One Piece Celebrates Olympic Shot Putter

One Piece fans have seen a variety of homages to Eiichiro Oda's story throughout the 2021 Olympics, and now the series has expressed its gratitude by celebrating an Olympic shot putter.

A post from the One Piece Twitter account conveyed a message of congratulation towards USA shot putter Payton Otterdahl. The Olympian incorporated a pose during his appearance for Team USA, in which he mimicked the iconic stance of Straw Hat member Franky. The message reads, "Dear USA shot putter; Payton Otterdahl. We sincerely celebrate the activities of our 'NAKAMA' around the world with the utmost respect for your efforts and achievements," and includes an image of Franky making the pose during one of his earliest manga appearances.

As Otterdahl performed the pose in front of the American flag, he appeared to mouth the word "Super," which is Franky's catchphrase. Franky is the shipwright of the Straw Hat Pirates and was first introduced to the series during the Water 7 Arc. The character was later revealed to be a cyborg, possessing the sort of augmentations that would see an Olympic athlete banned. Otterdahl, on the other hand, used his own strength to secure 10th place in the shot put finals, throwing 66 feet, 8 inches on his first of three attempts.

It was not the first nod to One Piece that the Olympics have seen so far. Greek long jumper Miltiadis Tentoglou similarly performed an iconic pose. The gold medalist channeled the protagonist Monkey D. Luffy, performing his gear second pose prior to his victory.

Source: Twitter