Making that Cheddar (or Parmesan)
Day 7: Sponsorships are Big Money for Olympic Athletes
It may surprise you to learn that Olympic athletes are not paid to compete in the Games (though many receive prize money for winning medals). From their founding the Olympics were about amateurism, allowing only non-professional athletes to compete, and even stripping Gold Medal’s from those that violated the rule. It was not until 1988 that the IOC allowed professional athletes to participate, with the 1992 USA Men’s Basketball Dream Team becoming the most visible sign of change.
Even today most Olympic athletes are not professionals, relying on sponsorships for their income. If you’ve watched any of the Games, you’ve no doubt seen ads starring Team USA athletes - from Simone Biles and Steph Curry shilling for Subway to Katie Ledecky touting chocolate milk.
But Olympic sponsorships extend far beyond household names, and provide a financial lifeline to many competitors from obscure sports. Brazilian skateboarder Rayssa Leal went viral when she was just 7, won Silver in Tokyo at only 13, and today has 8.5 million followers and deals with Louis Vuitton and Samsung. Flavor Flav famously supports the US Women’s Water Polo team, and hundreds of global athletes have deals with niche brands that resonate with their sport. But can anyone top Italian gymnast Giorgia Villa, who is sponsored by Parmigiano Reggiano? That’s right, newly minted Silver medalist (Italy’s first gymnastics medal) is sponsored by none other than Parmesan cheese - and the photos are just as amazing as you hoped:
What To Watch Today
(All times Eastern. Full event relays available on-demand on Peacock)
The Track and Field meet and Men’s Golf tournament begin, both of Team USA’s 3x3 Basketball teams play a doubleheader, and the Tennis draw moves into the Quarter- and Semifinals on a busy Thursday in Paris.
1:30 am - Track & Field: Men's 20km Race Walk 🥇
3:00 am - Golf: Men's Round 1 🇺🇸
3:20 am - Track & Field: Women’s 20km Race Walk 🥇
3:30 am - Shooting: 50m Rifle 3 Positions Men's Final 🥇
4:30 am - Rowing: Women's Double Sculls, Men's Double Sculls, Women's Four, and Men’s Four Finals 🥇🥇🥇🥇
4:30 am - Water Polo: Men’s Preliminary Round, USA vs Greece 🇺🇸
7:00 am - 3v3 Basketball: Women’s Pool Round, USA vs Australia 🇺🇸
7:30 am - Tennis: Men’s Singles Quarterfinal, Tommy Paul vs Carlos Alcaraz 🇺🇸
8:30 am - Tennis: Men’s Doubles Semifinal, Krajicek/Ram vs Machac/Pavlasek 🇺🇸
8:43 am - Sailing: Men's Skiff Medal Race 🥇
9:43 am - Sailing: Women’s Skiff Medal Race 🥇
10:00 am – Judo: Women’s <78kg and Men’s <100kg 🥇 🥇
10:30 am - Tennis: Men’s Doubles Quarterfinal, Fritz/Paul vs Evans/Murray 🇺🇸
11:30 am - Canoe Slalom: Men's Kayak Single Final 🥇
12:15 pm - Gymnastics: Women's All-Around Final 🇺🇸 🐐🥇
1:05 pm - 3v3 Basketball: Men’s Pool Round, USA vs Lithuania 🇺🇸
1:10 pm - Fencing: Women's Foil Team Medal Matches 🇺🇸 🥇
2:00 pm - BMX Racing: Men’s and Women’s Quarterfinals 🇺🇸
2:30 pm - Swimming: Women's 200m Butterfly, Men's 200m Backstroke, Women's 200m Breaststroke, Women's 4 x 200m Freestyle Relay Finals 🇺🇸 🥇🥇🥇🥇
3:00 pm - Basketball: Women’s Pool Round, USA vs Belgium 🇺🇸
3:30 pm - 3v3 Basketball: Women’s Pool Round, USA vs Spain 🇺🇸
5:05 pm - 3v3 Basketball: Men’s Pool Round, USA vs Latvia 🇺🇸
In Other Olympic News…
California (unsurprisingly) is home to the most members of Team USA, but tiny Vermont leads in per capita representation.
France has a new national hero, and he’s taking Michael Phelps records.
Would you choose an airline because your national team does? Delta, Wizz Air, and other hope so.
Royals - They’re just like us!
Photo of the Day
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