Suni Lee and the U.S. women's gymnastics team scored big with Olympic medals, but it was Lee's bronze win in the individual all-around competition that bolstered newfound excitement in a medal other than gold.
Lee’s joy at winning the bronze medal is just the first of many examples of Olympic athletes who came for gold but left happy to bring home any medal at all.
Just when it seemed the world couldn't love the U.S. men's gymnastics team more, Stephen Nedoroscik's July 29 pommel horse routine at the 2024 Paris Olympics secured the team's bronze medal, their first in 16 years.
But it wasn't the win itself that further endeared the team to international viewers, or even Nedoroscik's uncanny Clark Kent vibes. It was the unbridled joy the team exuded upon medaling, proving the "if you're not first, you're last" mentality has no place among them.
Now, thanks to social media, that joy is spreading all over the world, allowing viewers to celebrate the bronze with the athletes.
While watching the event from home, TikTok user Kat Johnson captured the triumphant moment as the men's gymnastics team cheered on their teammate from the sidelines. That footage has since been viewed over 1 million times. "Now this is the Olympics," the video's top comment reads.
NBC broadcaster and Olympic medalist Sam Peszek also shared in the team's joy upon their win, uploading her ecstatic reaction to TikTok. "WHAT A NIGHT!!!! So proud," Peszek's caption reads.
In a 1995 study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, psychologists Victoria Medvec, S.F. Madey and Thomas Gilovich found that bronze medalists are significantly happier than the silver medalists who beat them out.
Their research found that the “what might have been” mentality robbed silver medal athletes of their joy — while bronze medalists were thrilled to make it to the podium.
With 13 bronze medals currently under America's belt, the 2024 Summer Olympics is proving to be a joyous event for the U.S. Here's how they celebrated.
The U.S. women's rugby team also exuded a similar joy upon winning their bronze medal — the first-ever Olympic medal in the sport for Team USA.
Emotions were high for the team as they spoke about the history-making win.
"In rugby, we say we're just passing through the jersey, and making the jersey better, and that's always been my goal, to make this jersey better," Ilona Maher told NBC News. "Not just for me, but for the other girls who are going to come into the program, and I want them to have me to dream of being professional rugby players, professional athletes and that's what I'm giving them."
Later, in a TikTok for Team USA, the team celebrated their new bronze medals. "I love that I have it," said rugby player Naya Tapper.
Even Flavor Flav couldn't hold back his joy while watching the U.S. women's rugby team make history with their win over Australia.
But it’s not just American teams that are exuberantly celebrating their bronze medal triumphs.
Poland won its first women’s épée medal in a match against China. Fencer Aleksandra Jarecka collapsed with emotion upon realizing she had secured the bronze medal.
Egyptian fencer Mohamed El-Sayed also put on a exuberant display after winning the bronze medal in men's épée, giving his country its first medal in the Games.
“This is so touching to watch,” commented one TikToker. “The pure excitement, and he can say something most people can’t say: He’s an Olympic medalist.”
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