A U.S. athlete has created new meme material after cameras captured her shocked reaction to the Chinese team winning gold medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
On Saturday (July 27), 22-year-old Chang Yani and 25-year-old Chen Yiwen beat out their American and British competitors and came first in the women's synchronized 3-meter springboard final.
The divers scored 337.68 to beat the U.S.'s Sarah Bacon and Kassidy Cook (314.64) and Great Britain's Yasmin Harper and Scarlett Mew Jensen (302.28).
When the Chinese duo was announced as the winner, Yani jumped into Yiwen's arms, giving a thumbs up to the camera as they smiled with their new medals hanging from their necks.
Image credits: @womenpostingws
But the Olympic “Big Brother” lens sees everything and everyone, and it certainly didn't miss Cook's reaction to the pair's celebration.
The viral photo, which has been viewed nearly 35 million times on X (formerly known as Twitter) shows the American competitor with her jaw dropping to the floor as she watched her rivals' posing for a picture.
People quickly jumped to the comments to interpret the diver's reaction. "That's the face of 'Wait, that's so cute, we should've done that too," someone suggested.
"The U.S. team's reaction is priceless!" another person penned. "It's always interesting to see how athletes from different countries respond to each other's celebrations."
The Chinese pair beat the American and British competitors after scoring 337.68 points in the women's synchronized 3-meter springboard final on July 27
Image credits: Getty
Yani and Yiwen have been competing together since 2019
"That reaction is like a mix of shock and 'Did we just get schooled?' Love the drama of sports!" a third individual said.
"It's likely that everyone watching on screen had the same reaction," wrote another sports fan.
"As Chinese, we rarely display our happiness, even when we do it's subtle. Take this as seeing a 4 leaf clover," shared somebody else.
Another X user praised the athletes for not holding anything back when expressing their emotions, saying they've been "loving the more humane side of the Olympians these past days."
Yani and Yiwen won their first Olympic gold medals at the 2024 Games. The first-time Olympians arrived in Paris having won three consecutive world titles, the StraitsTimes reported.
In addition to her new medal, Yani has five gold medals in her collection from the World Aquatics Championships. Meanwhile, Yiwen has six and has competed in 3m and 1m springboard and 3m synchro.
China has won 50 gold medals in the sport of diving over the years, more than any other country.