There may not be a gold medal awarded for the best pump-up playlist, but Olympic athletes have certainly made a sport of choosing the perfect song to sing when it’s time to compete.
Whether it’s high-energy rap music, showtunes, or something relaxing, sports stars’ tastes vary when it comes to what they blast through their headphones when they hit the zone.
Here, some of Team USA’s best and brightest stars reveal to PEOPLE what tunes they’re spinning right before they perform at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
“Defying Gravity” from Wicked (Taryn Kloth and Kirsten Nuss, beach volleyball)
Kloth, 27, and Nuss, 26, aren’t just the perfect couple on the beach volleyball court — they’re roommates in real life, too! Just as they share their dugouts and the field, the two also share a playlist and a set of AirPods before competing. Kloth gets the left AirPod and Nuss the right, and the two warm up to songs that are both “meaningful” and “exciting,” says Kloth.
“It can be country, it can be musical, it can be rap,” she explains. Although “Defying Gravity” is a favorite, Nuss notes that her brother, a doctor by day, wrote them a song especially for the Olympics.
“It’s a hype-up song,” she says.
“Baby” by Justin Bieber (Anna Hall, Heptathlon)
Halla’s daily race routine consists of getting ready at her hotel, creating TikTok and, of course, listening to music. The 23-year-old athlete says her tastes run the gamut from old-school Taylor Swift to Justin Bieber.
“I’m listening to ‘Baby,’ even though I look very serious and withdrawn, which is funny,” she says.
“No Role Modelz” by J. Cole (Jasmine Moore, Triple Jump and Long Jump)
Track and field star Moore, who won bronze in the triple jump (America’s first medal in the event) on Aug. 3, has been jamming with a wide variety of artists — including her favorite, J. Cole.
“Honestly, it’s a mix of everything. I like J. Cole. J. Cole is my guy. That’s my number one,” says the 23-year-old athlete. “Sometimes country, sometimes gospel. I love Morgan Wallen, BigXthaPlug. I listened to it a lot. So it’s really a series of everything.”
Lady Gaga as a cabaret girl in a corset and full feathers for the opening performance of the 2024 Olympics.
“Fireflies” by Owl City (Yared Nuguse, Athletics)
He’s an unlikely music star, so Nuguse’s song of choice seems unexpected.
“I feel like I’m kind of mixing it up, but I think it’s a song that I always play, at least once a day [of races] is ‘Fireflies’ by Owl City,” he says. “That song is such a meme, but it’s a very soothing song. I kind of want to be small [calm] versus really amped up.”
In addition to the 2009 electro-pop hit, Nuguse, 25, says he’s also a fan of Taylor Swift.
“My Sacrifice” by Creed (Men’s Rowing Team)
Although the passion for Creed’s hard-hitting 2001 hit “started small,” says Nick Mead, it eventually became an anthem for him and his bandmates Justin Best, Liam Corrigan and Michael Grady.
The group — which won the men’s first gold medal since 1960 last week — says Creed’s “Higher” is also on rotation.
“Pink Skies” by Zach Bryan (Ryan Held, swimming)
Held, who won gold in the men’s 4x100m freestyle relay, says he prefers calmer tunes before competition and recently played this stripped-down song from Bryan’s new album The great American bar scene.
“Snooze” SZA (CJ Nickolas, Taekwondo)
When it comes to his songs, Nickolas, 23, keeps quiet. The athlete says the last time he hit the ring, he was late and ended up skipping the playlist instead of just one song on repeat.
“He played ‘Snooze’ by SZA for 30 minutes non-stop,” says Nickolas, whose event will kick off in Paris on August 7. “I was just walking around the ring and I usually bring the crowd with me to my rings, and everyone was just waiting for my fight to start and I was just singing ‘Snooze’ for 30 minutes.”
“Lose Yourself” by Eminem (Kelsey Bing, field hockey)
Bing, 26, says she doesn’t have a single song that lifts her up, but goes with whatever fits the mood of the day.
“I have a bunch of different things. I just line up for whatever I want,” says the athlete, whose hockey team finished ninth at the Paris Olympics this year. “It will be anything like classic rock, Eminem, or country, or just music. That’s what I feel that day.”
“Really Really” by Kevin Gates (Perry Baker, Rugby)
If Kevin Gates has the biggest fan, it might be Baker, 38, who says he almost always uses the hip-hop star’s music as the soundtrack to his warm-ups.
“I’m music all the time. Any Kevin Gates song,” says Baker. “Sometimes it also depends on the mood. Music makes me feel good. It’s a certain song that helps you get into the zone. I got Gates dressed, it’s time to go.”
Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education