Olympic canoeist streams League of Legends after copping bronze

MANILA, Philippines – Spanish canoeist Pau Echaniz won Spain an Olympic bronze medal in the men's K-1 slalom event last August 1 (Manila time), but the podium finish might have been foreshadowed by something else that occupies the rower's time — his current rank in League of Legends.

In an interview posted online, the 23-year-old revealed how he played two rank games of League of Legends prior to the medal event in the hopes of rising from his current Bronze rank in-game. Though he lost both games, Echaniz went on to win an Olympic bronze in Paris a few hours after. 

"I'm Bronze in League and Bronze in the Olympic Games. I'm stuck," Echaniz jokingly said in Spanish during the online interview.

After winning the Olympic event, Echaniz took to X (formerly Twitter) to update that he was back to streaming and with a specific goal in mind.

No me monto en una piragüa hasta que suba a oro https://t.co/YvoGLWElM4 pic.twitter.com/NCNu7EtOD0

— Pau Echaniz (@pauerangerr) August 5, 2024

"I won't get on a canoe until I reach gold," joked the Spaniard as he boasted of his Olympic bronze medal.

The Olympics has seen a fair share of gaming connections, from the Assassin Creed character-looking torchbearer during the opening ceremonies, to fans of popular game Valorant reimagining the athletes as in-game characters. Likewise, athletes Yusuf Dikec of Turkey and Kim Ye-ji of South Korea have taken over the internet with numerous fan arts transforming them into Valorant agents.