Who Is Henrik Christiansen? Meet the Olympic Swimmer Obsessed With Chocolate Muffins
Do you know the muffin man who lives in the Olympic Village?
Well, it’s Norwegian swimmer Henrik Christiansen who can’t keep his love for chocolate muffins served at the 2024 Paris Olympics off social media.
The athlete—who competed in the men’s 800-meter freestyle and is set to compete in the men’s 1500-meter freestyle on Aug. 3—began reviewing food available at the village on TikTok July 25, where he gave the chocolate muffin an “11/10” and called it “insane.”
And it wasn’t long before the 27-year-old’s love story with the bakery item unfolded. A day later, he shared a video of the muffin featuring Bobby Caldwell’s song “What You Won’t Do for Love” and captioned the post, “The single greatest thing about the Olympic Village so far.”
Since then, Henrik’s penchant for chocolate muffins has made quite a splash online as he has since posted 10 videos declaring his love. In fact, he posted a July 28 video using a sound bite from Shrek, in which the Gingerbread Man asks, “Do you know the muffin man?” And the Olympian emphasized in his caption, “I HEREBY DECLARE MYSELF AS THE OLYMPIC MUFFIN MAN.”
And now, he’s captured the hearts of Olympics fans worldwide. One admitted, “i am simply rooting for Norway now because of the muffin man and i am not upset about it.” While another reflected, “This is the best story to come out of the Olympic Village.”
Would other chocolate breakfast items satiate Henrik’s sweet tooth? The swimmer, who made his Olympic debut in Rio at the 2016 Summer Games, posted a video in which he sniffed a chocolate croissant in disgust and wrote in the caption, “Muffin reigns supreme.”
But Henrik isn’t the only athlete to captivate fans. After all, Team USA men’s gymnast Stephen Nedoroscik was dubbed the Olympic Clark Kent after he was seen taking off his glasses before hopping on the pommel horse. His stellar performance clinched the U.S. men’s gymnastics team’s bronze medal, the team’s first trip to the podium since 2008.
As for why the 25-year-old ditches his glasses before his apparatus? He told Today July 30, “The thing about pommel horse is if I keep them on, they’re gonna fly somewhere.”
But he doesn’t need them either. “When I go up on the pommel horse, it’s all about feeling the equipment,” Stephen continued. “I don’t even really see when I’m doing my gymnastics. It’s all in the hands—I can feel everything.”
Now, keep reading for more iconic moments from the 2024 Olympics.
(E! News and Today are part of the NBCUniversal family.)
Leon Marchand of Team France gave a whole new meaning to "green eyes" while competing in the Men's 200m Breaststroke Semifinals.
Simone Biles, Jade Carey, Jordan Chiles, Suni Lee and Hezly Rivera of Team USA take their ceremonial bite of the medal after winning gold in Women's Gymnastics.
Stephen Nedoroscik from Team USA's men's gymnastics team won the hearts of the world with his instantly iconic pommel horse routine that helped the team win a bronze medal—breaking a 16-year-long medal drought.
Team Great Britain's Andy Murray had quite the celebration during the Men's Doubles Second Round match against Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen from Team Belgium.
Women's basketball got intense as Team USA and Team Japan competed for the win.
Team Brazil's Gustavo Batista de Oliveira did a full 360 during the Men's Park qualifier.
Marta Kostyuk of Team Ukraine needed a moment to cool down during her tennis matchup against Maria Sakkari of Team Greece.
Lim Jonghoon and Shin Yubin of Team South Korea clearly loved winning bronze during the mixed doubles table tennis match.
Japan's men's gymnastics team reveled in their gold medal win.
Great Britan's Tom Daley and Noah Williams sunk the competition to earn a silver medal.
USA's Vinson Chiu went sky high during a Mixed Doubles Group Play badminton match.
Great Britain's Heather Cowell took a stiff arm from Ireland's Amee Leigh Murphy head on.
Brazil's Gabriel Medina appeared to float above the water during the men's round three surfing competition, making for one of the best photos to emerge from this year's Games so far.
Team Great Britain divers Tom Daley and Noah Williams shared a hilarious moment as they picked up silver for synchronized diving.
Ronald Zabala-Goetschel of Ecuador had a less than terrific time competing in the equestrian competition.
Team USA swimmer Katie Grimes gave us all double vision.
Lauren Scruggs, Lee Kiefer and Eleanor Harvey of Team USA and Team Canada's foil teams celebrated their Olympic medal wins with the iconic biting of the medal.
Denmark and Norway delivered during the preliminary handball competition.
Frida Andersen of Sweden went for an epic jump during the equestrian competition.
Spain's Carlos Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal celebrated a win in their first double match.
Lebron James made winning look easy.
USA fencer Lee Kiefer celebrated her win against China's Huang Qianqian.
Vietnam's Ha Thi Ling took a punch from Tonga's Feofaaki Epenis.
Gymnastics champion Simone Biles gave a shoutout to her fans at the gymnastics qualifyers on day two of the 2024 Olympics.
Surfer John John Florence of Team USA got jiggy with it as he and his teammates celebrated the Opening Ceremony in French Polynesia.
Olympic gold medalist Nadia Comaneci shared an excited moment with French Tennis player Amelie Mauresmo during the torch ceremony.
Team Japan didn't let the downpour soak their spirits as they lived it up during the Opening Ceremony.
Team New Zealand was clearly in a celebratory mood as they sailed down the Seine during the Opening Ceremony.
Surfer Saffi Vette of Team New Zealand maked sure to pour carefully as she partook in the sand ceremony in French Polynesia.
Team USA landed an incredible moment during the 2024 Opening Ceremony as they marked the start of the games in Paris.
Watch the 2024 Paris Olympics daily on NBC and Peacock until the summer games end with the Closing Ceremony on Sunday, Aug. 11, at 7 p.m. ET/PT.