The Top 10 Social Media Moments That Made Sochi Olympics Memorable
Puppies, toilets and snowflakes went viral during the Sochi Olympics
By Sarah Glover ••
The Olympic torch will soon journey to Pyeongchang, South Korea, to kick start the 2018 Winter Olympics. Top athletes from around the world will vie for a cherished gold medal in 15 different winter sports when the competition starts Feb. 8.
As sports fans gear up for the Winter Olympics and the internet anxiously awaits what new memes will surface, take a look back at some of the top Sochi social media moments from the 2014 Winter Olympics.
The top 10 viral moments from Sochi include puppies, toilets and more:
10. Missing Olympic Ring: The Opening Ceremony Snowflake That Never Was The opening ceremony is a time for the host country to showcase its pomp and the world’s first glance at the Olympic athletes. With years of preparation and billions of dollars and resources put into its production, it’s no wonder a malfunction during the ceremony might draw attention. That's what happened during Sochi's -- a lighted snowflakes that was supposed to open into the fifth Olympic ring did not work. The stubborn snowflake became a meme, but the Russians took it in stride, making fun of it in their closing ceremony festivities.
9. Oshie’s Shootout Goals Help U.S. Beat Russia's Hockey Team Sharpshooter T.J. Oshie made four out of six shootout goals to propel the United States to victory over Russia in an opening round hockey match that eliminated the hosts. The U.S. mens team still left Sochi without a medal, but Oshie's epic performance brought him plenty of fame on social media. Within an hour of the game ending, T-shirts saying "Oshie Owns Sochi" were for sale online.
8. #SochiFail and #SochiProblems Journalists and athletes used their social media accounts to document their Olympics experiences, but shortly after the Sochi Games started, #SochiFail started to appear on timelines. The run-up to the Olympics featured report after report of shoddy or partially completed construction, and sure enough, some infrastructure wasn't ready for showtime. Brown water and broken elevators were among the problems that helped propel the daily musings also posted as #SochiProblems.
People have asked me what surprised me the most here in Sochi. It's this. Without question ... it's ... THIS. pic.twitter.com/1jj05FNdCP
7. Bob Costas Gets Red Eye Legendary sportscaster Bob Costas was sidelined from live television coverage for five days due to an eye infection. "My apologies to everyone for the unavoidable but uncomfortable circumstance of a broadcaster's ill-timed affliction getting in the way, even for just a moment, from what we all came here for," Costas said.
6. Johnny Weir's Fashion Former Olympic skaters Tara Lipinski and Johnny Weir are well known for their fashion and commentary as analysts for NBC Sports. From donning a fur coat to tiny shorts, Weir's breakthrough Sochi fashion moment was arguably a hot pink tailored jacket. He’s perfected sporty fashion and slays on his social media timeline, too.
A post shared by •JOHNNY WEIR• (@johnnygweir) on Feb 11, 2014 at 2:15am PST
5. That Surprised Face: American Ashley Wagner Reacts to Score Figure skater Ashely Wagner joined the likes of gymnast McKayla Maroney with her "unimpressed" #wagnerface. After finishing her figure skating short routine in Sochi, she looked up to the board and reacted to her score — 63.10 — with surprise written all over her face. The internet loved it.
4. Olympians Adopt Stray Puppies Some Olympians brought awareness to Russia’s stray dog problem as they opened their hearts and homes to man's best friend. United States slopestyle skier Gus Kenworthy shared moments he spent with five stray pups he found at the Gorki Press Center. He announced he was going to adopt the puppies on social media. Snowboarder Lindsey Jacobellis joined Kenworthy and also adopted a dog.
3. Twin Toilets BBC reporter Steve Rosenberg used the bathroom at the cross-country skiing and biathlon center and found one stall and two toilets. He snapped a photo and posted it to Twitter, resulting in others sharing similar "twinning toilets" around the globe.
2. Russian Speedskater Unzips Her Race Suit Adrenaline and satisfaction exuded from speedster Olga Graf after she won the first medal for Russia in the women’s 3,000-meter at Sochi. She celebrated during her warm-down lap by unzipping her racing suit. Shortly thereafter she realized she had nothing underneath her suit and zipped it back up. The internet went wild and praised her for her free spirit.
1. #Quinning: Bobsledder Breaks Down the Door U.S. bobsledder Johnny Quinn found himself in the center of a social media frenzy during Sochi. He got trapped inside his hotel bathroom after showering, and with no one nearby to help him, he took matters into his own hands. He punched a hole in the door, climbed through it and took to Twitter to share the ordeal: "With no phone to call for help, I used my bobsled push training to break out.”
Quinn had a second chance at internet fame when he found himself stuck again — this time in an elevator. He was left with no choice to pry the doors open. The internet agreed his heroics deserved their own hashtag and #Quinning was born.
One of the rings forming the Olympic Rings failed to open during the opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.
AP
Dreadlocks flowing through the air, pants sagging to his ankles at every jump, Sweden's Henrik Harlaut put on a show in more ways than one. He lost his skis during his first qualifying run, forcing him to do the walk of shame back up the hill to fetch him, his blue tights evident as his suspenders fought a mostly losing battle to keep the pants somewhere in the vicinity of his waist.
One of the more unfortunate moments of the Olympics came in the men's figure skating competition when American Jeremy Abbott, who had fallen during a team competition, wiped out again, crashing into the ice, then into the boards in the worst figure skating spill of the Games. He remained down on the ice for an excruciating few seconds before finally standing up and responding to rallying calls from the audience to finish his routine. The spectacle continued at a press conference following the event, where he told critics that he'd like to put his "middle finger in the air" and "say a big F-you to them."
Team USA swept Men's ski slopestyle with Joss Christensen winning gold, Gus Kenworthy winning silver, and Nicholas Goepper winning bronze.
Russian speed skater Olga Graf forgot she wasn't wearing anything under her skating suit and unzipped during a victory lap, tinging her bronze medal moment with a bit of embarrassment.
Getty Images
Ashley Wagner of the United States reacts to her score after competing in the figure skating team ladies' short program on day one of the Winter Olympics. Her sour face quickly became a top Sochi Games meme. Facebook said it was one of the most talked about subjects on the social network that weekend, and TiVo said it was the one moment people rewound the most.
Canada ruined Team USA's hopes of winning gold in hockey twice in Sochi. Canada beat the USA 3-2 to win gold in overtime for the women's final. The U.S. men lost 0-1 in the semifinal game.
Alpine skier Bode Miller made history when he won the bronze in the Super-G. The 36-year-old became the oldest skier to win a medal in the event and the most decorated American Alpine skier. But it was what happened after his run that will most likely stick in the minds of those who saw it. In a finish line interview, Milleru00a0broke downu00a0in tears remembering his late brother, who had recently passed away.
Russia's legendary figure skater Evgeni Plushenko stunned his country when heu00a0announcedu00a0his withdrawal from the men's figure skating competition u2014 and retirement u2014 seconds before he was supposed to take the ice and cap off his illustrious career with a fifth Olympic medal. He was the only Russian in the men's competition and his last-minute departure over an injury left the home crowd stunned.
Two-time Olympic gold medalist Shaun White of the United States crashed out in the snowboard men's halfpipe finals on day four of the Sochi Olympics. He withdrew from the inaugural men's slopestyle competition after concerns over course safety, as well as to focus solely on winning the halfpipe event. White ended up finishing fourth.
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Sage Kotsenburg of the United States won the first gold medal of the 2014 Sochi Games and became the first Olympic men's snowboard slopestyle champion on Feb. 8, 2014. The 20-year-old is the first American to win the opening event of a Winter Olympics since 1952.
AP
France's Marie Marchand-Arvier crashes into safety netting during the women's downhill at the Sochi Olympics on Feb. 12, 2014, in Krasnaya Polyana, Russia.
Sarka Pancochova of Czech Republic fell during finals, cracking her helmet, and placed fifth in women's snowboard slopestyle on day two.
In this image made with a multiple exposure, Finland's Antti Ollila competes in the men's ski slopestyle qualifying at the Rosa Khutor Extreme Park during the 2014 Winter Olympics on Feb. 13, 2014, in Krasnaya Polyana, Russia.
Dominique Gisin of Switzerland and Tina Maze of Slovenia tied for gold in the Alpine skiing women's downhill event at the Winter Olympics on Feb. 12, 2014. This was the first time in Olympic history that two gold medals were handed out in the same Alpine skiing event.
Jamie Anderson of the United States won the gold medal in the first ever women's snowboarding slopestyle event on day two.
AP
Kim Lamarre won Canada's first ever bronze medal in the inaugural women's freestyle slopestyle skiing event at the Winter Olympics on Feb. 11, 2014, in Sochi. The silver medal went to Devin Logan of the United States and the gold medal to Dara Howell of Canada.
Meryl Davis and Charlie White won the first Olympic figure skating ice dancing gold for the United States on day 10. Previously, they had won silver in the 2010 Vancouver Games.
Kaitlyn Farrington of the United States made her Olympic debut at the 2014 Sochi Games and came away with gold in the women's snowboarding halfpipe finals event on Feb. 12, 2014.
Yuzuru Hanyu of Japan broke his own world record in the men's figure skating short program event. The 19-year-old went on to win gold in men's figure skating on Feb. 14, 2014, becoming Japan's first-ever Olympic men's figure skating champion. at the Iceberg Skating Palace during the 2014 Winter Olympics on Feb. 6, 2014, in Sochi, Russia.
Andrew Weibrecht of the United States won the silver medal in the men's super-G on day 8 of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Krasnaya Polyana, Russia. The two-time Olympic medalist bested teammate Bode Miller, who tied for the bronze.
Paramedics carry U.S. snowboarder Jacqueline Hernandez after she fell while competing in the women's snowboard cross seeding runs at the Rosa Khutor Extreme Park during the Winter Olympics on Feb. 16, 2014.
AFP/Getty Images
Adelina Sotnikova gave Russia its first Olympic gold medal in ladies' figure skating on day 13 of the Sochi Games at the Iceberg Skating Palace. The 17-year-old had been overshadowed by her younger teammate Yulia Lipnitskaya for much of the Games, but Lipnitskaya ended up placing fifth.
Gracie Gold helped USA win bronze in team figure skating. But the American sweetheart placed fourth in the ladies' free skate event. Her teammates Ashley Wagner placed seventh and Polina Edmunds placed ninth. Sochi marks the first time that USA has failed to earn a men's or women's individual medal in figure skating since 1936.
Ted Ligety wins the first ever gold medal for the United States in the Alpine skiing men's giant slalom event on day 12 of the Winter Olympics at Rosa Khutor Alpine Center in Sochi, Russia. He is a two-time Olympic gold medalist who also won the combined event at the 2006 Turin Olympics.
