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How Track And Field Stars Can Cash In On Newfound Fame, Post-Olympics

By David Melly

August 21, 2024

Now that the Olympics have come and gone and the rest of the world has met our favorite track and field stars, the next step for every agent worth their salt is clear: how do we cash in on this 15 minutes of fame?

There’s only so much room on a Wheaties box, but with the advent of social media, athletes have more opportunities than ever before to pick up some postseason spending money with a well-timed brand partnership. But rather than stick to the boring stuff – running shoes, GPS watches, and fueling gels – we’re thinking bigger. Shill, baby, shill!

Sifan Hassan x Strava: The undisputed Local Legend of the Stade de France has to be Sifan Hassan, after the Dutchwoman clocked 50 laps across two track events and then came back at the end of the competition to snag the segment crown on the Olympic marathon course. Given that we can barely keep track of all of Hassan’s race efforts, getting her to start logging her runs in an easily-accessible app might help the fans follow along as well.

Quincy Hall x Fruit of the Loom: Olympic champ Quincy Hall didn’t just turn heads with his incredible come-from-behind 43.40 victory in the 400m final… he also went viral when he was caught on camera in the call room stepping into his speed suit over a pair of conventional, baggy boxer shorts. While some questioned the strange combination of heavy cotton under skin tight spandex, there’s clearly an opportunity here for Fruit of the Loom to rebrand its classic products as performance athletic wear.

Gudaf Tsegay x Everlast Boxing Gloves: Who can forget one of the most controversial events in the first days of athletics in Paris, when a bit of argy-bargy between Faith Kipyegon and Gudaf Tsegay during the 5000m final resulted in a perplexing disqualification, then reinstatement, of the eventual silver medalist. While the water may be under the bridge following the Ethiopian’s post-race apology to her Kenyan rival, there’s a clear career pivot to be made for Tsegay should she want to pursue a totally different sport in 2028.

Grant Holloway x Dom Perignon: Holloway is famously a big wine connoisseur, and now that the 3x World 110m hurdles champ has the Olympic title to match, he’ll have plenty to celebrate. The classiest way to say “I won gold in Paris” is obviously to take a champagne shower in the most famous of French sparkling wines.

Dakotah Lindwurm x Zola: Team USA’s top Olympic marathoner got engaged at the finish line. What better way to beat the post-Paris blues than starting wedding planning? And what better way to channel your personal life experience into a money making scheme than hitching your wagon to the famously-expensive wedding-industrial complex?

Jamaican Athletics x AstroTurf: Given that four of Jamaica’s six Olympic medals came from the infield this cycle, the federation responsible for athletics greatness in the island nation should probably start investing in field events in more ways than one. They can start by partnering with an artificial grass brand to give their jumpers, throwers, and multi-event athletes the best competition surfaces money can buy.

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David Melly

David began contributing to CITIUS in 2018, and quickly cemented himself as an integral part of the team thanks to his quick wit, hot takes, undying love for the sport and willingness to get yelled at online.