Neeraj Chopra, Alica Schmidt, Sydney McLaughlin: Who are the track and field social media stars at the World Championships?
These six men and six women are among the most popular track and field athletes competing at this year's World Athletics Championships on social media. Who are they and how to follow them? Discover the 12 here.
Athletics
The track and field World Athletics Championships Oregon22 are upon us in Eugene, USA. For the first time in three years, a global athletics meet will take place in front of cheering adoring fans, after last year’s Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games were held without spectators. That in turns promises lots of social media action, not just from the audience but also the athletes.
Hayward Field at the University of Oregon in Eugene is sure to produce social-media-worthy moments for fans and competitors alike, with its fast track, stands right up by the running surface, and general atmosphere.
In anticipation, Olympics.com profiles 12 of the athletes with some of the biggest global followings on social media – and specifically Instagram. While this list does not profile the top 12, it aims to pick out some of the bigger names in track and field who are also social media favourites.
READ MORE: Key storylines to watch at 2022 Track and Field World Championships
Neeraj Chopra, India
India’s first Olympic champion in athletics, it’s no surprise that Neeraj Chopra features very high on this list. Chopra is a bona fide star in a country more obsessed with cricket than athletics – the javelin thrower has a whopping 5.8 million followers on Instagram, all of whom will be hoping to see the Indian star crack the 90-metre mark for the first time in Eugene. Chopra has already extended his national record close to the magical threshold, and potential history awaits in Oregon.
Alica Schmidt, Germany
Schmidt is a 400m runner from Germany with over 3 million Instagram followers and nearly a million on TikTok. So what sets this 23-year-old, who is set to make her World Championships debut, apart from the rest? While Schmidt was tagged the “world’s sexiest athlete” by an Australian magazine in 2020, the German herself rejected it, saying sport was her focus – not her good looks. Indeed, she has made her name for herself, even doing some fitness sessions with German Bundesliga football club Borussia Dortmund.
Sydney McLaughlin, USA
World record holder, Olympic champion, and the hot favourite to win the women’s 400m hurdles, there’s no surprise that Sydney McLaughlin is also one of the most popular athletes on Instagram. From her athletics exploits to her off-track life, McLaughlin shares it all with her 1 million followers – including snaps with her husband, Andre Levrone Jr, who she married just two months ago.
Yulimar Rojas, Venezuela
Yulimar Rojas isn’t just the queen of the triple jump – she’s doing it as a Venezuelan, which in turns draws support from people all across Latin America (especially now her long-time rival Caterine Ibargüen of Colombia has retired). That all contributes to make the Olympic and world champion one of the most-followed track and field athletes from her continent, at over 970,000 followers on Instagram. She also counts another 185,000 on Twitter, where she posts more frequently.
Lamont Marcell Jacobs, Italy
“Crazy long jumper”. A weird handle, you might think, for the reigning Olympic 100m champion. But that sums up Lamont Marcell Jacobs’s story pretty well – a long-jumper-turned-sprinter who stunned a quality field in Tokyo to become the first Olympic champ over the distance not named Usain Bolt since 2004. That catapulted the American-born Jacobs into the global consciousness, and with that a surge in his social media following – up to a current total of 820,000 on Instagram.
Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Jamaica
One of Jamaica’s three sprint stars with a shot at taking out both the women’s 100m and 200m titles in Eugene, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce has been there, done that, and gained the social media status. The two-time Olympic 100m champion (2008, 2012) is still at the top of her craft, and keeps her 684,000 followers updated on not just her training and competitions, but also her work in the community with her foundation to continue spreading sport in Jamaica. Another 232,000 people follow her every update on Twitter.
Alysha Newman, Canada
Some 605,000 people follow Canada’s top female pole vaulter Alysha Newman on Instagram. Newman, a two-time Olympian and the 2018 Commonwealth Games gold medallist. Newman, who is also a model, shares both track and field training as well as fashion photographs on her feed, with multiple fashion shoots taking pride of place. The 28-year-old has overcome a long-term concussion to make the Worlds team this year and has documented her comeback for her followers on Instagram.
Gianmarco Tamberi, Italy
Gianmarco Tamberi wasn’t much of a household name to non-athletics fans until the remarkable scenes at Tokyo 2020. Tamberi and close friend Mutaz Essa Barshim agreed to share high jump gold and avoid a jump-off, an act that set the Internet ablaze with chatter about the pair’s good sportsmanship and respect for each other. That, in turn, helped Tamberi collect many of his present 594,000 followers on Instagram.
Thiago Braz, Brazil
The Rio 2016 pole vault champion may have been overshadowed by other fast-rising vaulters in the years since his Olympic victory, but Thiago Braz remains as popular as ever in his native Brazil as well as on Instagram. Some 576,000 followers on Braz’s page get competition updates from the 28-year-old as well as motivational sayings in Portuguese. The Olympic record holder sure has a way with his words.
Emma Coburn, USA
Steeplechaser Emma Coburn is the second American on this list, clocking in at 532,000 Instagram followers. The 2017 world champion and 2016 Olympic bronze medallist often keeps her fans up-to-date with how her training is going, but also her reactions to how her competitions have gone. In June, after winning a 10th national title in the women’s 3000m steeplechase, Coburn shared an emotional video of herself reacting immediately after her medal ceremony.
Armand ‘Mondo’ Duplantis, Sweden
He’s the global athletics star of the moment. Men’s pole vault world record holder and Olympic champion Mondo Duplantis makes our list as well. The American-born Swede is no stranger to sharing his life with girlfriend Desire Inglander on his feed with his 398,000 followers, as well as clips and reactions to his record-breaking accomplishments, which seem to occur nearly every time he competes. A true superstar both in track and field, and on social media.
Wayde van Niekerk, South Africa
South Africa’s Wayde van Niekerk is perhaps not the record-breaking single-lap household name he once was, but the 29-year-old remains ever-popular on Instagram. While injuries have kept Van Niekerk out of the top echelon in recent years, the South African has continued to keep his 356,000 followers on Instagram updated with his rehab, training, and recovery, as well as photos of his infant son, who was born in December 2021.