Team USA’s viral cross-eyed gymnastics star, a Brazilian who won a medal despite suffering nasty injury… and the Team GB star who fulfilled a childhood promise to her late father

It’s been one week since the Olympic Games officially got underway in Paris 
Since then, there’s been plenty of sensational moments throughout the Games
Team GB’s Lola Anderson was one of them, after fulfilling a promise to her father 

It’s officially been a week since the opening ceremony for the 2024 Olympic Games and, since then, there’s been plenty for viewers to enjoy.

Athletes from across the globe have been battling it out in Paris, and across France, in their respective sports in a bid to claim the ultimate prize of a gold medal.

Team GB, in particular, have enjoyed their best start to a Games in over a century, having collected 20 medals in total – with six of those being gold.

However, not all of the best stories that have emerged from Paris have involved winning the top prize, with a number of instances proving otherwise.

Here, Mail Sport runs through some of the most amazing Olympic moments so far.

We’re officially one week into the Olympic Games and there’s been plenty to discuss so far

Team GB have enjoyed a brilliant start to the Games – having won six gold medals already

Anderson gets gold for her dad

Lola Anderson was part of the Team GB women’s quadruple sculls crew claiming gold in a dramatic race to the line with the Netherlands this morning, alongside team-mates Hannah Scott, Georgie Brayshaw and Lauren Henry.

Anderson, 26, burst in tears after crossing the finishing line just 0.15 seconds ahead of the silver medallists, taking victory in a photo finish.

And she then revealed how much it meant to her – having vowed as a 14-year-old that she would one day win Olympic gold after being inspired by London 2012.

She later threw away the diary, thinking it embarrassing – only for her father to reclaim it from the bin and later hand it over to her when on his deathbed.

Wiping away tears after today’s victory, Lola said: ‘I’d forgotten about it obviously but a couple of years ago my dad reminded me and I know that he’d be so, so proud.

‘I’m just thinking a lot about him right now and it’s lovely.’

She told the BBC: ‘Sorry, it just feels like ages you’ve been working towards this.

‘We’re always very process-driven, just looking to what comes next, but when you kind of get to the end of a cycle like this and it doesn’t get bigger than this.

‘It’s really quite overwhelming to just experience this and I’m really grateful.’

She revealed earlier this month how she had written as a teenager: ‘I think it would be my biggest dream in life to go to the Olympics in rowing and if possible win a gold for GB.’

Lola Anderson (left) broke down in tears as she told of how her late father kept a teenage diary in which she had vowed to become an Olympic champion

Team GB’s exhausted yet triumphant women’s quadruple sculls team took gold today in a dramatic photo finish end to their race, edging just ahead of their Dutch rivals

Saraiva’s comeback 

Brazilian gymnast Flavia Saraiva overcame the odds to help her country win bronze in the Olympic women’s team final on Tuesday – after suffering a nasty eye injury.

The 24-year-old had blood coming from her eyebrow – and swelling beneath her eye – after a painful fall while practicing on the uneven bars in Paris.

But she recovered to help Brazil edge out Great Britain and secure a place on the podium behind Italy and an all-conquering US team led by Simone Biles.

There was concern when Saraiva crashed into the mat and needed treatment from coaches and medics.

The gymnast revealed that she was disorientated and struggling to see out of her right eye after apparently taking a blow from her own knee.

‘It’s not the first time it happened to me. We are warriors,’ the Brazilian athlete said following the final.

Brazilian gymnast Flavia Saraiva suffered a nasty injury during the Olympic team final in Paris

The 24-year-old needed medical treatment after the nasty fall while on the uneven bars

‘I could not see, it bled, but the team’s doctor told me everything was all right. I believe my knee hit my eye when I tripped.’

She added: ‘When I realized I was on the floor, lying down with my knee in my face.

‘I just rolled over so Rebeca (Andrade) could warm up. I said: “Guys, where am I?”. Then (someone) said: “It’s bleeding, it’s bleeding”.

‘I put my hand on my face and my eye was bleeding, I didn’t understand anything. Then he asked if I was warm. Then I said: “Now I’m awake”‘

An incredible vault by Andrade helped seal bronze for Brazil, their first ever medal in the discipline.

Turkey’s viral shooter

Olympic Games fans were sent into meltdown on social media over a photo of Turkish shooter Yusuf Dikec competing in the 10-metre air pistol mixed team event in Paris.

The 51-year-old and his partner Sevval Ilayda Tarhan claimed the silver medal, but it was Dikec’s unconventional approach to the competition that has seen his image go viral.

Dikec shot to fame after a photo was shared to social media of him competing in a uncharacteristically relaxed manner without the typical shooting gear – and one hand in his pocket.

Most shooters at the Olympic Games use ear protection when they shoot and don specialised glasses that obscure the vision in one eye so competitors don’t have to keep it closed, and sometimes feature tinted lenses to help with glare.

‘Turkey sent a 51-year-old dude with no specialized lenses, eye cover, or ear protection, and secured the silver medal,’ posted one fan to X – to which billionaire Elon Musk responded, ‘Nice’.

urkish silver medalist Yusuf Dikec (pictured), 51, has gone viral for his incredibly relaxed preparation and attitude at the Paris Games

Dikec, alongside his partner Sevval Ilayda Tarhan, claimed the silver medal in the 10-meter air pistol mixed team event

Dikec is in his fifth Olympic Games, and he and his partner narrowly missed out on the gold medal with a final score of 16-14.

The viral pic comes after South Korean Kim Ye-ji was dubbed ‘the coolest person ever’ during her shooting event.

Stephen Nedoroscik was given a number of nicknames on his long and dizzying journey to Olympic success in Paris.

The 25-year-old sealed a first Olympic medal in 16 years for the US men’s gymnastics team with his pommel horse routine during Monday’s final.

Nedoroscik has now become an internet sensation, with fans branding him an ‘American icon’, ‘pommel horse guy’ and even likening the glasses-wearing gymnast to Clark Kent.

But Nedoroscik was known as ‘spider monkey’ during his youth, when he would ‘shimmy up the walls and scare babysitters.’

‘On my first day (at school), I climbed a rope all the way to the top. After that they invited me to join the gymnastics team. We accepted it and that was it,’ Nedoroscik recently revealed.

Stephen Nedoroscik of United States on Pommel Horse during Saturday’s team final 

Nedoroscik was lifted up by his teammates after his pommel horse routine clinched bronze

Two decades on, his nerveless display on the pommel horse helped Nedoroscik win bronze alongside teammates Frederick Richard, Brody Malone, Paul Juda and Asher Hong.

Nedoroscik suffers from strabismus, a condition more typically known as crossed eyes. It can lead to double vision but the gymnast was not wearing glasses when he scored 14.866 on the pommel horse on Monday.

Nedoroscik told the Today programme he is ‘representing people that wear glasses well’, revealing that though his vision is ‘not necessarily clear… the thing about pommel horse is if I keep [my glasses] on, they’re gonna fly somewhere.

Egypt’s pregnant fencer

Egyptian fencer Nada Hafez revealed that she was seven months pregnant when she claimed a shock victory over Elizabeth Tartakovsky of the United States to advance to the last-16 at the Olympics.

The 26-year-old won her first match 15-13 in the women’s individual sabre competition at the Grand Palais on Monday before suffering a defeat by South Korea’s Jeon Hayoung.

The athlete was emotional as she secured the impressive win and the three-time Olympian went on to share the remarkable news on social media.

‘What appears to you as two players on the podium, they were actually three! It was me, my competitor, & my yet-to-come to our world, little baby!’ She wrote on Instagram.

‘I’m writing this post to say that pride fills my being for securing my place in the round of 16… this specific Olympics was different. Three times Olympian but this time carrying a little Olympian one!’

Egyptian fencer Nada Hafez revealed that she was seven months pregnant when she claimed an impressive win in the women’s individual sabre

The 26-year-old defeated world No. 10 Elizabeth Tartakovsky of the United States on Monday

Medina ‘standing on air’ 

An astonishing image of a surfer celebrating while appearing to ‘stand on air’ has been dubbed the ‘picture of the Olympics’.

Brazilian Gabriel Medina paused briefly in the air with his board in tow as he raised an arm to supporters along the Tahiti coast after delivering a breathtaking performance to earn a score of 9.9 – the best of the Paris Olympics so far.

The three-time world champion appeared to settle on a cloud mid-air in the defining image of the tournament snapped by AFP’s Jérôme Brouillet some 16,000km from the heart of the action in the French capital.

Medina, 30, was competing against Japan ‘s Kanoa Igarashi in the fifth heat of the men’s round three Surfing, making up for a lowly score of 2.5 on his first wave with an almost perfect 9.9 on his second.

The photographer was on a boat in the channel, waiting patiently for Medina to ‘kick out’ and exit the wave face at the end of his run, taking the shot just as the athlete pointed to the sky and capturing a moment to quickly become a global sensation.

Gabriel Medina raised his hand to the sky as he ‘kicked out’ to end his record-beating run

The surfer had scored poorly on his first attempt but received a 9.9 for his second effort

Heartwarming selfie 

North Korea may have won an Olympic medal for the first time in eight years recently but headlines were stolen by the heartwarming selfie they shared with South Korea afterwards.

The nation won no medals at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, and its COVID-19 border policies led them skipping the Tokyo Summer Olympics held in 2021.

However, they put their medal drought to an end as they won the silver in the women’s synchronized 10-meter platform event and silver in the table tennis mixed doubles final.

After the table tennis medal ceremony – where China claimed gold and South Korea won bronze – one of the athletes took out his phone to take a picture with representatives of all three teams in a beautiful moment of sporting unity.