She will be joined by Ireland’s Daniel Wiffen during the closing ceremony.
The two-time Olympian won a bronze medal in the women’s 100m breaststroke on July 29. She also reached the finals in the 2020 Tokyo Games.
McSharry’s medal-winning performance followed a record setting time in the semifinals on Sunday. McSharry finished second in the semifinals, breaking her own Irish national record, posting a time of 1:05.51.
McSharry became the second Irish swimmer to earn an Olympic medal, joining Michelle Smith, who won four medals, including three gold, in Atlanta in 1996.
Mona McSharry. Photo by Arturo Holmes/Getty Images
We caught up with Norwegian swimmer Henrik Christiansen at the Paris Olympics to talk all things chocolate muffins.
NANTERRE, France — Norwegian swimmer Henrik Christiansen is a star, thanks to his gold medal-worthy TikToks about the mouth-watering chocolate muffins in the Olympic Village.
The unofficial Muffin Man of the Paris Olympics, Christiansen’s videos are hilarious and so creative, and they’ve boosted his follower count from about 3,000 before the Paris Games to more than 340,000 and 16.7 million likes as of Saturday afternoon. His sense of humor is too good, and he brilliantly used a sound from an iconic scene in Shrek to really lean into the Muffin Man identity.
Saturday after Christiansen finished 20th in the men’s 1,500-meter freestyle prelims, I caught up with him to talk about all things muffins.
“What’s not to like?” the 27-year-old swimmer said. “They’re liquid in the center. They have chocolate chips. They’re really rich. They’re moist. It’s just − everything is really good.”
As a professional athlete, he views himself “as being in the entertainment business,” and making TikToks about his experience in Olympic Village is another way to engage and show fans backstage moments at the Olympics.
While the videos have made the Oslo resident a social media star, Christiansen said he’s become a popular figure in the village as well.
“I have taken fan photos in the village as the muffin guy, which, I mean, if you’re taking fan photos in the Olympics, you’re someone,” he said. “All the other athletes that are really top, top — like [Rafael] Nadal or like Simone Biles — they’re taking fan photos. Of course, I wish that it was because of my swimming, but this is also fun.”
Espernberger, a rising junior for the Vols, finished sixth in the finals of the event. He recorded a time of 1 minute, 54.17 seconds. The mark was half a second off his previous personal best time.
With the record-breaking effort Wednesday, Espernberger concluded his first trip to the Olympics.
He won a bronze medal in 200-meter butterfly at the World Championships in February.
Espernberger, a native Linz, Austria, won a gold medal in the 200-meter butterfly at the 2024 SEC championships. He also owns two All-America certificates, winning one in 2023 and 2024.
As Marchand made his final turn, he found himself nearly a full body length behind Hungary’s Kristóf Milák for first place. For the overwhelming majority of swimmers, such a gap with a minimal amount of time to work with likely would’ve meant a certain defeat.
Then Marchand turned on the jets in a finish where he surpassed Milák with astonishing closing speed. The angle in the photo below shows just how much ground Marchand made up in so little time:
Before the final turn, Léon Marchand was nearly a full body length behind Hungary's Kristóf Milák
If I were in Marchand’s shoes, you wouldn’t be able to tell me anything. It’s almost as if he spotted everyone that distance just to show how dominant he can be in the water.
Norwegian swimmer Henrik Christiansen has been making a wild amount of TikTok videos about chocolate muffins in the Paris Olympic Village.
It seemingly started with a very casual TikTok video where Henrik reviewed tons of food he had access to while competing. In the clip, Henrik rated the chocolate muffin as “insane” and with an “11/10” rating. Nothing seems wild about that, right? But, oh, that was only the beginning.
Soon, Henrik’s TikTok account began filling up with tons of chocolate muffin content. I mean, these muffins must have superpowers because the muffin mania has gotten so unbelievably out of hand. BUT. WE. CAN’T. LOOK. AWAY. These are gold medal-worthy, and it only feels right to share them with you.
McSharry, who recently completed her senior season at Tennessee, finished third, recording a time of 1 minute, 5.99 seconds in a race that saw five competitors separated by 0.32 seconds.
It was her second appearance in the Olympic finals of the event. McSharry reached the finals in the 2020 Tokyo Games.
Her medal-winning performance followed a record setting time in the semifinals on Sunday. McSharry finished second in the semifinals, breaking her own Irish national record, posting a time of 1:05.51.
McSharry became the second Irish swimmer to earn an Olympic medal, joining Michelle Smith, who won four medals, including three gold, in Atlanta in 1996.
WHAT A FINISH!!!!
Mona McSharry brings home the bronze in a race in which the top five spots were separated by just 0.32 seconds!
But Murphy was rewarded with a moment even sweeter than medal No. 7 as his wife, Bridget, and the rest of his family surprised him with a gender reveal in the form of a sign in the crowd announcing that they would be having a girl.
Murphy’s run at the Olympics may not be done yet as he has a chance to go for the fifth gold medal of his career later in the Games as he could once again be a part of the men’s 4×100 medley team, with which he won gold in each of the last two Olympics.
Katie Grimes is set to make American Olympic history in the pool and in the Seine River.
For the Paris Olympics this summer, For The Win is helping you get to know some of the star Olympians competing on the world’s biggest stage. We’re highlighting 15 Team USA athletes in the 15 days leading up to the Opening Ceremony. Up next is Katie Grimes.
Katie Grimes is a special swimmer, and if fans didn’t know her before the 2024 Paris Olympics, they surely will after. The Las Vegas native is an exceptionally versatile distance swimmer — one who will go up against legendary distance swimmer Katie Ledecky — and her swimming goals for the Paris Games go way beyond the pool.
So ahead of the Paris Olympics, here are five things to know about Grimes.
1. At 18 years old, Katie Grimes is already a two-time Olympian
Jul 31, 2021; Tokyo, Japan; Katie Grimes (USA), right) rests next to Katie Ledecky (USA) as Ledecky reacts to winning the women’s 800m freestyle final during the Tokyo 2021 Olympic Summer Games at Tokyo Aquatics Centre. Mandatory Credit: Grace Hollars-USA TODAY Sports
Not unheard of in swimming, but a teenage two-time Olympian is still rare. At the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, Grimes swam one event — the 800-meter freestyle. She finished fourth behind Ledecky, who won her third straight Olympic championship in the event.
For Paris, Grimes not only dropped the 800 altogether, but she added a wide variety of events to her schedule. But more on that in a second.
2. Grimes will be the first American woman to compete in the pool and open water events at the same Olympic Games
UPDATE: Katie Grimes won a silver medal Monday in the 400 IM for her first Olympic hardware. She also swam in the 1,500 heats Tuesday morning but didn’t make the top-8 final. So, onto the Seine (possibly).
Grimes will also make history as the first American woman to compete in both the pool and open water at the same Olympics.
When the pool competition ends — Grimes’ last potential final is the 1,500 on July 31 — her attention will fully turn to the open water competition, a 10k marathon swim. The 10k open water races are set to happen in the Seine River, but Olympics organizers said they have backup dates and an alternate venue, should the river be too dirty to swim in.
Incredible versatility when her shortest Olympic race will be less than five minutes while her longest is about two hours.
3. Grimes knows where she’ll swim in college… but we don’t
Katie Grimes of the United States competes in a preliminary heat for the Women’s 400m individual medley on Day Three of the 2024 U.S. Olympic Team Swimming Trials at Lucas Oil Stadium on June 17, 2024 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
At 18 years old, Grimes just graduated from high school and is a coveted recruit with swimming news site SwimSwam ranking her as the top high school swimmer last year.
Grimes recently told For The Win she’s made a decision on college, but she also said she’ll likely wait until after the Olympics to announce it.
4. Grimes is an old soul with a love for classic cars, including her orange 1969 Chevy Corvette Stingray
In addition to her love of classic rock, especially Fleetwood Mac, Grimes is a big fan of classic cars.
“My favorite classic car is the Chevy Corvette Stingray,” Grimes said. “It had been my dream car for so long, and so I’ve been on market looking for one all over the place for, like ever. And I finally found the perfect one, and I was able to buy it. And it’s just so cool to have it, and every time I see it in the garage, I’m like, ‘I can’t believe I have that.'”
5. Grimes’ historic Olympic journey begins on July 29
Swimming at the Paris Olympics starts Saturday, July 27, but Grimes’ first event will be the 400 IM heats (and presumably, final) on Monday, July 29. Her 1,500 heats are set for Tuesday, July 30 with the final the following day. And the women’s open water 10k marathon swim is set for Thursday, August 8.
Connolly was a member of Team USA’s 4×100-meter freestyle relay team, which won a silver medal.
Connolly, who won two medals in the 2024 Tokyo Games, became the first Lady Vol to win three Olympic medals. She joins Tennessee’s Melvin Stewart as the only two Tennessee swimmers to win three Olympic medals.
Connolly was a member of Team USA’s 4×100-meter freestyle relay team that finished second in 2024. She also won a bronze medal with the 4×100-meter medley relay in Tokyo.
