Henrik Christiansen is a Norwegian distance swimmer partaking in his third Olympics this year. He’s completed two out of his three events at the Paris games, finishing sixth in the Men’s 800m Freestyle and fourth in the Men’s 1,500m Freestyle. Though he hasn’t won a medal (yet), it seems Henrik has found a prize greater than gold, or silver or bronze. What could be better than that? The kid has gone bananas for a chocolate muffin made by the caterers for the Olympic Village. He’s filmed so many TikTok videos declaring his love for the treats that he’s been christened the Muffin Man of the Olympics, a badge he wears with pride. And before any of us make a snide comment about the muffins perhaps not helping his speed in the water, he actually placed better in his second event, one week into muffin-eating the games. I’ll have what he’s having, please.
Do you know the muffin man? No, not the one who lives on Drury Lane, but the Norwegian swimmer enamored with the chocolate muffins in the Olympic Village.
The ultra chocolate muffins are grabbing viral attention at the 2024 Paris Olympics thanks to the numerous TikTok videos made by the Norwegian distance swimmer Henrik Christiansen.
He first posted about the “Choccy muffin” in a July 25 TikTok reviewing food in the Olympic Village, which he gave the now-famous muffins an “Insane 11/10.”
He has posted about the muffins over 10 times since, with many of the videos gathering millions of views and amassing over 287,000 followers in the process. Posting a video on TikTok and using an audio from the movie “Shrek,” Christiansen permanently solidified his Olympic identity as the “Muffin Man.”
“The only Olympic village love story that matters,” one commenter posted on one of his many muffin-based videos.
“i am simply rooting for norway now because of the muffin man and i am not upset about it,” said another commenter.
But this is just one man’s opinion. The investigative journalists at People Mag went straight to the source — Sodexo Live!, the company providing all the food for the Olympic Village — to get to the warm, decadent center of this particular muffin:
The most popular baked good in the Olympic Village in Paris isn’t a croissant, pain au chocolat or any other classic French pastry — it’s a double chocolate muffin that’s gone viral on TikTok.
To figure out what makes the treats so irresistible, PEOPLE reached out to Sodexo Live!. The company is responsible for feeding the 15,000 athletes living in the Village.
A representative for the company tells PEOPLE that the goodies — made popular by Norwegian swimmer Henrik Christiansen — are 130g “Maxi” muffins “presented in a tulip cup.”
“It is filled and topped with dark chocolate, featuring chunks of dark chocolate and milk chocolate. This muffin is served daily at the main athletes’ restaurant and at the six takeaway food areas within the Village,” the rep continued.
And the buzz isn’t just happening online — the chocolate muffins are actually flying off of the shelves in the Village, according to Sodexo Live!.
“This dessert is very popular, as around 2,000 chocolate muffins [are] consumed each day at the Athletes’ Village. In total, Sodexo Live! plans to serve 100,000 muffins throughout the Athletes’ Village during [the] Olympic and Paralympic Games,” says the company, which wouldn’t reveal the recipe.
Oh, well if it’s a double chocolate muffin we’re talking about, then that explains the lust. And 2,000 of these babies are being eaten by the athletes — per day?! I have to say, I don’t recall any previous Olympics I’ve lived through that have given us so many good food stories! Between Italy’s star gymnast being sponsored by parmesan cheese, and this Norwegian swimmer being cuckoo for Choco muffs, I’m starting to think that maybe I actually have what it takes to become a serious athlete. (Stop laughing.) Henrik Christiansen has one more event left, the Men’s 10km Open Water that will air at 1:30am ET on August 9. Whether or not the magic muffin propels him to a medal in that event, I wouldn’t be surprised if caterers Sodexo Live! tap him for official sponsorship. He’s more than earned it!
Photos credit Getty and via social media/Henrik Christiansen