — the title of the most charming Olympic gymnast. People online were impressed by Illia's silver-worthy technique and prowess in gymnastics and were swooned by the Ukrainian medalist's good looks and personality, spawning Olympics 2024 memes. Many posts on X and TikTok praising his handsomeness and athleticism became viral. Some of them even compared Illia to British movie star Tom Holland.

@kateisgreatttt Watching the Mens all around final #olympics #ukraine🇺🇦 #usa #mensgymnastics #illiakovtun ♬ original sound – Katie❤️

People in Ukraine admired Illia Kovtun for the tattoos on his arms, depicting Ukraine's patriotic symbols, making him not only a global sweetheart but a favorite in his home country.

Ukrainian hammer thrower Mykhailo Kokhan has had much success since he competed in his youth. He is a World and European champion and a world record holder among athletes under 18. He continued his promising career, winning the European U23 Championship three times in 2019, 2021, and 2023. He also secured the recent gold at the 2024 European Throwing Cup and the bronze at the Roma 2024 European Athletics Championships.

At the 2024 Summer Olympics, Mykhailo showed an impressive result in the finals, throwing the hammer at 79.39 meters and taking third place on the Olympic pedestal on August 4. The Ukrainian hammer thrower was the third athlete from Ukraine that day to take a medal home, along with high jumpers Yaroslava Mahuchikh and Iryna Herashchenko, who won gold and bronze, respectively.

The internet celebrated Mykhailo's win by comparing the Ukrainian athlete to another famous hammer thrower — Marvel superhero Thor.

Others joked that Mykhailo's hammer is Ukraine's long-range weapon.

Ukrainian canoeist Anastasia Rybachok (Chetverikova) came to the Paris 2024 Olympics with a long-time dream and aspiration to win a gold medal. The 2021 World Champion and 2020 Tokyo silver medalist competed with her partner Liudmyla Luzan in the women's 500-meter double canoe final of the 2024 Summer Olympics on August 9. The sprint was successful as Ukrainian rowers clinched the silver in the event.

However, Anastasia made waves even before winning the Olympic title. Her canoe design with the inscription "I'm Ukrainian" raised controversy when the International Olympic Committee — which had allowed Russians and Belarusians to participate under a neutral flag — and the International Canoe Federation ordered the Ukrainian athlete to remove the phrase from her canoe, citing it as propaganda. You may ask, what's so political about writing that you are from Ukraine — the country you're competing for — that it must be censored? Nothing, but the ban attracted even more publicity for Ukraine than Anastasia's canoeing win probably could.

Learn about Ukrainian canoeist Anastasia Rybachok and her story here.

Ukrainian fencers are among the best in the world, so it wasn't surprising that they confidently moved through competitions at the Paris 2024 Olympics from the start. Fencer Olha Kharlan was the first Ukrainian athlete to win a medal for Ukraine. On July 29, Olha took third place in women's individual saber, bringing all Ukrainians and their supporters to proud tears of happiness.

However, the internet really exploded at the news that the Ukrainian fencer team, which includes Olha Kharlan, Olena Kravatska, Alina Komashchuk, and Yulia Bakastova, won an Olympic gold medal. This win was Ukraine's first gold at the 2024 Olympics, making Olha the most decorated Olympian athlete in Ukraine's history, with six medals. 

People responded to the achievement online with posts and videos praising the saber team. 

@ywmaiki Best girls #ukraine #olympics2024 #fencing ♬ original sound – Stan 🙂

Some Ukrainians joked that their mental health hangs on for dear life amid the war only thanks to the wins of Ukraine's athletes, who make everyone home very proud. This viral Olympic 2024 meme sums it up perfectly.

Ukrainian athletes — both participants and medalists — earned all the praise and admiration they received. Their achievements deserve to be viral so that more people worldwide learn how hard they worked and achieved success even in the hardest of times.