Tweeting isn’t an Olympic sport. Yet.
But if it was, the gold medal at the 2016 Games in Rio would undoubtedly go to the 74-year-old grandmother of British swimmer Adam Peaty.
Mavis Williams has become something of an internet sensation in recent days as she cheered on her grandson to Olympic gold in Brazil from her home in Uttoxeter, England.
It all began just hours before he took to the pool.
As 21-year-old Peaty smashed his own world record in the heats for the 100-meter breaststroke on Saturday, Williams’ tweets of support started going viral. And before long, the #OlympicNan hashtag was trending worldwide on Twitter.
As Peaty cruised through the semifinals, Williams upped her Twitter game, calling her grandson a “gladiator” and saying she’d be “roaring” for him. And after he won gold in Sunday’s final, again breaking his own world record with a time of 57.13 seconds, she couldn’t contain her grandmotherly pride.
Although Williams’ tweets have only gone viral during the Olympics, she’s actually been using the micro-blogging service to support her grandson for quite some time.
”You don’t go out as much as you do when you were younger, now do you?” she told The Associated Press about using Twitter to support Peaty. “It’s given me a new interest and kept my brain working.”
And Williams may now have the opportunity to visit Rio herself, as Peaty’s sister Bethany is crowdfunding to send her to Brazil for the Closing Ceremony.
“She’s been cheering Adam on from the start and is so proud of what he’s achieved,” she wrote on a JustGiving page. “We’d love to get nan (+ one family member to travel with her) out to Rio so that she can enjoy the Closing Ceremony with the rest of the family on August 21st.”
For more Olympics coverage:
- 11 Weird Sports That Were Actually In The Olympics
- Roger Federer Posts Saddest Tweet Of The Rio 2016 Opening Ceremony
- This Is Why Lifeguards Are Patrolling The Olympic Pool At Rio 2016
- The Agony Of Olympic Defeat In 1 Heartbreaking Image
- Swimming Officials Show What The Olympics Should Be All About
- NSFW Lil Jon Song Inspires Aussie Swimmers To Olympic Gold
