Ireland's Olympic medal winners and glamorous sprint stars, who just missed out on a podium finish in the close-run 4x400m relay final, are on track to earn lucrative sponsorship deals following their exploits in Paris.
One leading sports PR expert said some of our Olympians could be in line for six-figure sponsorship deals, but stressed any brand associations have "got to be authentic."
Kelli O'Keeffe, who is managing director of the sports advisory practice in Teneo, a PR and advisory firm, said Team Ireland has been "fantastic role models" and "outstanding in the way they've carried themselves" over the last three weeks.
"They're well able to speak to the media and when they do, they have really great messages," Ms. O'Keeffe told the Irish Mail on Sunday.
"I think that will certainly attract brands to the athletes."
Track star Rhasidat Adeleke, who finished fourth in the 400m final, already has partnerships with global companies Allianz, KPMG, and Nike.
Ms. O'Keeffe said she "probably has room for one or two more partnerships," which would "certainly be on the bigger side of things."
Adeleke, who said it was all "onwards and upwards" after the final, can tap into the US market - "a different stratosphere completely" - thanks to her world-class talent and recognition factor there from attending University in Texas.
"That's where I think you could be looking at six figures," Ms. O'Keeffe said. "After that, I think the athletes would be looking to get three or four partnerships that could get them up to that kind of level [six-figure sponsorship incomes]."
Sportspeople wearing logos with little idea about what they are representing is "for the most part a thing of the past," Ms. O'Keeffe said, who advises clients that "authenticity is absolutely key."
"For a commercial partnership to work, it's got to be authentic," she said.
"You cannot put an athlete in with a tech brand if they have no idea of what's going on in the tech world.
"It just doesn't work, and people can see through it, media can see through it, the Irish public can see through it and it's really just a badging exercise."
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Companies bringing athletes in to speak to their employees and clients is "a very big part of an ambassador partnership" nowadays, Ms. O'Keeffe said.
"Rhys McClenaghan [who won gold on the pommel horse last weekend] really faced a lot of adversity and had to really act on resilience [after a mistake spoiled his routine at the previous Olympics].
"And I think if a brand is looking for an athlete to come in and speak to their team, it's a far more motivating and interesting story when you can talk about having to come back from such a disappointment.
"We would ask, what is it that a brand needs an athlete to deliver and then match it on that basis, as opposed to the one who might have all the medals."
August 12, 2024: Rhys McClenaghan showing fans his gold medal on Dublin's O'Connell Street during the Team Ireland homecoming. (RollingNews.ie)
A little glam, on and off the track, helps with marketability as well.
Relay star Sharlene Mawdsley recently spoke of the team arriving to race meets with their makeup bags, and Ms. O'Keeffe said she "would echo" her sentiments that if she is happy with how she looks she can perform better.
"That's something that they can control. They can get their nails done or their eyelashes done - they have full control over that, so if it's going to make them feel better on the day, absolutely go for it."
And it doesn't hurt when it comes to building a large following on social media - a key attraction for brands in search of ambassadors.
"Sharlene has over 180,000 followers on Instagram. So if you're a brand looking to get a message out there, you're going to choose Sharlene over an athlete who has 30,000 followers. There are elements that commercial partners will look at about how these athletes will get their message out there, and social media is a major element at the moment.
"Sharlene is an example of a really great athlete who has so many strings to her bow and social media is one of them, and I would say she would be very attractive for brands to partner with."
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Athletes planning to step away from their sport can still make hay, Ms. O'Keeffe said, citing Kellie Harrington, who declared she will retire after storming to her second gold this week.
"The opportunities to go into media for the likes of Kellie - once she does retire - that's a very viable part of a career as well.
"And the more the athletes do that, the better known they become, the more opportunities they'll have to work with brands.
"David Gillick is probably a really good example of a former athlete who has a number of brands that he works with. We work with him with VHI, and he does a superb job, but he's also very relevant because of his media work."
Kellie Harrington wins Gold at the Paris 2024 Olympics. (Getty Images)
And double medallist Daniel Wiffen is already ahead of the curve in earning off his name. He and his twin brother Nathan regularly upload to their Wiffen Twins YouTube channel and run swimming clinics at pools around the country.
"It won't just be about commercial partnerships," Ms. O'Keeffe said. "There's an opportunity here for athletes to really accelerate their own businesses and their own brands as well."
Daniel Wiffen after winning Gold at the 2024 Paris Olympics. (Getty Images)
The key is balance and making sure not to take too much on, Ms. O'Keeffe said.
"If you're going back into another training cycle, you don't want to be adding unnecessary pressure to the system."
* This article was originally published on Evoke.ie.
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