The Most Superstitious Athletes in Olympics History

Some athletes are more superstitious than others. If you thought the only superstitious athletes out there were baseball players, you’d be totally wrong. It turns out there are tons of superstitious athletes who participate in the Olympics every four years as well. It doesn’t matter what sport a particular athlete might be training in, either. If they’re feeling superstitious about the outcomes, they’ll tap into their superstitions with full force to come out on top.

There’s nothing inherently wrong with being superstitious, although tons of people don’t believe in it at all. Some folks are keen on believing that any events with superstitious undertones are mere coincidences or strokes of luck. Those who believe in superstitious practices wholeheartedly would beg to differ, though. Tons of athletes are under the impression that if they don’t take care of their superstitious rituals at the right time, they’ll be completely doomed and unable to succeed while competing.

Some athletes are encouraged to lean into their superstitions by their coaches, family members, fans, and entourage. Others are encouraged to abandon superstitious beliefs and solely focus on their skills, strength, and training above all else. While we’re on the topic of the Olympics, click here for the biggest wins in summer Olympic history.

To gather this list of the most superstitious athletes at the Olympics, 24/7 Tempo consulted several entertainment sources. These include People, NBC Sports, and Forbes.

Serena Williams MUST lace her shoes the right way

The way Serena Williams laces her shoes before playing tennis might have a serious impact on the results of her athleticism. She opened up about it saying, “I have too many superstitious rituals and it’s annoying. It’s like I have to do it and if I don’t then I’ll lose. And I’m not losing because I didn’t play well, I lost because I didn’t tie my shoe the right way and it’s totally ridiculous because I have to use the same shower, I have to use the same sandals, I have to travel with the same bags.” So, beyond making sure her shoelaces are properly tied, there are clearly also some other superstitious little habits that have Williams in a chokehold.

Melissa Stockwell carries a lucky dinosaur

Did you ever imagine a talented Olympic athlete carrying a toy dinosaur around as a way of mentally preparing for a competition? That’s the case for two-time Paralympic triathlete, Melissa Stockwell. She has children rooting her on at home, which makes a difference in her approach to competition.

She explained herself saying, “Now I have kids — I bring a little mini dinosaur that my son gave me along to races for good luck. I’m just thinking about the training, realizing I put in the time and believing in myself and just getting out there on race day and saying, ‘All right, here we go.’ And just having no doubts and going for it.”

Ariel Torres inscribes his underwear

Getting your underwear inscribed might not be on your radar, but maybe it might be if you were an Olympic athlete. Ariel Torres made his Olympic debut in Tokyo after growing up in Miami. He started practicing karate when he was only six years old and he grew up heavily training in the sport. He opened up about his superstitious connection to wearing inscribed underwear saying, “Whether I win or I lose, I wear those underwear every time to compete.” His inscribed underwear obviously have a special place in his heart.

Rafael Nadal specifically organizes his water bottles

When you organize anything, the process off gives you a sense of peace of mind and control. Athletes don’t always feel like they have control over their outcomes because they don’t know exactly how everything is going to turn out ahead of time. For Rafael Nadal, organization is something that helps him feel a little more in tuned as far as superstitions go.

He openly spoke about it saying, “I put the two bottles down at my feet, in front of my chair to my left, one neatly behind the other, diagonally aimed at the court. It’s a way of placing myself in a match, ordering my surroundings to match the order I seek in my head.”

Naomi Osaka also keeps her water bottles lined up

Four-time Grand Slam winner Naomi Osaka is similar to Rafael Nadal when it comes to the way she organizes her water bottles before competing. Tennis might be her sport, but keeping her water bottles in line is a crucial step to making sure she doesn’t feel nervous when it comes to her superstitions.

She explained “I would say that most athletes have very strong superstitions. It could be one thing, it could be two things. For me, it’s definitely the lines and the logo. Also, I need my water bottles to be completely straight. I’m not sure why that is.” If perfectly lined up water bottles make a difference to her, then it’s something she should stick with.

Shaolin Sandor Liu has a special wink

Shaolin Sandor Liu is a short track skater from Hungary. When he competed at the Olympics in 2018, he revealed his special wink before entering the ice for his race. He proudly talked about it saying “I just did a little wink in the camera and everybody loved it! It gives me good luck. I win a lot of races with my luck.” If a simple wink to the camera is all it takes to fill him with enough confidence to win his race, then more power to him.

Jessica Hardy still wears her pink childhood goggles

Even though Jessica Hardy is all grown up now, she still wears the same pair of pink swimming goggles she wore as a little girl. From her perspective, her pink goggles provide her with all the luck she needs to swim as fast as she can. Her superstitious trick might very well come in handy because she won the women’s 100m breaststroke at the Tokyo Olympics when she was only 17 years old.

Eva Samková draws a mustache on her upper lip

Although Eva Samková is a female snowboarder from Czech Republic who doesn’t have any real facial hair, she has a superstitious trick that gives her a little more edge when she’s competing. She draws an adorable mustache on her upper lip when she’s about to do something that requires loads of focus. The first time she did this was in 2011 – and she finished in fifth place. In 2014, she drew a white, red, and blue mustache on her upper lip to represent the Czech national flag.

Vashti Cunningham watches “Kill Bill”

The Kill Bill movie franchise is absolutely incredible with Uma Thurman in the leading role. The movie is enough to ramp up anyone’s energy since it’s full of so much action and intensity. Track and field star Vashti Cunningham opened up about her love for the movie in preparation for her races.

She said, “The night before the competition, I watch Kill Bill and then the pre-competition is just me and my dad doing a Bible study before I go out and get ready for warm-up and jump.” The combination of “Kill Bill” and Bible Study is just the ticket for Cunningham.

Francesca Lollobrigida color codes her underwear

Is the color of underwear you choose to wear something that actually makes a difference to you? For Francesca Lollobrigida, the color of her underwear is a very big deal. She opened up about the careful decision-making process she goes through when deciding on a pair of underwear to wear under her suit.

She spoke about it saying, I choose my underwear according to the colors that have brought me luck in other races. But for each event – 1000, 1500 or 3000 meters – I have different colors. And to avoid clashes in some cases, I put on mismatched socks sometimes.”

Kwak Yoongy ONLY wears red underwear

Kwak Yoongy is a little stricter when it comes to his underwear color selection. The short track speed skater comes straight from the Republic of Korea, and only wears red underwear when it’s time to compete. Red underwear has worked wonders for him in the past when it comes to helping him feel like he’s sticking to his routine. That being said, it would much likely throw him off his game if he didn’t have clean red underwear available to him at the Olympics.

Michael Phelps swings his arms, hard

Anyone who’s ever witnessed Michael Phelps in action at the Olympics is well aware that he has a superstitious trick he relies on before he’s about to start swimming. He’ll swing his arm is repeatedly before swimming as of mentally and physically preparing himself for what he’s about to do. At the 2016 games, he was filmed swinging his arms back-and-forth aggressively three times each. Based on his impressive record as a professional swimmer, it’s obvious that the superstitious ritual Phelps has is one that genuinely works for him.

Daniil Medvedev sticks to a precise eating schedule

You can’t throw Daniil Medvedev when it comes to his eating schedule before he’s about to compete. The Russian tennis player is beyond serious about his meal time regimen. He once said, “I eat exactly two hours and 30 minutes before my matches. Always. It can’t be a second earlier or later. A tick. I don’t change these things. Other things, like training before a match, I sometimes adjust.” Not a single soul better get in his way two and a half hours before his next tennis match!

Gianmarco Tamberi shaves half of his beard

Gianmarco Tamberi genuinely takes the sport of track and field seriously. He’s willing to shave off half of his beard every time he’s about to compete. The Italian high jumper tied with Mutaz Barshim from Qatar in 2020, and that was enough to convince him that shaving half of beard would always be the right thing to do. Even if his appearance might be a bit laughable, his half shaven beard provides him with a sense of confidence that he will do absolutely amazing.

Carissa Moore’s husband wears her lucky socks

Since Carissa Moore is a surfer, she can’t exactly wear socks while she’s gliding through waves on her surfboard. She still has a pair of lucky socks that she knows will make a difference when she’s competing, though. She’s married to her husband now, but when he was still her boyfriend, she spoke about her lucky socks saying, “My boyfriend has to wear lucky socks when I compete. It’s so funny. All the heats that I’ve lost this year so far, he hasn’t been wearing the socks— so it’s pretty much his fault when I lose!” These days, it’s highly unlikely her husband would ever forget to wear those lucky socks at her surfing competitions.

Eileen Gu draws a cat symbol on her hand

Eileen Gu Knows believes that drawing a sweet little cat symbol on her hand might bring her more luck. She won the competition at the youth Olympic Games in 2020, and at the time, she had a cat symbol very clearly drawn on her hand. She spoke about it saying, “I’m very superstitious. But I know that’s not the best thing for people to have when they compete. I was looking between my lucky symbols and calmed myself down… If I podium at the actual Olympics I’ll have the lucky cat tattooed.” Getting tattoos in honor of the Olympics doesn’t sound like the most far-fetched idea for a superstitious individual.

Becky Sauerbrunn is into napping in visualization

Becky Sauerbrunn is a top-notch Women’s National Soccer player. She knows exactly what she’s doing on a soccer field. From her perspective, there are a few important and superstitious things she can do to better prepare herself for awesome games. She opened up about it saying, “I’m usually very anxious on game days, so, for me, a really important ritual is nap time. Or it’s also just kind of like listening to some tunes on the bus rides and doing visualizations, so I’m like replaying plays in my head… and that seems to calm me down a little smidge.” Any ritual that keeps her feeling calm should be prioritized.

Danell Leyva uses two lucky towels

Danell Leyva Proved his athleticism at the Olympics in 2012 and 2016. In both cases, he had his lucky towels in hand. These towels have been part of his life since 2007. He talked about them openly saying, “One aunt went to go buy a towel, and the other one went to her house to get a towel for me because I wanted something to wipe my sweat off. And they both came back with the exact same towel. I said, ‘OK, this is a coincidence. I’m going to keep these two as my lucky towels.’” While some might think of that instance as being a strange coincidence, folks who are superstitious can easily see the magic of what happened.

David Boudia plays Tetris

Tetris is a fun phone game millions people have downloaded to get through moments of boredom. Four-time Olympic medalist David Boudia believes that Tetris is actually much more meaningful than that. He explained, “I think the ritual or routine that I have is when I’m not diving, I need to picture that I’m staying focused. And one of the silly ways that I do that is… I play Tetris. The boxes are falling down super fast and [I need to] figure out a way to get them, so my mind is still engaged in competition.” Now that we know about the most superstitious athletes who’ve spoken up about their ideologies in the Olympics, click here for the greatest comeback stories in Summer Olympics history

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