Viewers of the 2024 Olympics in Paris were in for a surprise when they thought they spotted the famous rapper Eminem competing at the Games.
In a recent archery men’s team quarterfinal match between France and Italy, one of the Italian athletes, Mauro Nespoli, grabbed the attention of social media users with his uncanny resemblance to Eminem. A picture of Nespoli, showing him wearing an Italy jersey and a bucket hat, circulated on X (formerly Twitter), and it quickly went viral with over 117K likes.
The resemblance between Nespoli and Eminem sparked a wave of humorous comments on social media. One user even joked that his name should be “Marcello Mathers” instead of Mauro Nespoli. Others referenced famous lyrics from Eminem’s songs, with one user stating, “Italian Eminem eating mom’s spaghetti, it all makes sense now!” Another cleverly remarked, “You only get one shot,” while others encouraged the “Real Slim Shady” to stand up.
Nespoli himself joined in on the fun by reposting a commentary about his resemblance to Eminem on his Instagram Story. In his caption, he wrote, “Wanna try some shot,” accompanied by a bow and arrow emoji.
But beyond the Eminem comparisons, Nespoli is a decorated athlete in his own right. He has previously won a gold medal in the team archery event at the 2012 Olympics in London, where the Italian team defeated the United States in the final. He also has two more medals to his name—a silver in the team event at the 2008 Beijing Games and a silver in the individual event at the 2020 Games in Tokyo.
Italy currently sits in 8th place in the medal table at the Paris 2024 Olympics, with a total of 13 medals. They have earned three golds, six silvers, and four bronzes so far.
