Red carpets, reels and racing: athletics leans into the creator era

BUDAPEST, Sept 11 : As Olympic champions and world record-holders drifted between interview stations at the World Athletics Ultimate Championship media day on Thursday, many had one eye on the cameras and another on their phones.

In modern athletics, social media is no longer just a way to connect with fans. Athletes and independent content creators have become an increasingly important part of how the sport promotes itself and reaches new audiences.

For a growing number of athletes, it is part of the business plan. With few guaranteed salaries and major sponsorship money concentrated among the elite, athletes are increasingly relying on content creation, brand partnerships and side ventures to supplement their income.

But as the sport embraces the creator economy, the growing presence of influencers at live events has also prompted debate about where promotion ends and disruption begins.

That erupted last week at the U.S. Open when a chair umpire reprimanded patrons for staging a photo shoot while Naomi Osaka was serving during her first-round win over Anastasia Zakharova, raising questions about where content creators belong at live sporting events.

Olympic 100 metres champion Noah Lyles, whose 1.5 million Instagram followers make him one of the sport's most influential online voices, welcomed the rise of content creators but said clear boundaries were needed.

"I think that influencers are needed. I also think that there's a time and place," Lyles said. "I was watching (what happened at the U.S. Open), and I was cringing a little bit.

"It is important to get the content and let people know that an event is happening. But there can be a selected space for that."

CONTENT CREATION AWAY FROM RACE-DAY PRESSURES

World Athletics