At the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, the athletes of Team USA danced their way through the Parade of Nations.
As the sea of athletes clad in red, white and blue Ralph Lauren uniforms walked out, they grooved and bounced to “Gangnam Style,” the viral 2012 hit song and dance by South Korean artist Psy.
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Crowd at Winter Olympics #Pyeonchang2018 goes wild as Team USA enters. Chants of “USA, USA” ring out! pic.twitter.com/rLW6tQaKBV
— The Columbia Bugle 🇺🇸 (@ColumbiaBugle) February 9, 2018
The team of 242 athletes was led by flag bearer and luge competitor Erin Hamlin, a four-time Olympian and winner of the bronze medal for luge in the 2014 Sochi Games.
Among other American Olympians competing in Pyeongchang is ice hockey player Brian Gionta, the oldest athlete on Team USA at 39, and figure skater Vincent Zhou, the youngest at 17. The pair are separated by 22 years, while the average age is 26.5 years. Zhou will be one of six 17-year-old athletes on the team and one of eight with a 2000 birth year.
The parade also included the tallest member of the 2018 U.S. Olympic Team, alpine skier Bryce Bennett, who stands 6 feet, 7 inches tall. Figure skater Karen Chen and short track speedskater Jessica Kooreman, who both stand 5 feet tall, are the shortest members of Team USA.
As the athletes waved their way around the arena, the camera panned to Vice President Mike Pence and his wife Karen, who ventured to South Korea to represent American leadership at the games.
Fans reacted with a variety of emotions to Team USA’s entrance into the Parade of Nations on Friday, particularly focusing on the K-Pop song choice.
“In a surprise to no one, they’re playing Gangnam Style during the Parade of Nations at the Pyeongchang Opening Ceremony,” one user tweeted.
“I didn’t know I needed to see our nation’s very greatest human specimens and also mike pence set to gangnam style and yet here we are,” another added, taking a more comical approach.
They’re playing #GangnamStyle at the #PyeongChang2018 #OpeningCeremony!!!! pic.twitter.com/EPbQwRqufN
— Max Woodward (@maxdwoodward) February 9, 2018
In a surprise to no one, they’re playing Gangnam Style during the Parade of Nations at the Pyeongchang Opening Ceremony.
— Sara Germano (@germanotes) February 9, 2018
I didn’t know I needed to see our nation’s very greatest human specimens and also mike pence set to gangnam style and yet here we are
— Claire McNear (@claire_mcnear) February 9, 2018
As athletes march at the Opening Ceremony, biggest cheer is when Psy’s Gangnam Style starts playing #pyeongchang2018
— Paula Hancocks (@PHancocksCNN) February 9, 2018
The 2018 Winter Olympic events kicked off on Thursday and daily competitions will continue until the closing ceremonies in Pyeongchang on February 25. For a full list of daily events, click here.
