The Olympics are well underway, and if you’re like most of the internet, you can’t keep your eyes off any and every sport that NBC broadcasts on your TV.
People have become obsessed with everything from gymnastics to rugby to archery to judo, and can’t help but wonder what it would’ve been like if their parents had stuck them in an obscure sport at a very young age.
Fortunately for some people, they don’t have to wonder. They competed in gymnastics or diving as young children and it was very clear to them why they were not finding themselves in the Olympic Village or adorned with a gold medal. And so, many people have taken to TikTok to demonstrate the less-than-stellar skills that caused them to fall just short of the 2024 Olympic Games.
Arianna took up diving and shared a video of her own failures in her short-lived diving career. The video shows her prepped and ready for a perfect backward dive, but as she puts her arms over her head and springs into the air, she doesn’t quite create the arch she was hoping for.
Instead, she goes straight in the air and falls flat on her back, creating quite a splash.
Commenters are obsessed with Arianna’s diving technique and can’t get over how hilarious they are finding the unfortunate results of her backward diving attempt. Many people thought that Arianna was wrong and that she would make a hilarious addition to the United States Olympic Diving Team. Others thought they might take tips from Arianna on her diving technique for their own Olympic endeavors.
Commenters put themselves in Arianna’s shoes, noting that if they’d found themselves in the same position, they simply wouldn’t have come up for air. One person noted that they wouldn’t have ever gotten on that diving board in the first place.
Arianna isn’t the only one showcasing her faltered Olympian hopes. Several other TikTokers have uploaded videos of themselves shooting off of the uneven bars, falling off of the beams, and doing belly flops of all shapes and kinds into the pool.
Sure, none of them will be the next Simone Biles or Tom Daley, and they probably won’t be winning any gold medals, but many of them are getting their consolation prize of a couple million TikTok views. Close enough.
If anything, these failed athletes are just showcasing how impressive Olympians are. After this viral trend took the internet by storm, we’re all tuning into the Olympics with a touch more respect.