Viral Video Mashes Up Olympic Speedskating and 'Mario Kart'

There were two common themes in some of February's biggest viral videos: the Sochi Olympics and Super Mario Bros. It is only fitting that on the final day of the month, we cover a video that combines both.

Australian-based filmmaker Michael Shanks imagined what speedskating at the Olympics would look like if Mario Kart rules were allowed. With a few CGI and sound effects as well as commentary and video game music, he created "SOCHI 2014 — Speed Skating Double Dash Final." It has over 3 million YouTube hits and almost 23,000 likes.

The video takes a men's 500-meter race and adds in everything you remember about the classic game. Even the opening slate to the competition is reminiscent of how the races would start on a gaming console. The rink, named Baby Park Stadium, after one of the tracks in the game, is littered with item boxes that feature shells, banana peels, and power-ups. Shanks even edits the skaters themselves, making it seem as if they are hit by said shells or shrunk because of another player's Thunderbolt.

Shanks took some creative liberty with the end of the race. There is no winner, as a bob-omb explodes and knocks all of the players out of the race.

Most of the Olympic and Mario videos we've featured this past month were fiction, but here's a fact: Toys R Us is selling an actual Mario Kart. Manufactured by Jakks Pacific, it retails for $199.99 and is available for preorder.