"Serena Williams' personal umbrella holder"- American's husband pokes fun at himself over commentary debacle; hilariously ushers in Paris Olympics
Serena Williams' husband Alexis Ohanian has poked fun at himself while ushering in the 2024 Paris Olympics. The Reddit co-founder seemed to troll himself in the aftermath of a commentator's bizarre description of him during the Olympics broadcast went viral.
Ohanian is in Paris right now along with wife Williams and their older daughter Olympia. The 41-year-old was in attendance for the gala Opening Ceremony, which saw LeBron James and Coco Gauff turn proud flagbearers for the USA.
At one point during the Opening Ceremony broadcast, cameras captured Ohanian walking alongside Williams and Olympia, holding a big blue umbrella over them to protect them from the rainy weather in the French capital.
This is when a Eurosport commentator, seemingly unaware of who Ohanian is, said:
"She looks absolutely incredible, she’s got someone just behind us holding an umbrella. Those are the levels you aspire to, to have an actual umbrella holder behind you."
The commentator's error did not take long to spread like wildfire, leaving the internet stricken by utter amusement. Later, Ohanian himself took to Instagram to share a post, expressing his enthusiasm for the 2024 Paris Olympics. The Reddit co-founder shared a photo of himself alongside wife Serena Williams and their daughter Olympia, captioning it:
"Olympia. Serena. Serena's Personal Umbrella Holder. (laughing out loud emoji) Let the games begin! I'll be watching a lot of T&F (track and field) to soak up @athlos inspiration. (gold medal emoji)"
The last part of the post referred to Ohanian's recently-launched and renamed women's only track league; Athlos NYC, which is set to take place on Thursday, September 26, at the Icahn Stadium. The event was originally named the 776 Invitational.
Serena Williams' husband Alexis Ohanian recently congratulated English middle-distance runner following her record-breaking feat
Ohanian recently took notice of Keely Hodgkinson, an English middle-distance runner, setting the national record in her 800m London Diamond League triumph, clocking 1:54.61. Being an avid women's sports enthusiast and active investor in the same, Ohanian congratulated Hodgkinson on X (formerly Twitter), writing:
"Congrats @keelyhodgkinson on setting that national record! Loved seeing you do it in front of your home crowd here #LondonDL"
Athlos NYC will offer athletes a sizeable prize purse, which is close to ten times that of the prize purse of the Diamond League. Ohanian has already roped in high-profile Olympians Josh Kerr, Gabby Thomas and Sydney McLaughlin for the event.
Meanwhile, Serena Williams herself had a stellar role to play during the 2024 Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony, as she joined fellow tennis legends Rafael Nadal and Amelie Mauresmo to carry the Olympic Torch.