Olympians not only are poised for medals in Rio but also an explosion of social media followers during the Games.
| Name |
Sport |
No. of followers on Friday, Aug. 5 |
| Michael Phelps |
swimming |
1,645,215 |
| Ryan Lochte |
swimming |
1,058,934 |
| Gabby Douglas |
gymnastics |
832,413 |
| Aly Raisman |
gymnastics |
432,449 |
| Allyson Felix |
track & field |
421,316 |
| Missy Franklin |
swimming |
371,186 |
| Kerri Walsh Jennings |
beach volleyball |
146,890 |
| Jordan Burroughs |
wrestling |
146,272 |
| Nathan Adrian |
swimming |
129,133 |
| Simone Biles |
gymnastics |
101,761 |
| Meb Keflezighi |
track & field |
92,011 |
| Shalane Flanagan |
track & field |
88,405 |
| Sam Mikulak |
gymnastics |
74,072 |
| Dana Vollmer |
swimming |
68,646 |
| Jake Dalton |
gymnastics |
67,474 |
| Ashton Eaton |
track & field |
61,631 |
| Tyson Gay |
track & field |
60,374 |
| |
| Noteworthy International Athletes |
| Usain Bolt (Jamaica) |
track & field |
4,033,622 |
| Tom Daley (Great Britain) |
diving |
2,524,011 |
| Jessica Ennis (Great Britain) |
track & field |
1,520,637 |
| Mo Farah (Great Britain) |
track & field |
1,247,728 |
Note: Charts do not include Olympic athletes who are more known for the teams and leagues in which they usually compete, such as NBA, PGA Tour and professional tennis players. Sources: SportsBusiness Journal research
Based on
SportsBusiness Journal research in 2012, five medal winners — and subsequently news makers — saw an increase of 500,000 or more Twitter followers during the 17 days of the London Olympics: swimmers Michael Phelps (935,636 new followers) and Ryan Lochte (754,109), all-around gymnastics gold-medalist Gabby Douglas (565,213), diver Tom Daley of Great Britain (826,234) and sprint superstar Usain Bolt of Jamaica (540,319).
Those five remain among the most-followed Olympians on Twitter, based on a study of select athletes by SBJ (see chart). Like on the track, Bolt remains top dog, with just over 4 million followers. Daley comes in second with just over 2 million followers, while Phelps, Lochte and British track stars Jessica Ennis and Mo Farah all top 1 million, based on a study of 100 select Olympians, weighted heavily toward Team USA.
Not counting Olympic athletes who are more known for the teams and leagues in which they usually compete, such as NBA, PGA Tour and pro tennis players, the study revealed that 10 U.S. athletes have 100,000 or more Twitter followers heading into tonight’s opening ceremony. How those figures grow during Rio once again will be an interesting game within the Games.
Listed at right are the number of Twitter followers from the official pages of notable U.S. and international Olympians as of Aug. 5, the day of Rio’s opening ceremony. For the full list of 100 athletes, click here.
