The Brazilian unintentionally recreated an iconic meme, which has exploded the internet. 

Bruno Fratus became the oldest swimmer to win a medal at the Olympic Games at the age of 32. The Brazilian athlete claimed a bronze medal in the 50m men’s freestyle race. While it was a big breakthrough for the athlete and his country, the 32-year-old fortuitously imitated an iconic meme during medal giving ceremony. 

Last year, a Russian artist created a sketch named, “Never give up!” which shows a man winning a bronze medal and is really, really having fun after winning. In a series of pictures, we can see the athlete commemorating his success, biting his medal, kissing the woman presenting prizes, sticking out his middle fingers to the crowd and opening a bottle of champagne, and spraying it all over the crowd. 

Now we know that he didn’t swear at the crowd and there was no champagne to pop (Covid), Fratus enjoyed his moment, and rightly so. Soon after his win, netizens quickly noticed the comparison to the meme. That’s how quickly the internet finds you. Sharing side-by-side images of Fratus’ celebration and the meme, one user said, “It happened.” 


One person tweeted: “Is this a coincidence or did he intentionally immitate the meme? Either way the man is based and legendary for that.”

Another wrote: “what! the memes are coming to life!!”


While some people don’t believe a silver or bronze medal justifies glorification, a majority thinks that getting to that level requires intense hard work and dedication, and sacrifice, and to celebrate that is the best thing an athlete could do.

Another echoed this, commenting: “Many times we value only 1st place but lose sight of the amount of work & difficulty just to reach the podium.

“Not just in sports but any goals that we work for. Happy to see not just the hard work paying off but also the appreciation & positive vibe to the earned accomplishment.”

While a third added: “He might be 3rd place, but he’s still a winner.”

So, not only is Fratus an Olympic-winning swimmer, he’s now also unintentionally dominating memes on Twitter! What a week.