The Hewitt Times

The Summer Olympics 2012 have come and gone, but the Olympians seem to have left an everlasting mark on social media. During these games, more so than during any other year, the internet has become a a platform for athletes to communicate with their fans through several social media outlets.

“We have seen athletes sharing photos, answering questions, responding to ‘good luck’ wishes and talking to fellow stars, all giving fans first-hand insights into their experiences of the Games,” Lewis Wiltshire, head of sports partnerships at Twitter UK, told Reuters.

This summer, Ryan Lochte was a break out star. The 27 year old swimmer took home 6 medals and a plethora of endorsement deals. Since Lochte got back from London, he has been is in talks for reality shows, spokesmodel deals, and public appearances that have made him an international celebrity.

However, Lochte wasn’t the swim team’s only star this summer. Michael Phelps left the UK with a new title – “Most Decorated Olympian of All Time” – having earned 22 medals. He also won the title of the most followed (on Twitter) athlete of the Games. He embraced this title and would often take to the website to congratulate fellow Olympians or to simply express his disappointment over the swim caps’ design. One of the most memorable tweets, though, didn’t come from Phelps himself; it came from President Obama, who logged into his own account to write:

“Congrats to Michael Phelps for breaking the all-time Olympic medal record. You’ve made your country proud. -bo [Barack Obama].”

Another Twitter takedown this summer was the U.S. women’s gymnastics team. Gabby Douglas, one of  the“Fab Five”  and the women’s all-around gold medalist, had the third most followed Twitter account. Huge names including Samuel Jackson, Oprah, and Lil Wayne tweeted congratulations to the young star.

U.S. gymnastics team captain, Aly Raisman, also got some celebrity tweets from stars like Jessica Alba and Joe Jonas. It must have been the perfect way to end a phenomenal performance in London.

So, what does this social media boom mean for future Olympics? Some believe that managers may have to start monitoring their athletes’ online activity, as it has become a central part of their image. Also, it is not uncommon for athletes to stir up some controversies with their posts. In fact, two athletes (Greek triple-jump champion Voula Papachristou and Swiss soccer player Michel Morganella) were expelled this summer for racist tweets. The danger of the internet applies to everyone, and what you say will forever be published online. This being said, social media did a great job of providing viewers with a first-hand account of everything that went down this summer, but it did not do so without consequence. As social media continues to pervade Olympic athlethes’ lives, the risk imposed on their careers rises along with their celebrity.