With the Tokyo 2020 Olympics well underway despite the year-long delay due to Covid, the internet is abuzz with news about sports. The world of high-level sports is far more bizarre than you might imagine, however, and we’ve got the photos to prove it. Bored Panda has collected some utterly weird pics of Olympic athletes from over the years that will make you see them and the human body in an entirely different light.
As you’re scrolling down, upvote the photos that you found the most interesting. My personal favorites (and don’t let this affect you in any way) are the x-ray of the gymnast and the artistic photo of Usain Bolt with bits of the running track stuck to his back.
Whether you’re exercising to be a future Olympian or simply want to improve your health (heck, I personally want to lose some of the pounds I packed on during the last lockdown), one of the core things that you need to keep in mind is honesty.
Being honest about your goals, why you’re exercising, what you hope you achieve, and what your current fitness level is currently like is essential for anyone. Whether they’re a professional athlete or someone who’s putting on their first pair of running shoes. It’s from this realistic evaluation of our own abilities that we can move forward and achieve great things.
I reached out to fitness expert Jack Bly for a chat about the importance of having a proper diet and the chronic issues that some athletes face. Check out his interview with Bored Panda below.
Read More: 50 Freaky Photos Of Olympians And Other Athletes To Give You A New Perspective On The Human Body
#1 Dead Last Of Her Heat In 800 Meters, But Yet We Are All Proud Of You: Sarah Attar, First Saudi Woman To Compete In Athletics At The Olympics
Image credits: jigglemybowls
#2 Weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz Became The First Olympic Gold Medallist For The Philippines
Image credits: paodelrosario
#3 Size Difference Between Simone Biles And A US Volleyball Player David Lee
Image credits: Simone_Biles
#4 I Was Born With A Condition: Pectus Excavatum. Which I Know Sounds Like A Harry Potter Spell. My Deformity Began Appearing Around Age 10
My name is Cody Miller. I am not a typical Olympic swimmer. Like most sports the taller you are the better… Most swimmers are incredibly tall, well above 6ft… I’m 5’11 and only weigh 170lbs. More often than not, I’m the smallest person in the pool. My condition puts stress on my respiratory system. Tests have shown that my sunken sternum and odd placement of other bones has caused a reduced lung capacity… To what extent is unknown. Doctors have said my maximum breathing capacity is likely reduced by 12-20%. Also… I’m diagnosed asthmatic… Which I leaned, from studies run on me in college, has nothing to do with my pectus condition. I live with difficult circumstances for a swimmer. Despite my disadvantages, I’ve dedicated my life to swimming… And I’ve never gave up. Like a lot of you, I have struggled with body image problems through out my life. I struggled with my appearance from a young age. I was a kid who was afraid to take off his shirt in gym class… people thought I was weird. At swim meets, I walked around the pool deck awkwardly while people stared and pointed at me. I was weird and abnormal… However, I’ve realized this: No one is 100% satisfied with the way they look. Everyone has some thing about themselves they dislike. And that’s OK! Professional athletes, models… everyone has their own insecurities! I’ve embraced the fact that I have a giant hole in my chest! It’s OK! Monday night. June 27th, 2016 in Omaha Nebraska. USA Swimming Olympic Trials took place at the CenturyLink Center live on NBC, in front of a crowd of 17,500 people, I swam in lane 5 of the Finals of the men’s 100 meter breast stroke. Only 2 athletes per event qualify for the Olympic Games. 2 swimmers to represent the U.S.A in the 100 meter breast stroke… I’d been dreaming about this moment my entire life. One wrong move and it’s over… The pressure of a life long dream… Years and years of training. Thousands and thousands of hours of preparation for a race that lasts 59 seconds… 2 lengths of the pool… 1 start… 1 turn… 1 finish… 1 moment… 1 opportunity… I did it… The feeling is still indescribable… I qualified for the Rio Olympics. My new Olympic team mate and I hug.Seeing the Olympic rings next to my name… I try not to cry… I did… like a baby…
Image credits: BatmansBreastroke
#5 Leg Muscles Of The First Perfect 10 In Olympic History, At Age 14. Nadia Comaneci
Image credits: mega002
#6 An X-Ray Of A Gymnast Performing An Exercise
Image credits: SomeAccountThatIs
#7 It May Look Easy On TV, But Just A Reminder Of What The Ski Jumpers Are Staring At. View From The Top Of The Olympic Ski Jump In Sochi, Russia
Image credits: olya_samy
#8 It’s All About The Olympics
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#9 Ex-World Champion Cyclist Janez Brajkovic Leg After A Race
Image credits: janibrajkovic
#10 Throwing Out The First Pitch For The Houston Astro’s
Image credits: simonebiles
#11 Feet From Dutch Olympic Swimming Champion Maarten Van Der Weijden After Swimming 163 Km/101 Mi In 55 Hours To Raise Money For Cancer Research
Image credits: mvdweijden
#12 4’8″ Olympic Gymnast Simone Biles Standing Next To 7’1″ Shaq
Image credits: Simone_Biles
#13 Olympians Alexander Volkov (Volleyball) And Seda Tutkhalyan (Gymnast). Team Russia
Image credits: sedatutkhalian_13
#14 After Blazing Up The Track I Take It With Me
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#15 After Sixteen Stages In Tour De France I Think My Legs Look Little Tired
Image credits: p.poljanskiofficial
#16 In 2009 J.R. Celski Sliced Through His Entire Left Quadriceps With His Right Skate Blade At The U.S. Olympic Trials
My first major sports injury happened at the 2010 U.S. Short Track Speed Skating Olympic Trials. It was the competition I had to do well at in order to secure a spot on my first Olympic team. The fall happened in one of the last races of the competition, the 500 meters, known for absolute top speed. I fell in the corner and put the front six inches of my blade straight into my quad. I bounced off the pads with the blade still in my leg, looked down and had to pull it out myself because of the awkward position that I was in. I completely severed the VMO “tear drop muscle” and luckily barely missed the femoral artery which might’ve been the end. It was one of the most difficult things I’ve ever gone through, especially because in the moments after, I started realizing that I might not be able to achieve the goal I set out for in the first place. If not for the people around me including my family, friends, and medical staff, I wouldn’t have been able to get back on my feet, especially in time to go to the Olympics and win two medals.
Image credits: jrcelski
#17 Olympic Rower’s Hands
Image credits: AlexGregoryGB
#18 Olympic Abs
Image credits: simonebiles
#19 When You Spend Every Day On A Bike vs. When You Retire And Ride Casually
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#20 Dutch Track Cyclist Laurine Van Riessen Riding The Wall Of The Track At The Rio Olympics
Image credits: SportsNerd94
#21 The Difference Between An Olympic Swimmer And An Olympic Gymnast
Image credits: JonLuca
#22 George Hincapie’s Legs After The Tour De France Race
Image credits: magadget
#23 British Synchronized Swimmer Olivia Federici Stretching
Image credits: olivia_federici
#24 Anything Possible Right?
Image credits: usainbolt
#25 Size Difference Between Basketball Players And Gymnasts
Image credits: usabasketball
#26 Hungarian Weightlifter Janos Baranyai’s Right Arm Gave, Ripping Apart Ligaments And Muscle Under The Weight
He pushed himself to lift 148 kilograms (326.3 pounds) during the men’s 77kg weightlifting competition at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.
#27 The Hands Of Olympic Swimming Champion Van Der Weijden After A 163km Swim
Image credits: boredpanda.com
#28 Acrobatic Gymnastics Elite And Level 10 Training Camp At Karolyis Olympic Training Site
Image credits: Txflip
#29 Simone Biles With Lebron James
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#30 Wild Spring Break Night, Recovery Compression For Soreness And Movies
Image credits: simonebiles
#31 I Know I Am Not The Only Gymnast Who Sometimes Watches TV Like This
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#32 How Huge US Fencer Miles Chamley-Watson’s Hand Is
All Smiles from Miles when I’m back again with my man, a legend Pele. Thank you always and special thank you for welcoming me to your beautiful country of Brazil. I can listen to this legend talk all day. Really humbling.
Image credits: fencer
#33 Dutch Gymnasts
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#34 Annemiek Van Vleuten Crashes While Leading Rio 2016 Road Race
Image credits: AvVleuten
#35 Now This Is An Ice Bath. 30lbs Block Of Ice
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#36 Keeping It Real. Wild Friday Night
Image credits: alyraisman
#37 German Cyclist Robert Forstemann And New Zealand Cyclist Greg Henderson
Image credits: Greghenderson1
#38 Michael Phelps After Cupping Therapy
Image credits: m_phelps00
#39 Olympic Cyclist Robert Forstemann (Right) Shows Off Freakish 74 Cm Thighs
Image credits: robertfoerstemann
#40 Relaxing & Recovering. Grateful To Have Access To Such Incredible Technology To Help Heal Aches And Pains
Image credits: alyraisman
#41 I Have Trained Well. Hopefully I’ll Have A Chance To Prove It Soon
Image credits: janibrajkovic
#42 The Leg Of An Olympic Runner
Image credits: TyroneofAfrica
#43 3 Weeks Ago I Finally Got My Knee Cleaned Up After Skiing In Pain For Years
Trying to compete in both halfpipe and slopestyle, I would just try and ignore what my body was telling me. This should have happened years ago but happy the knee is starting to feel/look like the other again(not twice the size). Excited to be back skiing like my old self again!
Image credits: devinlogan
#44 Not A Bad View From 10m
Image credits: dannielgoodfellow
#45 I Think I’m Doing It Wrong
Image credits: nathangadrian
#46 Olympic Bronze Medalist Julia Mancuso Skiing With A Swimsuit And A Sideways Cap
Image credits: MarcoBrusa
#47 Still Plenty Of Juice Left After 7mj Of Work
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Image credits: janibrajkovic