Ones to Watch: Olympians
Curated by Megan Collins, Cultural Anthropologist, Generational Expert and contributor to the MTD blog
The summer 2024 Paris Olympic games are kicking off at the end of the month. A culmination of countless hours of training and competition, the games also offer a global stage for glory and recognition. The olympics have the power to turn champions into heroes and increasingly, career influencers (see: Shawn Johnson’s YouTube channel and Ilona maher’s TikTok). As we prepare for the mind-blowing athletic feats, heart-pumping competition, and underdog stories that tug at our heartstrings we wanted to highlight 3 olympians and burgeoning stars who we’re following extra closely. Sure, we’re eager to see if they take home the gold but we’re also interested in the Olympics’ impact on their social media careers and celebrity profiles.
Summer McIntosh’s instagram bio is a list of brands she works with: @redbullcanada, @tagheuer, @lululemon, @aircanada, @funkitaswimwear. If that doesn’t foretell her potential as the next big athlete-influencer I don’t know what does. At only 17, the canadian swimmer is already a two time olympic athlete. At 14 she became the youngest member of team Canada of all time. When she qualified for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo she won the 200 meter freestyle with a personal best! With an incredibly origin story (or “lore” as the kids are calling it), the support of aspiration brands, and a penchant for breaking records could McIntosh be Canada’s Michael Phelps?
American track star Noah Lyles is already making waves and the games are barely getting started. The Tokyo 2020 bronze medallist recently went viral when he flashed a Yu-Gi-Oh! card at a race. But turns out there’s more to this stunt than meets the eye. Lyles told the press that he likes to give each of his races a theme to keep things fun and Yu-Gi-Oh! was his theme for trials. Let’s just say we cannot wait to see what themes he comes up with for Paris. In addition to theatrics, Lyles is someone to keep an eye on because he’s one half of an athlete power couple. His girlfriend, Junelle Bromfield, has also qualified for the Paris games. While she’ll be representing Jamaica, the two are very cute and supportive on the track and on social media. The internet loves a cute couple to “ship” and these two are poised to be the romance to watch.
Joining an otherwise veteran gymnastic squad, 16-year-old high school junior Hezley is Team USA’s youngest qualified athlete. As such, she’s a bit of an underdog who managed to clinch the final spot on the team and if there’s one thing people love in sports, it's rooting for the underdog. When it comes to her social media strategy, Rivera is already stepping into the spotlight. Perhaps thanks to her training she knows the importance of teamwork and loves to employ a collab post with her impressive partners such as inside gymnastics magazine, @teamusa, and @nbcolympics to name a few! Given the eyes the legendary Simone Biles will be drawing to team USA gymnastics, Rivera is about to be on the biggest stage of her career and could be catapulted to the top.