Celebrate the Olympics With These 17 Classic SNL Sketches

I’ve always found it fascinating how Saturday Night Live (SNL) manages to weave humor around major global events like the Olympics. As someone who’s spent countless hours watching these games, I can attest that there’s often more drama off the field than on it!

Every two years, the Olympics offer a spectacle filled with grandeur, extraordinary displays of talent, and ample opportunities for humor. Given these circumstances, it’s no surprise that shows like Saturday Night Live often poke fun at the Games. They find humor in the larger-than-life personalities of the athletes, the constant and occasionally excessive coverage by NBC, and the fact that most of us can hardly imagine competing at such elite levels.

To reminisce about the funniest SNL parodies of athletes and Olympic events ahead of the 2024 Paris Summer Games, here’s a look back for your entertainment. Have a blast watching these sketches and cheering for the competitors!

“Olga Korbut” (1976)

https://youtube.com/watch?v=watch?v=R0m7xECqiMI

As a movie enthusiast, I must say that in this hilarious review, Gilda Radner’s portrayal of the legendary Russian gymnast Olga Korbut and John Belushi’s humorous rendition of a European-accented self, masterfully lampoon the absurdity of athletes feigning diplomacy following a devastating loss. With just one punchline, they effectively capture the preposterousness of this common post-competition behavior.

“Little Chocolate Donuts” (1977)

https://youtube.com/watch?v=watch?v=CxCUHjx7U7Y&feature=emb_logo

What fuels Belushi’s energy to claim the gold in the decathlon? It’s a mix of cigarettes and the sugar rush he gets from his daily sweet treats.

“Synchronized Swimming” (1984)

In this short comedy skit reminiscent of classic Saturday Night Live episodes, Martin Short and Harry Shearer portray eccentric brothers striving to make history as the first male participants in synchronized swimming. The coach, played by Christopher Guest, embodies a character similar to Corky St. Clair from Waiting for Guffman, while Shearer and Short embody the type of misguided dreamers that are typical in all of Guest’s films, creating a unique blend of humor and absurdity.

“The All-Drug Olympics” (1988)

https://youtube.com/watch?v=watch?v=jAdG-iTilWU

During the ’80s Olympics, steroids were a significant concern, especially following their extensive use in the 1980 Moscow games. Here’s a hypothetical scenario from a “Weekend Update” segment featuring Kevin Nealon and Phil Hartman, imagining what would transpire if only drug-enhanced athletes competed, leading to some truly gruesome outcomes.

“Figure Skating Cold Open” (1992)

https://youtube.com/watch?v=watch?v=CYeEAx-0sGg

As a dedicated fan, I couldn’t help but be reminded of those heart-wrenching Olympic moments when athletes crumble under pressure, as I watched Jason Priestly attempt to mimic figure skating moves with an uncanny resemblance and convincing enthusiasm. Unfortunately, the outcome was far from graceful, mirroring the struggles of those athletes on the biggest stage.

“Lillehammer ’94” (1994)

Instead of mocking Nancy Kerrigan’s assault through jokes, Saturday Night Live (SNL) imitated pairs figure skating with Chris Farley portraying his partner who had significantly gained weight, jeopardizing their chances at winning medals. This serves as a testament to Farley’s incredible agility, and the humor is heightened by Phil Hartman and David Spade’s light-hearted comments, as well as the background music of Kenny G and “Pump Up the Jam.”

“Kerri Strug and Kippy Strug on Winning Olympic Gold” (1996)

https://youtube.com/watch?v=watch?v=wib_c9CVKZo

Following Kerri Strug’s heroic performance in gymnastics, which helped secure gold for Team USA in 1996, she made a visit to “Weekend Update” for a chat, joined by her brother Kippy (played by Chris Kattan), who had a similar high-pitched voice. Mark McKinney portrayed Béla Károlyi, Strug’s demanding coach, urging Kippy to keep going to their next interview, even though his foot was numb at the time.

“SNL Olympics — Chris Kattan” (2000)

Celebrate the Olympics With These 17 Classic SNL Sketches

Instead of imitating a genuine event, Saturday Night Live in 2000 satirized NBC’s dramatized behind-the-scenes Olympic segments that portrayed athletes’ journeys to the games excessively. In this instance, Kattan (with Brendan Fraser’s help and a disqualified-for-doping Tracy Morgan) prepares for his upcoming talk-show sketch, “Looks at Books.” (You can watch the sketch here.)

“Mormons on the Slopes” (2002)

In a repeat visit to the show, Dan Aykroyd teamed up with Will Ferrell in an amusing skit where they portrayed Mormons in Salt Lake City. Their mission? To persuade skiing enthusiast Amy Poehler during her run about their faith. The sketch included classic Mormon humor such as aggressive proselytizing and references to polygamy, but it remained entertaining overall.

“Swimming Instructor” (2006)

https://youtube.com/watch?v=watch?v=7Wlltn6_8Ec

To achieve greatness as a swimmer, you’d head to Doug Frangelo. Portrayed by John C. Reilly, this coach guides Will Forte in the ways of swimming, filled with about six minutes of comedic scenes involving Speedos and homoerotic humor. What’s remarkable is their ability to maintain their characters throughout.

“The Michael Phelps Diet” (2008)

https://youtube.com/watch?v=watch?v=E_rk0iRE59Q

If you recall Michael Phelps’s phenomenal performances at the 2008 Olympics, you might remember commentators discussing his remarkable diet. Post his triumphant victory lap, he even graced the stage of Saturday Night Live to share his unconventional eating habits with the general public, a choice that — let me warn you — comes with severe health implications. If the sight of Jared Fogle, Subway’s former spokesperson, making an appearance and saying “This diet is like sucking on a foot-long sub” makes your stomach turn, then this might not be for you.

“Space Olympics”

https://youtube.com/watch?v=watch?v=XVoBQqketHM

The Phelps episode also gave us the Lonely Island’s not-so-viral “Space Olympics” starring Andy Samberg as the future Games’ luckless albino alien host. (In hindsight, he also looks a lot like Stanley Tucci in The Hunger Games, a movie that came out four years after this sketch.) Due to funding cuts, a lack of oxygen, and several other hiccups, some events are “totally canceled” and most are pending, while a stay in the athletes’ village on Zargon doesn’t cover the minibar and other incidentals. (Come to think of it, they nearly predicted the COVID-postponed Tokyo Games and the curious hotel toilets of Sochi 2014.) The problems only get worse from there, but hey, maybe the Lonely Island will also be right about humanity existing in 3022?

“Telemundo Winter Olympics” (2010)

https://youtube.com/watch?v=watch?v=sZwZZRwX5pE

From my perspective, it seems that the characters portrayed by Jennifer Lopez and Fred Armisen on Telemundo struggle to grasp cold-weather sports like ski jumping and curling, finding it puzzling why Canadians don’t migrate for warmer climates. Despite their confusion, I must confess that these peculiar pastimes have an undeniable allure, drawing people into their unique charm.

“Ryan Lochte on the Fall TV Lineup” (2012)

https://youtube.com/watch?v=watch?v=YCjCCc-_Q14

Four years prior to being exposed for fabricating a story about being held up at gunpoint during the Rio Olympics, Ryan Lochte was primarily recognized as an athletically talented swimmer, albeit not particularly bright. In a “Weekend Update” segment on SNL, they poked fun at this aspect of his personality, with Seth MacFarlane portraying Lochte as a kindergarten-level thinker. Lochte himself described the portrayal as harsh but stated he would let it go and move forward. He also challenged MacFarlane to a swimming race if the latter ever wanted to compete.

“The U.S. Men’s Heterosexual Figure Skating Championship” (2014)

https://youtube.com/watch?v=watch?v=s1ZYTQToX9A

2014 saw Saturday Night Live (SNL) choosing to satirize the Sochi Olympics, which faced criticism for various reasons such as Russia’s anti-LGBTQ laws, by introducing another comedic figure-skating skit where only straight males were eligible to compete. Stripped of its traditional elegance, the performances transformed into a showcase of awkward manliness, with skaters snacking on Combos on the ice and displaying overly familiar behavior towards their female partners, amongst other unconventional portrayals of the sport.

“Olya Povlatsky on the Sochi Olympics” (2014)

https://youtube.com/watch?v=watch?v=hL-jAGc0kiU

In 2014, Kate McKinnon reappeared as her eccentric Russian character, Olya Povlatsky, on “Weekend Update,” to ponder why the International Olympic Committee chose the seemingly random city of Sochi to host the games. This appearance showcased some of McKinnon’s signature quirkiness, such as when she shared her favorite childhood pastime: outrunning an angry wolf.

“Leslie Jones on the 2018 Winter Olympics” (2018)

https://youtube.com/watch?v=watch?v=SfLCrxeNdGI

At the 2016 Rio Olympics, Leslie Jones gained massive popularity by providing real-time commentary on NBC’s broadcast through her hilarious and enthusiastic tweets, even when she didn’t fully grasp the events. Her tweets were so well-received that the network invited her to work as a correspondent in South America, and she continued in this role for the 2018 Winter Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea. Upon her return, Leslie shared her experiences on “Weekend Update” and brought along U.S. Women’s Hockey gold medalist Hilary Knight to deliver a special message to Colin Jost: “You’re a tough woman!”

2024-07-30 23:54