People baffled by 'crazy' illusion showing javelin going through athlete's face

People baffled by 'crazy' illusion showing javelin going through athlete's facePeople on both Instagram and Reddit were completely flummoxed by the image, which appeared to show an Estonian athlete with a javelin sticking right through his headCommentsNewsIan Craig Social Newsdesk Content Editor15:33, 17 Apr 2026Updated 15:33, 17 Apr 2026View ImageThe optical illusion left people flummoxed (stock image)(Image: Getty Images)Most sports and athletic disciplines carry an element of danger, whether it's the risk of being subject to a particularly vicious rugby tackle, crashing face-first into a tree while skiing down a mountain, or landing badly after a spectacular triple backflip. Javelin is no different - throwing a long, heavy pole with sharp points on both ends as hard as you can could be a recipe for disaster for the inexperienced.‌An optical illusion which has left people on social media baffled appears to show an athlete with a javelin shoved through the back of his head and out the front. But all is not as it seems.‌The photograph shared on Instagram appears to show an athlete - named in the caption as Magnus Kirt - preparing to throw a javelin, holding it up with his left hand. However, the javelin itself appears to have pierced through the back of the man's head, sticking out from under his right eye.‌The caption reads: "Confusing perspective. What’s going on? No cheating. He is totally fine, why does it look like he is not? This is an unedited photograph. Look closely. After reviewing the photographs after his javelin competition they noticed one of his photographs looked strange."People on social media were baffled by the image. Replying to a post of the same image on Reddit, one person said: "That looked like it's lodged into his skull, had to do a double-take."Another said: "This took me longer than I’m willing to admit to figure out." And someone else wrote: "Wow! He has terrible aim!"‌...