"TikTok Olympics"
A series of short videos of Norwegian swimmer Hendrik sharing the desserts served at the Olympic Athletes Village catapulted him to fame. To date, Henrik Christiansen has more than 300,000 followers on the social network TikTok.
“Muffin Man” (Hendrik's nickname) is just one of many athletes who became famous on social networks at the Paris Olympics, where it wasn't just the competitions that attracted the world's attention.
Observers are calling the event taking place in Paris the "TikTok Olympics", where athletes share memorable moments from testing the durability of beds, experiences surrounding exercise practice, competition, behind-the-scenes videos...
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) seems to have recognized this when it relaxed its social media guidelines for athletes at the 2024 Olympics .
Since the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, TikTok has grown dramatically and now has more than 1 billion users globally.
Rollo Goldstaub, TikTok's director of global sports partnerships, shared with The Verge that, in the first 5 days of the 2024 Olympics, there were more than 521,000 posts using the #Olympics hashtag, much higher than 29,000. post at the same stage of the Tokyo Olympics.
While some restrictions remain to protect the interests of media copyright owners and sponsors, athletes are now allowed to post sports-related content, including opening and closing ceremonies , Olympic village and training venue.
Turkish shooter Yusuf Dikec and Korean female shooter Kim Ye-ji have become famous on the Internet for their calm demeanor.
Dikec's casual posture and casual style have made him famous on social networks. Meanwhile, residents consider Kim "the coolest person in the world", with a style that resembles an assassin in a science fiction movie.
Building a brand through TikTok
With the popularity and spread of TikTok, this social network is a tool for athletes to build personal brands, especially with a major event like the Olympics.
In an article for Forbes, Michael Ede, founder of UK sports management company Uplift11 Sports, said: “As the sports industry continues to grow and evolve, building a strong personal brand has can help individuals stand out, attract new opportunities and achieve greater success.
The world of sports is more than just athletic competition. It's big business and personal branding has become an essential tool for sports management professionals.
Singaporean swimmer Quah Jing Wen, who attracted attention for his TikTok videos about life in the athletes' village, said: “This social network shows what we do at another level and help people understand us a little better.”
American (7 people) rugby player Ilona Maher has turned many people online to follow the sport through her witty videos on TikTok, covering a variety of topics, from motivating pushes body positivity to the point of comparing the Olympic village to popular reality TV dating show Love Island.
She said: “For me personally, TikTok is a place for me to build my brand. I am a female athlete in a sport that is not very popular, especially in America. It is also not a subject to make money. So I just want to make it more noticeable.”
