For Henrik Christiansen, the pesto pasta, chicken dumplings and pork skewers are all acceptable meals to consume in the Olympic Village, but the one item that takes the cake is the irresistible chocolate muffin.
The Norwegian swimmer has documented his love for the baked goodie in a series of videos that have taken off on TikTok.
“They are the single greatest thing about the Olympics so far,” he commented in the first video he posted featuring the “choccy muffin.” In it, Christiansen reviews a series of meals he’s had at the Olympic village canteen, with the sweet treat earning an “insane” 11/10.
The muffin has become something of an obsession for Christiansen. He has posted nine videos dedicated to the gooey chocolate muffin, starting with one captioned “The single greatest thing about the Olympic Village so far.”
@henrikchristians1 Olympic Village food review! A little surprise at the end too! Smash like and subscribe for part 2✌🏻 #fyp #olympics #paris2024 #olympictiktok #olympicvillage #foodreview @Olympics @paris2024 @Mr.Nicho ♬ original sound – Z7duckx_Music
The video shows a half-bitten muffin as Bobby Caldwell’s 1978 hit “What You Won’t Do for Love” plays in the background.
Viewers haven’t been able to look away. While Christiansen documents has been documenting his journey to the Olympics on Tiktok, posting from the opening ceremony, visiting the Eiffel Tower and his “dadcore” getups, his descent into muffin madness has been the most consistently viewed, garnering millions of views and many thousands of comments.
“I never knew I’d be so invested in a love story between a Norwegian swimmer and a muffin,” user ThatTwinMom commented. Other users begged him to try a cookie while some were newfound supporters of the chocolate-stained Muffin Man, saying they were rooting for him for his upcoming race.
Speaking to Today.com, Christiansen said he consumes 7,000 calories on heavy training days and “a lot lower” but still sizeable 4,000 calories on the lead up to competition. Muffins have helped him reach that calorie goal, but maybe fewer than people expect, he noted.
“I haven’t really kept track of all of them,” Christiansen said. “I think I’ve shown off more muffins than I’ve actually eaten.”
Christiansen has competed in the 800m freestyle, where he ranked 25th overall, and is due to compete in the 1,500m on Aug. 3. There’s no telling whether Village will gift him the recipe for the beloved muffin, whether the egg shortage impacted him, but few would doubt what will fuel the Muffin man in the lead up to the big race.