"Athletic Theme" is a track composed by Nintendo veteran composer Koji Kondo that plays in numerous levels throughout Super Mario World. It's a ragtime-style variation of the leitmotif used in many other tracks in the game, such as "Overworld Theme". Being one of the most popular songs from Super Mario World, it has been rearranged and reused in several other titles, such as Super Smash Bros. Melee ("Yoshi's Island"), Super Mario Galaxy 2 ("Hightail Falls Galaxy"), and Super Mario Maker 2.
The first rip of "Athletic Theme", titled "Athletic - Super Mario World", was uploaded on the GiIvaSunner channel on March 10, 2016. After the GiIvaSunner Termination, it was reuploaded on the SiIvaGunner channel on April 19, 2016, with the title "Athletic (JP Version) - Super Mario World", which was later changed to "Athletic Theme (JP Version) - Super Mario World" to match the original GilvaSunner's metadata.
There are currently 47 rips of this song and its many arrangements on the channel, the most popular of them being "Athletic Theme (PAL Version) - Super Mario World", a melody swap and mashup with the Cartoons cover of "Witch Doctor" by David Seville, a song that greatly resembles "Athletic Theme". It was first uploaded on GiIvaSunner on March 24, 2016, and later reuploaded on SiIvaGunner on April 22, 2016. Since then, the rip has become the most viewed rip on the channel, with more than 8.3 million views as of July 15, 2024, and has also been featured and referenced in many other rips due to its popularity.
