Astronauts on the ISS Support Olympic Games Athletes With a Video From Space

It’s hard to stay aside from one of the greatest global events, such as the Olympic Games. That’s why ISS astronauts found a moment to recognise the Games after passing more than 400km (250 miles) above Earth and eyeing a stunning view of France’s capital, where all the real action is currently taking place in Paris 2024. The six NASA astronauts held their own mini-Olympics to mark the start of the Games.

Let the game begin!

Astronaut Tracy Caldwell Dyson, with her blue headband in place and hair flying wildly, grabs a weightlifting bar, her face etched with effort. While this sight might be common at the Olympic Games, seeing two full-grown men hanging off each end of the bar is a bit more unexpected. This was the ‘Olympic Games’ astronaut style.

Inspired by the Paris 2024 Olympics, astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS) decided to hold their own space-themed Olympic Games, soaring more than 400km (250 miles) above Earth. The stunning view of France’s capital motivated the crew to join in the Olympic spirit.

A plastic table provided a platform for some pommel horse action, albeit not quite at the level of Ireland’s Rhys McClenaghan, who qualified top on the apparatus at the Bercy Arena, or Team GB’s Max Whitlock, who aims to make Olympic history by winning his fourth medal on the pommel horse. The final on 3 August will see Whitlock and McClenaghan among eight gymnasts vying for a podium finish.

Meanwhile, Butch Wilmore launched a shot put through the core of the ISS, replicating a challenge that astronauts often undertake. British astronaut Tim Peake explained to Olympics.com that the goal is to throw an object from the Russian segment to the front of the American segment, a distance roughly the length of a football pitch, without hitting any walls.

While athletes on Earth don’t face such unique obstacles, they do contend with the challenge of heavier objects to hurl, making the Space Olympics a uniquely thrilling counterpart to the terrestrial Games.