The 2024 Olympics in Paris have come and gone, with very high highs like the rallying of the U.S. men's gymnastics team to low lows like gymnast Jordan Chiles being stripped of her medal over a technicality. As usual, the water events were popular with viewers, and a medalist decided to show fans one of the unexpected challenges of being an Olympic-level athlete: breaking in stiff swimsuits.
Abby Andrews was a member of the Australian women's water polo team, who came together to win the silver medal for their country at the 2024 Olympics. (And they fortunately didn't have to swim in the river Seine for it.) Andrews took to Instagram to share a video of her efforts to break in her Olympic suit, which evidently can in fact be a two-person job. Take a look:
With the amount of work that it takes to break in a suit, does that count as a warmup before a competition?! Of course, whatever the Australian team did to get comfortable in the water, it paid off when their fight for a medal resulted in them earning the silver. Elle Armit, one of Abby Andrews' teammates, posted a comment on the video about one particular method of getting a suit comfortably on:
The baby Bjorn method is tried and true! 🤘🏽
Honestly, it's always fun when an Olympian goes viral for a wholesome reason like the goofy attempts to break in their gear, as just one example. Stephen Nedoroscik became a national hit for carrying the U.S. men's gymnastics team to their bronze on the pommel horse before winning an individual bronze and a whole bunch of Clark Kent comparisons. A Team USA runner admitted to getting starstruck upon meeting LeBron James, and it's still sweet to watch two Olympians freak out over encountering Law & Order: SVU's Mariska Hargitay.
The Australian water polo players definitely weren't in goofy moods while playing for a medal at the 2024 Games, though. In case you didn't catch the coverage with a Peacock Premium subscription, check out the moment they clinched the match that would send them to the final against Spain:
Australia women's water polo takes down the USA in a sudden death shootout to advance to the gold medal match.The Americans will play the Netherlands for the bronze medal on August 10. #ParisOlympics pic.twitter.com/pFisDmdQRIAugust 8, 2024
Unfortunately, the Olympics coverage was only available streaming on Peacock for a limited time, so it's not easily possible to revisit Team Australia's water polo journey with what I can only assume were their increasingly broken-in suits. The streamer is the home of Paralympics coverage, however, so it's still worth a subscription if you're interested in the best athletes that countries have to offer.
The Paralympic Games kicked off in Paris on August 28 and will continue through to September 8. The opening ceremony already aired live on the U.S. side of the pond, but you'll be able to check out highlights of the ceremony on Peacock as well. For some fall viewing options after all the Olympics and Paralympics action of the summer, check out our 2024 TV schedule.
