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Four-time Olympic medalist Maya DiRado will delay her business career to cash in on her Rio success.
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Four-time Olympic medalist swimmer Maya DiRado will delay her planned career at McKinsey & Co. in Atlanta by four months to embark on a traditional post-Olympics media, speaking and endorsements tour.
Among professionals able to sign contracts, DiRado, 23, has been Team USA’s breakout star of the Olympics so far, winning an individual Gold Medal in the 200M backstroke, a relay Gold in the 4x200M freestyle and a Silver and Bronze.
But enthusiasm for her endorsement potential was hindered by her plans to retire from competitive swimming and start a career as a business analyst for McKinsey in Atlanta on Sept. 9. That remains the plan long term but will be delayed until January, said Jeannie Goldstein, a partner at DiRado’s agency, Chicago Sports & Entertainment Partners.
McKinsey suggested it, Goldstein said. “They actually reached out to her and said we want to offer you support in continuing this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” Goldstein said. “This isn’t a long-term thing. She’s McKinsey bound and Atlanta bound and all that stuff.”
DiRado may not have appreciated the potential before her, Goldstein said. “I don’t think she realized the impact, the groundswell back in the U.S., because they’re kind of in that bubble (in Rio),” Goldstein said. “When she came back, I said, ‘You know, you were on TV for every other night for a week in the U.S., and you’re kind of a big deal.’”
DiRado, who has a degree from Stanford in management science and engineering, will be in N.Y. next Monday and Tuesday and will make herself available for media interviews.
