Tokyo Olympics: 7 athletes whose habits and hobbies have caught the eye of fans
- Gymnast Sunisa Lee, diver Tom Daley and table tennis star Ma Long are among those who have stories behind the success
- Quirks, superstitions and rituals are common among athletes as they seek to find a routine before gunning for glory
Quirks, unusual habits and rituals are often as much a part of an athlete’s preparations as their training as they look to peak for major events such as the Olympic Games.
At the 2020 Tokyo Games, fans have seen some of the finest physical specimens on earth with nerves of steel perform superhuman feats. They have also seen their normal and vulnerable human side.
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We so often delight in discovering these idiosyncrasies – fun eccentricities that humanise Olympic athletes and help us find a sense of common ground with them.
Here are seven quirks of rising superstars and the Olympic greats we know and love from the past few weeks.
Sunisa Lee (gymnastics)
Hmong-American teen gymnast Sunisa Lee keeps her leotards in her wardrobe, but there is one bedroom drawer that she scarcely opens, according to Bleacher Report.
It’s the one containing her “unlucky” leotards from unsatisfactory performances in practice or competitions.
To amp up the adrenaline, Lee also has solo dance parties before meets and uses her “lucky” pink spray bottle to give her bars a “grippy” surface, she told the sports website.
In Tokyo, the 18-year-old swept a handful of medals in a stunning Olympic debut, with gold in the women’s all-around event, silver in the team competition, and bronze in the asymmetric bars finals.
Ma Long (table tennis)
A frequent contender for the title of “Greatest Of All Time”, China’s Ma Long has an unconventionally heartfelt relationship with his table tennis bat, which he has nicknamed “Little Hurricane” in Chinese. Much like an attentive parent, Ma tenderly wraps Little Hurricane in a towel to prevent it from feeling cold.
However, some Chinese online users suggest it’s nothing more than preventing the bat from touching unclean surfaces and maintaining ideal temperature.
Regardless, his antics endear Ma to fans even more. For example, after winning a competition and throwing his bat out of excitement, Ma even apologised to it, he revealed in an interview.
The 32-year-old maintained his winning streak in men’s singles by defeating teammate and No 1 Fan Zhendong in an all-China final.
Sifan Hassan (middle and long-distance running)
Even if you are not be a coffee person, chances are, you know at least one person who cannot function without their morning hit.
Dutch middle and long-distance runner Sifan Hassan is one of them. So much so that, to the internet’s delight, she credited the caffeinated drink for helping her get back up on her feet when she took a fall in the women’s 1,500m heat, miraculously recovering to cross the line first.
“When I fell down and had to jump up … all the energy seemed to leave me,” the BBC quoted Hassan as saying. “I was so tired. Without coffee I would never be Olympic champion. I needed all the caffeine!”
Hassan won gold in the women’s 5,000m final and will compete in the 1,500m final on Friday, as well as the 10,000m final on Saturday. She has her sights set on becoming the first athlete to win the 1,500m, 5,000m and 10,000m events.
Tom Daley (diving)
The popular athlete said he had been knitting and crocheting since the start of Covid-19 lockdown measures, and set up an Instagram account, “Made With Love By Tom Daley”, to document his art. It had 895,000 followers at the time of writing.
Tokyo marked Daley’s fourth Olympics and his first gold medal, in the men’s synchronised 10m platform with Matty Lee – for which he made a holder with the Union flag on one side and the Japanese flag on the other. He will also compete in the men’s 10m platform preliminary event on Friday.
Maggie MacNeil (swimming)
Young Canadian swimmer Maggie MacNeil reportedly has a very specific pre-competition ritual: before climbing on to the blocks, she splashes herself 15 times and kicks the back foot plate three times.
MacNeil got a gold medal in the women’s 100m butterfly, setting a personal best and Americas record of 55.59 seconds and transforming the 21-year-old into a household name on her Olympics debut.
She also took part in the women’s 4x100 medley and freestyle relays, in which the Canadian women’s team won a bronze and a silver respectively.
Edgar Cheung Ka-long (fencing)
Hong Kong’s own gold medallist, 24-year-old foil fencer Edgar Cheung, attributed his Olympic success to performing guided mindfulness meditation.
“I actually just follow guided meditation clips on YouTube and try not to think about anything. It clears my mind and makes me feel more at peace,” Cheung told Hong Kong Free Press.
On his fencing shoes is a handwritten key phrase that says: “Don’t lose your way.”
Cheung became an Olympic champion on day three of the Games, earning the title of Hong Kong’s “fencing god” from adoring fans after he beat Italy’s Daniele Garozzo, the defending champion, in the final of the men’s individual foil event. It was Hong Kong first gold medal in 25 years. He also competed in the men’s team foil event.
Yang Qian (shooting)
China’s 21-year-old shooter from Ningbo, Yang Qian, wears a “lucky” yellow duck hair clip, which went viral along with other items she wore such as a carrot-like headband.
“In the past, I could only sell up to 100 such clips a day. Now, the daily sales have surpassed 10,000,” Mao Xuxia, a businesswoman working at Yiwu International Trade Market in Yiwu, Zhejiang province, told the Qianjiang Evening News.
