Crying Jordan is the very embodiment of losing—but have we finally found its anthesis?
While Phelps Face became a strong contender to win gold for best meme of the Olympics early on, it’s Usain Bolt—the Jamaican sprinter who just won his third consecutive gold medal for the 100-meter dash Sunday night—who dashed his way into meme enthusiasts’ hearts with his golden smile.
Bolt secured victory and made history with his 9.81-second run, narrowly beating American sprinter Justin Gatlin. He came from behind to win it all, but it was his semifinal run that’s really captured the scope of Bolt’s Olympic experience. As he easily won his heat, Bolt flashed a smile at the camera, a photo finish from Getty that NBC featured as it previewed the 100-meter final.
The Getty photographer of this photo you'll see a billion times forever is Cameron Spencer (@cjspencois). pic.twitter.com/ypsZGsJUpS
— Mitch Goldich 🐙 (@mitchgoldich) August 15, 2016
Catch me if you can. #Rio2016 pic.twitter.com/TtU6iERDHo
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) August 15, 2016
It’s the ultimate form of winning from the fastest man in the world, and viewers quickly latched on and turned it into the purest form of winning—or in some cases, running away from your problems. Even the NBA Finals got a shoutout as LeBron James and Steph Curry were brought into the action.
we did it. we have the opposite of crying jordan pic.twitter.com/cw7a8cHy5Z
— suss– 🥌 (@suss2hyphens) August 15, 2016
https://twitter.com/xmasape/status/764983128330874880
https://twitter.com/russbengtson/status/764984345882947585
Everyone's trying to become famous while Bolt is posing for pics. pic.twitter.com/QqiJD31RjA
— Clevis Murray (@ClevisMurray) August 15, 2016
https://twitter.com/jchaltiwanger/status/764986483476312064
https://twitter.com/sporker_/status/764991901535797249
— Grant Goldberg (@GrantGoldberg) August 15, 2016
All he does is win.
H/T the Comeback