[[quoteright:320:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/qwop1_9755.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:320:[[WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons D'oh!]]]]
->''You are Qwop, our small nation's sole representative at the UsefulNotes/OlympicGames. \\
Use the QWOP keys to move your legs. \\
Ideally you will run 100 metres... \\
...but our training program was under-funded. \\
Remember, it's not about whether you win or lose.''
-->--'''Title screen for ''Qwop'''''

''[[http://www.foddy.net/Athletics.html QWOP]]'' is a Flash-based SportsGame by Creator/{{foddy}} in which you must get Qwop to run 100 meters without falling over. Uniquely, you control Qwop's individual thighs and calves. [[NintendoHard It is]] ''[[NintendoHard much]]'' [[NintendoHard harder than it sounds]]. It has a two-player sequel named ''[[http://www.foddy.net/2QWOP.html 2QWOP.]]''

Despite the game first coming out in 2008, it achieved massive internet popularity and MemeticMutation in December of 2010 after WebVideo/RayWilliamJohnson showcased a LetsPlay video of it.

The success of ''QWOP'' has led to several related games by Creator/{{foddy}}, including [[http://www.foddy.net/WinnervsLoser.html Winner vs. Loser]] which is likewise based on track & field, and VideoGame/{{GIRP}} for the idea that controlling basic human motions is difficult. A true successor to QWOP, ''VideoGame/{{CLOP}}'', has you controlling a {{Unicorn}} with similarly difficult controls. Another, much more notable SpiritualSuccessor came in the form of ''VideoGame/GettingOverItWithBennettFoddy'', which, in addition to being almost as unforgiving in difficulty as the others, also features Foddy himself the narrator.

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!!''QWOP'' has examples of the following:
%%* AbnormalLimbRotationRange: Only seen when Qwop falls.
* ArtisticLicenseBiology: Doing hop-splits to get to the goal should logically do awful things to your joints, but hey, seeing a struggling athlete doing everything he can to avoid falling onto his head is the whole point.
* AWinnerIsYou:
-->'''NATIONAL HERO'''\\
[[MundaneMadeAwesome you ran to the end of the track and jumped!]]\\
In the end, you went:\\
''X'' metres
* BonusRound: When you finally hit 100 meters, you hit a ''long jump pit''. In this case, it's more like a long stride pit, but still.
%%* BoringYetPractical: [[spoiler: Hold down W and P, tapping Q occasionally, and vibrate to victory]].
* CentipedesDilemma: The whole point of the game is to see what happens when you have to think about the movements of each individual muscle to perform even the most basic action.
%%* DeconstructionGame: On [[SomeDexterityRequired complicated controls]].
* {{Determinator}}: To an extent, both the player and the player character. No matter how many times you flip 720 degrees and crack your skull, you just keep trying for those 100 meters.
* DungeonBypass: You're supposed to jump over the hurdle at 50 meters, but you just knock it over and keep running.
* EpicFail:
** It is possible to walk backwards behind the starting line, not only achieving a negative distance but also ''slamming into a wall behind you.'' Assuming you don't [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCGoIpP0ulg fall through the ground]].
** In-universe, Qwop's training program is so woefully underfunded that ''basic muscle memory'' apparently doesn't fit on the budget. Let's put it this way: the game congratulates you and calls you a winner for running ''at all''. Even if, as just mentioned, you walk negative meters.
** If you end up with Qwop balancing on one leg, your best choice is to RageQuit and just slam his head into the ground to restart. Depending on how exactly he's balancing and your familiarity with which leg moves with which buttons, you may end up failing to do that.
* FacePlant: If you don't fall on your back, your run will generally flop forward and land on your face.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: One of the bullet points in the hints says that there's a surprise at 50 meters and one at 100 meters.
* FelonyMisdemeanor: One of the results of failure is a headline saying “QWOP Arrested!”
* GravityScrew: The low gravity makes running at more than about 1.5 meters per second impossible, so don't expect to break any world records.
* GuideDangIt: You probably won't figure out that the right way to move forward is to [[spoiler:alternate pressing Q and P together, then W and O together]] without looking it up.
* HandWave: Qwop's questionable motor abilities are the result of his nation's poorly-funded training program.
* HaveANiceDeath:
--> '''PARTICIPANT'''\\
showing real courage, you ran:\\
''X'' metres\\
everyone is a winner
** The game will even "congratulate" you for going a negative distance.
* HeroicMime: Qwop says nothing at all.
* {{Leitmotif}}: get Qwop up to speed and you'll start hearing the [[StandardSnippet intro]] to the ''Film/ChariotsOfFire'' theme.
* MeaningfulName: Qwop's name refers to the keys you use to control him, Q, W, O, and P.
* MundaneMadeAwesome: When you finally run/hop/crawl those 100 meters, the game congratulates you as if it were a difficult task, no matter how long it took you. [[NintendoHard Although, after all, it kind of]] ''[[NintendoHard was]]''...
* NintendoHard: No checkpoints. You fail with the slightest brush against the ground, including landing on a knee too hard. It's possible for the game to end just because one of Qwop's ''hands'' brushed the ground.
* NoBudget: InUniverse; Qwop's training is so underfunded that he doesn't even know how to ''walk''.
* ParodiesOfFire: The ''Chariots'' theme plays when you start running. Make that IF you start running.
%%* ThePratfall: The difficulty of the game makes these nearly inevitable.
%%* RagdollPhysics: Featured along with the slight GravityScrew.
%%* RhythmGame: It will very quickly turn into this once you learn how to actually start moving.
* SickeningCrunch: Whenever Qwop falls over hard enough, including hitting a knee with too much force, there will be a CRUNCH, then the game over message.
%%* SillyWalk: If you manage to get Qwop to move, you'll generally cause this.
* SlowMotionFall: The physics and gravity in this game makes every fall slow.
%%* SomeDexterityRequired: Used [[TheyPlottedAPerfectlyGoodWaste intentionally]].
* SportsGame: Track and field.
* StandardSnippet: The first few seconds of "Chariots of Fire" loop if Qwop manages to go forward long enough.
* ShoutOut: The slow running at a track-and-field event is a shout-out to ''Film/ChariotsOfFire''. The theme plays if Qwop manages to run for a few steps.
* WackySoundEffect: If Qwop falls lightly, his collision with the ground will make a soft "euh" sound.
%%* YetAnotherStupidDeath: Or rather, another stupid backflip.
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[-'''PARTICIPANT''' \\
showing real courage, you wrote: \\
''35 examples'' \\
everyone is a troper-]
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