The gold medal goes to … the chocolate muffin. At the Olympic village, the bakery shines WSOC TV [Video]

PARIS — (AP) — Freshly cooked bread and a selection of French pastries were meant to be the stars of the Olympic village where athletes from across the world have packed the on-site bakery. But the gold medalist was a surprise: the American-inspired chocolate muffin is what went viral on social media.

Norwegian swimmer Henrik Christiansen has been dubbed “muffin man” after he posted a series of videos featuring the “choccy muffin,” accumulating millions of views on TikTok. He gave it an “insane” 11/10 star review.

“It’s been an unreal experience,” Christiansen told The Associated Press on Saturday.

“I never imagined it to become this big, but it’s fun,” said Christiansen, who swam in the 800-meter freestyle, the 1,500-meter freestyle and the 10-kilometer marathon races.

As an endurance athlete, he said he can afford to eat high-calorie food — like the dense chocolate muffin studded with chocolate chunks — every day.

Over …