A red handlebar mustache has emerged as a potential breakout star at the 2018 Winter Olympics.
The facial hair belongs to Norway ski jumper Robert Johansson, who won the bronze medal in the normal hill individual competition that ended shortly after midnight Sunday and with Johansson twisting the corners of his signature mustache that requires daily grooming.
“Yeah, I have to because it’s getting quite long now,’’ said Johansson, 27, who is making his Olympic debut here. “So I use wax and everything. I even have my own comb for the mustache. ...
“Some Americans have come to me and said, ‘Sick mustache.’ ”
The mustache wasn’t the only thing about Johansson that impressed the Americans and other spectators on a cold and windy night. Despite a nearly 10-minute delay before his second attempt, he uncorked the highest-scoring jump of the round and catapulted himself onto the medal podium.
“Magnum P.I.,’’ he said, referring to actor Tom Selleck when asked about mustaches he admires. “I haven’t really any idols as to a mustache, but of course you see pictures of some that are even cooler than others.’’
Even cooler than that red handlebar mustache and Johansson soaring through the air during the normal hill individual: They’re scheduled to take flight again Friday in the large hill individual competition.
