One Olympian is learning to love his body. Another is telling homophobes to take their opinions, fold them neatly, and put them somewhere far away from his Olympic dreams.
Meet Jack Woolley and Milan Violon: two athletes, two very different sports, and one increasingly delightful refusal to make themselves smaller for anybody.
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Jack Woolley Has Entered His “Actually, I Like My Body” Era
Jack Woolley is shredded. Like, someone alert the Greek gods, one of them has gone Irish shredded.
The two-time Olympian and taekwondo star has been candid about his lifelong struggles with body image, which makes his current physique particularly striking. For an Olympian who spent years obsessing over staying light, his new approach is a pretty refreshing change. Woolley has spent much of his sporting career competing at a weight below his natural size, meaning he was repeatedly cutting weight before competitions. And that came at a cost.
The process left his body malnourished and took a serious toll on his mental health, contributing to eating disorders, body dysmorphia, stress and anxiety. Now, two years after his last drastic weight cut, the 27-year-old is doing something arguably more radical than anything he did on the mat: he’s letting himself get bigger and actually enjoying it.
Woolley recently shared a photo shoot on Instagram, where he gave followers a generous glimpse of the results. There was, as one might expect, considerable enthusiasm.
“Trying to stay consistent 💪🏼,” he wrote. “For over 20 years in sport I spent my time fixated on being as light as possible. With that has come a lot of challenges both mentally and physically. ED’s, body dysmorphia, stress, anxiety… now it’s time I learn how to put that same energy into feeling good and loving myself for once.”
And honestly? If “loving myself for once” comes with a few extra muscles, nobody here is filing a complaint. Woolley has another incentive to stay motivated, too: he’s heading to Bali in five weeks.
So yes, the man has bulked up, found his confidence and booked a tropical getaway. Somewhere, a gay archetype checklist is quietly ticking itself.
The Twunkification of an Olympian
Woolley is now firmly occupying that sacred gay category known as the twunk: youthful, muscular and apparently committed to keeping his Instagram followers hydrated. But beneath the thirst-trap potential is something much more meaningful.
For years, Woolley associated athletic success with becoming lighter. Now he’s learning that being stronger, healthier and happier doesn’t have to come with an apology.
“Starting to feel like me again 🥰,” he wrote in another caption.
That may be the most important transformation of all. The shirtless photos are excellent, naturally. We are only human. But seeing an elite athlete publicly redefine what his body is allowed to be is even better. And Woolley has been open about how difficult it was to get here.
Coming Out, Getting Through It and Finding Dave
Before the Tokyo Games, Woolley expressed regret about coming out because of the unwanted attention that followed. After returning home, he was assaulted on the streets of Dublin. Then came Dave. Woolley met his now-fiancé, who helped him see that life didn’t have to be an endless exercise in surviving expectations.
“When I met Dave, I started to realize that life is short and I need to enjoy it,” he previously told Queerty. “The only way to do that is be myself.”
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And perhaps that’s the real glow-up for the Olympian. Not the abs. Not the shoulders. Not the fact that Bali is apparently about to receive an extremely well-conditioned Irishman. It’s the decision to stop treating yourself like a problem that needs fixing.
Meanwhile, Milan Violon Is Busy Making History
While Woolley is learning to love his body, Milan Violon is busy proving that there is absolutely room for men in artistic swimming.
The 17-year-old recently became the first man to represent France in a major artistic swimming competition, competing at the European Aquatics Championships in Paris and helping his eight-person team finish fifth in the free routine event. It should have been a lovely little slice of sporting history.
Instead, the internet did what the internet does best when someone dares to challenge an outdated gender stereotype: it got ugly. Violon was targeted by hateful and homophobic comments online.
Inside Synchro reported: “It should have been solely a moment of celebration, and one that was deservedly covered by the French media. Unfortunately, it was quickly tainted by a wave of hateful, homophobic comments and cyberbullying on social media.”
Because apparently watching a teenager make history was too peaceful an experience for some people. Fortunately, Violon has something considerably more useful than a comment-section argument: ambition.
Milan Violon Has Better Things to Do Than Read the Comments
Speaking to French news outlet 20minutes.fr, Violon made it clear that the homophobia isn’t going to chase him out of the sport.
“Honestly, these criticisms aren’t going to make me quit my sport.
“When I started, I never even imagined I’d be able to join the French team one day. So, I feel grateful. But I’m also very proud to be the first. I’m going to continue to the end, trying to achieve my goals
“I use these comments as strength. I won’t give up.”
That’s quite a response from someone who hasn’t even turned 18—and a reminder that this young Olympian hopeful already has the resilience of a veteran. Violon celebrates his 18th birthday in November, but he’s already looking toward the next two Olympic Games.
“We’re aiming for Los Angeles 2028, or Brisbane 2032 if we have to wait. That’s normal, I’m young compared to the rest of the group,” he explained.
@milanviolon Why not ? Inspi : @Dennis Gonzalez🧜🏾♂️ #artisticswimming #maleduetartisticswimming #relatable #foryou
And he’s thinking beyond his own career, too. Violon wants other young men to feel confident enough to enter sports that might still be treated as outside traditional gender expectations.
“You have to try, you mustn’t be afraid to start. Yes, there will be bad people. But if you have a good support system, it becomes a strength to give even more. You just have to not give up.”
Two Athletes, Two Battles, One Very Good Message
Woolley and Violon are two Olympian athletes fighting completely different battles. Woolley is confronting the pressure to make his body smaller. Violon is confronting the people who think men shouldn’t have a place in his sport. Neither story is really about fitting neatly into somebody else’s expectations.
Woolley’s journey is about finding a healthier relationship with his body after years of weight cuts and body-image struggles. Violon’s is about refusing to let homophobic abuse convince him that he doesn’t belong in artistic swimming.
That’s what makes their stories fit together so nicely. One is embracing a body he spent years trying to make smaller. The other is helping make the sporting world a little bigger for the men who come after him.
And somewhere between Woolley’s new bulk, Violon’s Olympic ambitions and the collective patience of queer people who have spent decades watching society move the goalposts, there’s a wonderfully simple message:
Take up space. Love yourself. Ignore the haters. And, if you’re Jack Woolley, perhaps pack a little extra sunscreen for Bali. The twunk has earned his vacation.