OLYMPIC ATHLETE SHOCKED — SHE WAS FIGHTING FOR MEDALS… BUT HER BOYFRIEND’S 87-YEAR-OLD GRANDPA WENT SUPER VIRAL & STOLE THE ENTIRE GAMES!

For Conrad Andringa, showing up for family has always been a given — but this time, the internet showed up for him.

The 87-year-old was in the stands at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy, cheering on his grandson Jesse’s girlfriend, U.S. mogul skier Tess Johnson, when his granddaughter Heidi Andringa pulled out her phone. Conrad was bundled in a hand-knit hat Jesse made himself, stitched with Johnson’s name across the front and designed to triple as a hat, scarf and mittens.

What began as a quick family moment soon reached far beyond their group chat.

Conrad Andringa; Tess Johnson.Heidi Andringa; Ian MacNicol/Getty

After sending it to her cousins, Heidi later posted the video to TikTok, where it quickly went viral, amassing more than 646,000 views and hundreds of comments. Viewers soon crowned him the “Grandpa of the Olympics.”

“GO TESS 🥹,” the Olympics commented on the post.

“Talk about an A+ grandpa 😭🥰,” another account wrote.

“Grandpa is the real MVP 🥹🫶,” someone else chimed in.

For those who know him best, however, the enthusiasm on display was nothing new.

Heidi says her grandpa has “always been the biggest sports fan.” Both of his sons were national champions for Madison Wisconsin hockey, and all 12 grandchildren have followed athletic paths of their own — competing in college hockey and soccer or at the World Cup level in mogul skiing.

In fact, Conrad has rarely missed a milestone.

He attended every hockey and soccer game for his grandkids and traveled to Deer Valley, Utah, for eight years to watch Heidi’s brothers compete in World Cup mogul events. Even after they retired, he hiked up the mountain to watch Johnson compete. When Heidi’s brother Casey competed in the 2018 Olympics for mogul skiing, Conrad flew out to support him.

“The pleasure and the thrill of seeing someone I care about who has worked so hard and learned so much to be at the level she has hoped to compete at, the Olympics, which is the ultimate level is great,” Conrad tells PEOPLE exclusively.

“Knowing what it took in years of attitude, dedication, and performance to reach the Olympic level, I/we want her to know what she has achieved. We just love her and want the best!” he adds.

That pride is rooted in a long history.

The family has known Johnson for nearly 20 years, dating back to when they competed together in moguls before she made the U.S. ski team. Heidi says Johnson “beat me at every single competition” and calls her “always exceptional.”

Jesse and Johnson began dating seven years ago at U.S. Nationals — the same year Jesse made the U.S. ski team.

“We love Tess so much,” Heidi says. “She is a part of the family. I think of her as my sister, and clearly grandpa is on board with her joining the family!”

Tess Johnson of Team United States reacts after qualifying in the Women’s Dual Moguls 1/16 Finals on day eight of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Livigno Air Park on February 14, 2026 in Livigno, Italy.Cameron Spencer/Getty

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This year’s Olympics became yet another family affair.

Sixteen relatives traveled to Italy to watch the mogul events together. Jesse bought tulips in Milan, and all 15 family members took turns carrying them across Italy for 24 hours before presenting them to Johnson — another sweet gesture that also went viral.

The trip itself has turned into part of the memory-making.

The family has logged 20,000 steps a day navigating buses and missed connections. Conrad, Heidi says, hasn’t complained once — except to cry out, “it’s never our bus!” after the seventh bus drove past.

While social media may just be discovering him, Conrad has long been a familiar face back home.

He practiced as a pediatrician for about 55 years and stitched up his own kids and grandkids at sporting events along the way. Heidi says commenters have even recognized him, writing that he was their doctor.

Even his daily habits have become part of the lore.

He’s a devoted Coca-Cola fan — drinking three to five a day — and the family is jokingly hoping his viral fame might land him a sponsorship. Heidi calls him “the healthiest 87 year old we know,” noting he once had the Coca-Cola truck deliver full crates to his house.

Conrad Andringa.Heidi Andringa

Despite the attention, Conrad says he was “Very surprised and somewhat embarrassed by the fame for something I didn’t expect. Yet proud because it was for Tess and her family.”

Johnson, Heidi adds, was thrilled by the video’s popularity and “loves grandpa.”

And if the moment brings a little extra good into the world, even better.

Heidi ultimately shared the clip on TikTok through the account for her nonprofit, Heidi’s Heroes, which sends American Girl dolls to kids with cancer. She runs the organization herself and hoped the extra visibility might help raise awareness.

For now, Conrad is embracing the moment — even if modestly.

“He’s being a good sport,” Heidi says. “He knows it’s fun for us all and that hopefully it will bring some attention to my nonprofit or to Tess.”