AN Olympic athlete has gone viral for a surprising reason that has nothing to do with his sport.
The 25-year-old rower has hit the headlines due to his bizarre name which has viewers joking that he doesn’t need his boat.
Julius Christ, from Germany, appeared in the men’s coxless pair event alongside teammate Soenke Kruse.
He sent the internet into a frenzy after he turned out for the heats at the Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium with the screen reading his name as “J. Christ.”
One person on X said: “If this guy stands up and starts running on the water this will be the greatest Olympics of all time.”
Stand up comedian Danny McGinlay asked: “Surely one of these blokes has an unfair advantage on the water?”
Their posts produced some hilarious comments.
“I don’t think they even need the boat lmfao,” was one response.
“Maybe he can walk?” asked another.
“The boat is holding him back,” wrote a third.
“All that water about to turn into wine,” suggested another.
Another X user added to the wine theme: “The French will demand he turn the water into wine first.”
There was another Olympics fan that felt both names were well suited for a rowing event.
“One can walk on water and the other one is a cruise,” they wrote.
Adding to the humour, Julius Christ also has a brother and his name, wait for it, is Johannes.
Christ and Kruse finished third in their heat behind crews from Great Britain and South Africa to qualify for the semi-finals.
It comes as Tom Daley’s BBC Olympics interview was interrupted by his 15-months-old son throwing his juice cup.
The British diving star won silver in the 10m synchronised platform event with Noah Williams.
The pair pulled off a succession of near-perfect dives to land second place, behind China’s Lian Junjie and Yang Hao who took gold.
Shortly after receiving their medals, Daley was interviewed by the British broadcaster.
Daley was speaking on his return to diving when his 15-month-old son Phoenix interrupted their chat.
He said: “Once you’re an athlete, you know what you need to do, and you have to train smarter.
