Yeah, I know I’m not supposed to find this funny, but I am easily amused and I love a cheap laugh. Here’s my three submissions (and why I find it hilarious):
Destinee Hooker - USA Indoor Volleyball
Destiny: Hooker
Laszlo Cseh - Hungarian Swimmer
Gesundheit!
Lolo Jones - USA Hurdler
Can she jump Highhigh enough?
I’ll give you destinee hooker, but are you maybe pronouncing this one wrong? Imagine the ‘s’ was an ‘h’, and you got the ch sound you expect in English. That doesn’t sound sneezy to me…
Having Jack Baueras a competitor meant the cycling roadrace was never going to be interrupted by any terrorists.
He did pretty well too, finishing 10th out of 144.
I don’t know if it’s funny, but Usain Bolt is from Jamaica and he does track.
I still am amused by the two Chinese winter olympians, Yang Yang (A) and Yang Yang (S). The letters were added arbitrarily to differentiate them, the “S” for “small” and the “A” for “August” because she didn’t like her original “L” for “Large.”
Hah, good one! As for Cseh, imagine a petite sneeze. Instead of a big achoo, think of a little “cheh”.
There’s a Japanese volleyball player with the name Yoshie Takeshita.
Regis Philbin used to frequently say “Liam Neeson” for no reason other than it was fun to say. I wonder who is the Liam Neeson of these Olympics. I do find myself saying “Laszlo Cseh” a lot. I’ll admit it’s fun to say.
Ning Ding who plays ping pong
Bradley Wiggins is a pretty unfortunate name. Not because it sounds like anything rude; just because it sounds ridiculous.
Lolo Jones, Available Jones’ Cousin.
And Dong Dong goes boing boing in the men’s trampoline competition.
I quite enjoyed Wing Ki Wong in the men’s badminton.
ETA: I notice a good number of examples in this thread are from East Asian countries. Do you suppose native speakers of languages of these countries also have a laugh at certain “normal” Western names that sound funny in their mother tongue? I see no reason why not.
I always felt a little for American gymnast Nastia Liukin.
British boxer Anthony Ogogo
I cannot believe no one has mentioned the best one yet:
Hulk
who plays for the Brazilian Soccer Team.
He was named/nicknamed such because his dad was a big Lou Ferrigno fan
Australian synchro-divers Wiggins and Bugg, who sound like a firm of Dickensian lawyers.
One of the riders in the upper crust sport of show jumping is the aptly-named Rich Fellers.
