Athletes competing at the Paris Olympics 2024 have honored their favorite One Piece and Dragon Ball characters by striking familiar poses.
As the globe's greatest athletes continue to compete against one another, anime fans watching from the sides have increasingly found themselves reenacting the Leonardo DiCaprio point meme in real life after recognizing references to popular series like One Piece and Dragon Ball during the summer edition of the Olympic Games.
The USA's Noah Lyles, a known Yu-Gi-Oh card aficionado, immediately broke into Goku's trademark Dragon Ball Kamehameha pose upon winning Olympics gold in the men's 100M sprint. And he wasn't the only one, as the French fencing team also performed a group Kamehameha in celebration of their bronze medal triumph.
Noah Lyles ONCE AGAIN celebrating an Olympic Medal with Goku's Kamehameha pic.twitter.com/gcUf8wuNem
— Anime Craze (@crazedanime_) August 4, 2024
At the Paris Olympics, the American athlete Payton Otterdahl does Gear 4 pose !
— Sam (@yonkoluffyszn) August 3, 2024
One piece influence is CRAZY pic.twitter.com/BtgGRyXzOd
The French Fencing Team after winning the Bronze did a group Kamehameha.#DragonBall pic.twitter.com/KL38KtpjBb
— SUPER クロニクルス (@SupaChronicles) August 1, 2024
'Dragon Ball' ULTRA INSTINCT AT THE OLYMPICS pic.twitter.com/2uB16KeZVA
— Anime Craze (@crazedanime_) August 4, 2024
Meanwhile, Team USA shot putter Payton Otterdahl paid tribute to One Piece with a memorable entrance at the sporting event that saw him throw out the iconic Gear 4 Luffy pose. One person on X/Twitter noted that the "influence is CRAZY," while another shared the video and remarked: "One Piece is dominating!"
These shoutouts come after the Olympics' competitive shooters won over pop-culture fans, with their effortless style and impressive skills prompting some talented artists to immortalize them as animated action characters. Others used these illustrations to create posters for a mock anime — one aptly titled "Lock On."
I'D HELLA WATCH A ANIME ABOUT THE OLYMPICS CALLED LOCK ON. pic.twitter.com/7CvMWFfRmm
— TPC | KiS (@KeepsitSimple89) August 3, 2024
The Paris Olympics will end on August 11. That means there is just one week left for the world to compete and, inevitably, deliver more viral moments.
Cover image credit: Getty.
Adele Ankers-Range is a freelance entertainment writer for IGN. You can follow her on X/Twitter here.
