Chocolate muffins, Norwegian swimmers become surprise Olympic stars
Every Olympics has its stars who surprise. Eric “The Eel” Moussambani inspired the swimmers in Sydney; Steven Bradbury’s improbable gold in Salt Lake City made him a sports legend. The list goes on.
This year, it’s the “muffin man” who is in the spotlight.
While that’s not his real name, after millions of views on TikTok, it might as well be.
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Henrik Christiansen, a Norwegian swimmer competing in his third Olympic Games, is not a medal favorite in any of his events. That hasn’t stopped him from taking the social media world by storm.
The Olympic Village has received very negative reviews for its food, with Team USA gold medalist Hezly Rivera saying she was not a fan.
Henrik Christiansen, a Norwegian swimmer competing in his third Olympics, has received millions of views on his TikTok videos about the Olympic Village’s chocolate muffins. (Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
“I don’t think it’s very good, at least what we have in the dining room,” Rivera said at the news conference after the U.S. team won the gold medal in the women’s gymnastics team competition.
She continued: “I definitely think French food is good, but what we have there, I don’t think it’s the best. But it does the job.”
The chocolate muffin, or “chocolate muffin,” as Christiansen called it, was “crazy.”
The only exception to this rule, it seems, are chocolate muffins, which seem to “go down like a cake.”
In a TikTok video posted on July 25, Christiansen reviewed several dishes from the Olympic Village cafeteria.
While the chicken gyoza was “OK” and the pesto pasta with pork skewers was “pretty solid,” the chocolate muffin, or “chocolate muffin,” as Christiansen called it, was “insane.”
“11/10,” he said.
Henrik Christiansen rose to fame after his video describing the Olympic Village’s food was shared on TikTok. (Nikola Krstic/Orange Pictures/Agence BSR/Getty Images; iStock)
In the video, Christiansen can be seen smiling as he eats the muffin.
Several follow-up videos followed, one showing Christiansen’s face covered in chocolate and a photo of the now-legendary muffin with a bite in it.
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Other TikTok videos showed Christiansen carrying several muffins around the Olympic Village and “rating” the food against other French pastries.
True to the Olympic spirit, athletes from other delegations also praised the chocolate muffin on social media.
“It tastes exactly like cake.”
Team USA swimmers Abbey Weitzeil and Torri Huske went looking for “the famous, infamous chocolate muffins” and documented their experience on Weitzeil’s TikTok account.
“At first glance it looks like it’s melted on top, but it’s cold to the touch,” Huske said.
“It tastes exactly like cake,” she said.
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Weitzel agreed, noting that the interior was “melting and melting.”
“For a chocolate muffin, nine out of ten,” Huske said, adding that it would be better if it were warm. Weitzeil also gave the muffin a nine.
American swimmers Torri Huske, left, and Abbey Weitzeil, right, also praised the chocolate muffin. (Xavier Laine/Getty Images)
The two men also noted that they spotted Christiansen – “the muffin man” – as they walked toward the dining room.
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“We ran into the Muffin Man! Muffin Man, if you see this, I sat next to you on the bus and I said, ‘Oh my God, you’re the Muffin Man,'” Weitzeil said.
Celebrities have noticed this too.
On Friday, chef Gordon Ramsey commented on one of Christiansen’s muffin videos, saying, “I think I have to try one now…”
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Christiansen qualified for the Olympics in the men’s 800m and 1,500m freestyle events.
He will next compete in the men’s 10km open water marathon swim on the Seine River, scheduled for Aug. 8-9, the AP reported.
