The 7 Most Accidentally Sexy Photos From The Rio Olympics
Thousands and thousands of photographers have been shooting the Olympics for two weeks straight, and the pictures they've unleashed upon the world have been amazing. We've been treated to images of unbelievable triumph. We've seen heartbreaking loss captured in time. We've witnessed majestic physiques, effortless movement, skillful coordination -- and strange bungled moments that look less like professional athleticism and more like low-budget amateur porn.
Two guesses as to which of those this column will be about.
The Oiled-Up Flag Bearer
That's Pita Taufatofua, a humble taekwondo practitioner from Tonga, who led his troops in the Maracana stadium wearing little more than a ta'ovala waist mat and several barrels of baby oil. Tonga was clearly going for tongue-in-cheek sexy here, but what they accidentally created is a scene straight out of a submissive person's embarrassment fantasy. Look at the expression of barely concealed terror on the guy's face:
Look how everyone within spitting distance is either pointedly ignoring him or giving him these amused glances:
FOX Sports
And look at that smarmy fucker behind him, who you just know will give shit to him about this for the rest of his days:
FOX Sports
It's like that dream where you're at a party naked. For Pita Taufatofua, the dream was reality, and the party was attended by hundreds of millions of people.
The Field Hockey Players With Unfortunate Names
Total Pro Sports
Hee. Heeheehee. Heeheeheeheeheeheehee. "Butts."
Despite the fact that this memefied shot is all anyone will ever remember about the German field hockey team's dominant first-round 6-2 win over Canada, I have a feeling that Linus Butt and Florian Fuchs are ultimately OK with their unfortunate name pairing. See, this is one of those jokes that, with just a slight tweaking, is actually on everyone except themselves. Well, at least everyone unwittingly standing to their right:
"Dammit, guys." -- Martin Zwicker, probably
The Judo Ass Slap
Alone, both of those men are clearly engaging in completely innocent activities. The judoka is celebrating his victory, and the official is merely awarding him the match by signaling away the evil spirits of the underworld who, by Olympic tradition, get to eat all the losers. However, the interplay of these poses makes it look for all the world like the official's attempting to woo the judo guy by casually ass-slapping him, and that the hulking athlete who could easily break him in two reacts by literally jumping out of his clothes. You can practically hear the yelp. You can definitely picture the man-shaped hole in the wall as the judo dude escapes the hall, while the official embarks in a long Looney Tunes chase, Pepe-le-Pew-style.
Slow Dance Wrestling
If you had to guess the sport where the most gentle and sensual photo of the entire Rio Olympics comes from, you'd probably say something like gymnastics, beach volleyball, or skeet shooting. What you definitely wouldn't say is wrestling, a sport more associated with grunting, spandex wedgies, and unfortunate crotch shots than softcore erotica.
Yet here we are in the men's Greco-Roman wrestling semifinals, watching as two competitors cease their struggle to suplex each other to oblivion in order to embrace in a sensuous slow dance. Run that shit through an appropriately tacky glamour shot filter, hide the most obvious bulges with some clip art flowers, and you could use this shot to illustrate a wedding invitation.
A Weightlifter's Surprise
News.com.au
Sometimes, it's less about the unfortunate timing of a shot and more about the way it's framed. Here we have a weightlifter hoisting customarily insane amounts of round metal things off the ground, while looking for all the world like he's about to receive the world's most dangerous surprise blowjob courtesy of a conveniently placed official.
What really makes this one for me is the athlete's face. That, friends, is the exact expression of pained conflict you'd all make if you were to receive some welcome surprise oral, only to suddenly remember that your arms are currently the only thing that's preventing two times your body weight in unforgiving iron from crushing both yourself and your benefactor.
The Kayaking O-Face
ABC News
Hey, speaking of facial expressions!
I've been kayaking a few times, and it's fine. Nothing to write home about, but alright. However, looking at this picture of an Austrian K1 kayak slalom competitor, it's increasingly apparent to me that there's some strange, sexy hidden point of pleasure to this canoe sport that I've been missing. Clearly, this man has found it, as he's enjoying his kayak very much.
So very, very much.
Water Polo, Water Polo, Water Polo
The Wall Street Journal
In Adam Tod Brown's London 2012 installment of this article, it became apparent that the Olympic swimming events often feature graphics that censor the male participants' Speedos and turn their poolside preparations into accidental porn.
And then we have water polo, a sport that scoffs at all that jazz and grumbles: "Graphics? We don't need no stinking graphics to look X-rated as all fuck." From innocent attempts to summon team spirit with your fellow players ...
Towleroad
... to frantic gameplay situations ...
Towleroad
... to the "Holy shit, they're all naked, aren't they?" photo in the entry header, water polo just can't help but look like something Tom of Finland dreamed up during his blue period. It's almost as if a sport about a bunch of burly men in the tiniest of swimming trunks aggressively wrestling each other for ball control lends itself well to accidentally compromising imagery. Who could have guessed?
Pauli Poisuo is a Cracked weekly columnist and freelance editor. Here he is on Facebook and Twitter.
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