Noah Lyles and Sha'Carri Richardson lead a social media chart as well as five other track and field stars post-Paris Olympics.
Following the end of the Paris Olympics, Noah Lyles, Sha'Carri Richardson, and a host of other track and field stars are still making waves with their online visibility, which has seen them among the leaders of a social media chatting record.
The American track stars as part of the standout athletes in Paris, saw their online engagements and visibility skyrocket, especially on Instagram.
Likewise, Olympic champions such as Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, Arshad Nadeem, Mondo Duplantis, and Gabby Thomas weren't left out as they saw a massive gain in followers after their win gained a huge number of Instagram followers during and after the Games.
05:00 - 26.08.2024
'Taking it 1cm at a time to get $100k' - Fan shares epic take on Duplantis business side of breaking the World Record
The hot take by an X user on the business side of Armand Duplantis breaking his World Record by 1cm has gotten track fans divided.
Based on the huge numbers of followers garnered after the Paris Olympics, here's track and field's biggest gainners.
1 - Arshad Nadeem
The Pakistani is the biggest gainer with a massive 837,550 new followers following his historic feat of winning his country's first Olympic gold medal in the men's javelin throw in a new record of 92.97m.
Nadeem is now arguably the most popular person in Pakistan, as his iconic achievement was celebrated with several mouthwatering gifts including a cash price of over $850,000.
21:46 - 15.08.2024
Arshad Nadeem: The BILLIONS and luxurious car Pakistan Olympic champion was rewarded for historic Paris 2024 feat
Pakistan Olympic champion was gifted over $850,000 in prize money and a luxurious car for winning a gold medal at Paris 2024 Games.
The 27-year-old moved from having less than 100k followers before the Olympics to now having a whooping 951,000 Instagram followers.
2 - Sha'Carri Richardson
The world 100m champion was already the face of women's sprint and one of the most followed track athletes before the Olympics.
With a stabilized media presence before Paris, Richardson improved it after her 100m silver medal and anchoring Team USA's 4x100m relay squad to gold in domineering style.
18:41 - 22.08.2024
SPRINT Season 2 features return of Noah Lyles, absence of Sha'Carri Richardson as Paris Olympic medallists headline NETFLIX series
All you need to know about SPRINT season 2 as Sha'Carri Richardson is notably missing, while Julien Alfred, Letsile Tebogo, and Kishane Thompson feature.
Her followers peaked by over 790,000 new fans to now having 4.2M followers - strengthening her position as the most followed American track and field athlete.
3 - Noah Lyles
Lyles was and remains the most talked about track star pre and post-Olympics, as his controversial and vocal personality landed him in most news headlines globally.
From winning the Olympic 100m title to settling for the bronze medal in his trademark 200m event but later revealing he ran the race ill with COVID, to rekindling his back and forth with the NBA and their superstars, and then starting a rivalry with NFL star Tyreek Hill - Lyles was the villain that brought more attention to track and field sport in Paris.
23:29 - 23.08.2024
'Nothing like I've ever seen before' - Rai Benjamin defends his statement on Noah Lyles being the 'Game Changer' in track and field
Rai Benjamin buttressed his statement on Noah Lyles being the game changer in track and field despite predecessors Usain Bolt, Asafa Powell, and Yohan Blake doing a good job.
All these were not in vain as his Instagram followers saw a meteoric rise from having less than 800k Instagram followers to a current 1.5M, gaining over 700k new fans on his page.
He is currently the most followed American track star with over 1M followers.
4 - Neeraj Chopra
The Indian javelin thrower headed to Paris as the most followed track and field athlete with over 9M followers and solidified his position by gaining over 700k new followers to currently stay at 9.8M followers.
Chopra settled for the silver medal behind Nadeem, but that didn't stop the attractive thrower from gaining new fans on his Instagram page. He also has the best engagements of an athlete on his posts.
5 - Gabby Thomas
Thomas hit the 1M mark by gaining over 696k followers following his memorable exploits of winning three gold medals in Paris.
The Harvard graduate claimed 200m, 4x100m, and 4x400m titles, with her Instagram fans currently at 1.1M followers.
6 - Mondo Duplantis
Another solid gainer with 680, 800 new followers to hit a new high of 1.2M followers on his Instagram page.
19:48 - 25.08.2024
Duplantis and Ingebrigtsen's world records overwhelm impeccable performances at Silesia Diamond League
How it went down at the Silesia Diamond League with 2 World Records, 10 Meeting Records, and 2 National Records on a day filled with impeccable performances.
The Swedish pole vaulter broke his world record for the ninth time in his career to win the Olympic title and is in the top 3 of the standout performers in Paris.
7 - Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone
Track and field second world record breaker in Paris, McLaughlin-Levrone successfully defended her Olympic 400mH title by storming to a new lifetime best of 50.37s.
14:50 - 23.08.2024
'He slid into my DM' - Olympic star Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone opens up on romantic first encounter with ex-footballer husband
For the first time, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone detailed her marital relationship with her husband Andre Levrone Jr. including how they met, the favourite things he loves about him and their best date.
Her Instagram followers also had a power lift with 341,880+ new gainers to hit the 1.5M followers mark.