From large and flashy to ornate and understated, an Olympic rings tattoo is ubiquitous among athletes who have earned the privilege of competing at the highest level of the sport. While size, placement, and additional design elements vary, the image of five interlocking rings permanently etched onto the bodies of Olympians remains unmistakable.
At the 2024 Paris Olympics, seasoned athletes showed off their tattoos, adorning their taut torsos, taut biceps and sweaty necks. Keen to join the elite club, the debuting Olympians have taken to social media to share their plans to get inked once the Games are over.
More than 30 years ago, it was American swimmer and two-time Olympic gold medalist Christopher Jacobs who introduced the now iconic tattoo trend after competing in the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul.
Overwhelmed with gratitude and inspired by the camaraderie he felt from being part of such a “positive group of people” during the Games, Jacobs told Yahoo Entertainment, he had the interlocking rings tattooed on his hip, a deliberately discreet spot that “fitted perfectly and was visible only to me.” A few years later, he also had a larger version of the rings tattooed on the inside of his right bicep.
“It was a combination of all these emotions that made me want to commemorate the event, and sometime in the days after I decided that getting a tattoo of the Olympic rings would be a fun way to do that,” he explained. “I’d been seeing more and more ring tattoos on swimmers over the years [since I got tattooed]but until then I had never considered that I was the first.”
Jacobs says it’s “pretty cool” to be an inspiration to other Olympic athletes.
“I’d like to believe that everyone who’s ever gotten an Olympic rings tattoo feels as comfortable with their decision as I do with mine,” he said.
From the pool and track to the basketball court and the balance beam, the interlocking ring tattoos can be seen on athletes across all sports. Simone Biles, who took home three gold medals and a silver at the Paris Games, and her medal-winning gymnastics teammates Jordan Chiles and Sunisa Lee all have variations of the aforementioned tattoo on their bodies. Biles got hers months after the 2016 Rio Olympics, while Lee and Chiles got the ink after returning home from the 2020 Tokyo Games.
“I also haven’t decided if I’m going to get a tattoo after this,” Biles said in a TikTok on Aug. 2. “I already have the Olympic rings, but maybe something like an ode to Paris.”
Gaurika Singh, a Nepalese swimmer, made her Olympic debut in Rio in 2016 at just 13 years old. The youngest athlete to compete at the Games, Singh always knew she wanted to get the rings tattooed — “It’s like being accepted into an exclusive club,” she told Yahoo — but her age prevented her from doing so right away.
“I actually waited until after my second Olympics [in Tokyo] to get my tattoo because I was too young after my first [Olympics in Rio]”, she said. “I had to wait until I was over 18.”
When it comes to tattoo placement, it’s a matter of personal preference.
“I have mine on my rib cage and [in a] medium sized, because I wanted it big enough to be visible and show its importance, but also in a place where people could see it [it]but only if I wanted to,” Singh said. “The Olympics are my biggest achievement, but [it] does not define me alone.”
For Australian long jumper Brooke Buschkuehl, it was never something she saw herself doing. But she promised her younger self that if she ever qualified for the Games, she would “have to get a tattoo of the rings.”
“I love that it’s a constant reminder of what I’ve been able to achieve through hard work, determination and never giving up during tough times,” she told Yahoo.
The 31-year-old track and field athlete first competed at the Olympic Games in 2016. She represented Australia again at the 2020 Olympics and competed in the women’s long jump qualifying round at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Buschkuehl first got the tattoo on her wrist weeks after returning from Rio. Underneath her rings is “Rio 2016.” She added “Tokyo 2020” to her tattoo a few months after the Tokyo Games.
“I’m happy to add ‘Paris 2024’ to the list after participating this week,” she said.
With the 2024 Paris Olympics coming to a close on August 11, some debuting Olympians have even decided to get their tattoos before flying home. It’s possible that the fact that they’re getting inked in Paris, the site of their first-ever Olympics, adds to the sentimentality of the whole thing.
Aleah Finnegan, a 21-year-old Filipino-American gymnast for Team Philippines, visited a local tattoo parlor a few days after competing in the floor exercise. Finnegan opted for a sleek, minimalist set of rings above her left wrist.
“It looks so good,” she said on TikTok after seeing her finished tattoo for the first time. “I love it.”
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