If you thought that music from Japanese games or from anime would be the only “anime/game reference” on Tokyo Olympics 2020, you were mistaken. Some of the athletes over at the Olympics in Tokyo went as far as to strike a pose inspired by one of the anime they’ve watched!
You can also see some of the poses in a Tweet below:
Noah Lyles, a bronze medalist in Men’s 200 meters, imitated the iconic move from the “Dragon Ball” series, Kamehameha. The Olympics also had some poses from the “One Piece” anime. Miltiadis Tendoglu, the gold medalist in Men’s long jump, made a “Luffy Gear 2 pose” before the competition. Another athlete that made a “One Piece” reference was Payton Otterdahl as he struck the same pose as “Franky” from the series did.
We also had smaller references such as a Gundam statue in the background, or athletes taking inspiration and using various anime songs during their routines. There’s also Isaiah Jewett, who placed 7th in Men’s 800m competition as he helped another runner get up. He said that “All the superhero anime that I watch, regardless of how mad you are, you have to be a hero at the end of the day.” He also struck a Shadow Clone Jutsu from “Naruto” pose.
Tokyo Olympics 2020’s closing ceremony happened on August 8, 2021.
Source: Olympic’s Twitter, apnews
© 岸本斉史 スコット／集英社・テレビ東京・ぴえろ
© ︎ Eiichiro Oda / Shueisha © ︎ Eiichiro Oda / Shueisha / Fuji TV / Toei Animation
