Paris 2024 has been the TikTok Games

The competition has been fierce in Paris, whether those battles have been fought on the track, in the velodrome or in the pool. You would expect no less at the Olympics, of course, where those life-changing gold medals are on the line.

But away from the bright lights of the TV cameras capturing the action, this current crop of Olympians – more tech-savvy than any of those who have come before them – are locked in a different type of battle. This is the new age of the Olympics, after all. Gone are the days where the only action from the Games is beamed back to homes across the nation through terrestrial television.

Athletes are now able to whip out their phone to capture searingly raw (and often hilarious) videos at a snap of their fingers, which they can share with their legions of fans across social media. And, as you would expect from athletes who spend their entire lives locked in competition, naturally there comes an element of who can record the most views on their videos.

On the subject of statistics, the numbers being recorded from these Games are unlike any seen before. In all, Olympics posts on short-form video hosting service TikTok have registered more than 575million likes this summer. They are numbers beyond comprehension as fans from across the world lap up as much Olympics action as they can lay their eyes on.

Take, for instance, Norwegian swimmer Henrik Christiansen. You’ve probably never heard of him. At least you hadn’t until he became the viral star of the Olympics – all over his love of the triple chocolate muffins served in the athletes’ village.

Other athletes have used the social media platform to lift the lid on what life is like as an Olympian at the Games.

British diving hero Tom Daley, who won silver in 10m synchronised diving alongside Noah Williams, takes home the gold medal for the British athlete who has produced the TikTok video with the most views. Over 6.1million people watched him share what the now infamous anti-sex cardboard beds were like in the athletes’ village.

And it’s not just the high-profile British stars who are profiting from the increased exposure either. A video put out by kayaker Kimberley Woods of her showing off her bronze medal has been watched more than 1million times.

‘The growth and the momentum has been amazing,’ TikTok’s global sports partnerships director, Rollo Goldstaub, told Mail Sport.

‘We’ve tried to work out what makes a video so successful and we’ve pin-pointed three areas. Being authentic and relatable is one. The second would be showing the unique behind the scenes that you can’t get anywhere else.

‘And the third is the joyful side, the fun and inspirational things people are all talking about. The content they make after is so built into making people laugh and smile.’

The real queen of the Olympics TikTok game has been Simone Biles. Her three golds and a silver at the Bercy Arena in Paris cemented her place as the best gymnast of all time, but there is perhaps no clearer sign of the times than the fact the 27-year-old was captured asking her American team-mates which TikTok they would make to toast their success in the immediate aftermath of their victory.

‘These athletes have grown up with TikTok,’ explains Goldstaub. ‘Some of them are of an age where over the last six years it has been one of their main forms of communication – watching and consuming but also putting out content.

‘In Tokyo three years ago there was a clear, new trend of Athletes’ Village content and then you’ve got those same athletes appearing again and the next generation who have grown up with TikTok. It feels this time around we have the perfect mix for those athletes to make the most of the app.’

Athletes will spend the next four years preparing tirelessly for their next shot at gold in Los Angeles. And who knows, perhaps they’ll even block out a bit of time in their training sessions to ensure they win gold in the TikTok Olympics too.