Daniel Wiffen’s success in the pool in Paris has been well documented, but his status as one of Team Ireland’s most marketable athletes is a product of more than just the medals he brought home to Magheralin.
The confidence and swagger which served him so well in the water was on display too in his media interviews, with easily digestible quips and soundbites gaining considerable traction online.
This heady combination of performance and personality has prompted Irish sports fans to vote Wiffen as the second-most marketable Team Ireland athlete behind Rhasidat Adeleke in a survey conducted by Teneo Sports Advisory following the Games.
Strange as it is to say about a European and world champion and world record-holder, it feels as though Wiffen had been swimming somewhat under the radar of the Irish public before these Games.
The Olympics captures our imagination like few other sporting occasions, occupying the front pages daily throughout. Wiffen’s performances in and out of the pool exposed him to a whole new audience, who immersed themselves in the Olympic bubble this summer, thanks in no small part to the favourable time difference of the event in Paris.
Whilst Rhasidat Adeleke is seen by the sports fans as far and away the most marketable Team Ireland athlete, taking 64 per cent of the vote, Wiffen is out on his own in second place on 16 per cent, ahead of rower Paul O’Donovan (7 per cent), Rhys McCleneghan (5 per cent) and Kellie Harrington (4 per cent).
Though his gold medal swim did not feature in RTÉ's list of the most watched events, his victory in that 800m freestyle final was named the most memorable Team Ireland moment of this summer’s Games, with 38 per cent of the vote.
In second place, on 25 per cent, was Kellie Harrington’s historic back to back gold medal victory. Although her final brought RTÉ its biggest sports audience in a decade, with 1.4 million viewers, the novelty of a swimming gold appears to have struck a chord with sports fans.
While RTÉ broadcast figures suggest not everyone watched the race live, Wiffen’s interviews before and after the race were box-office and undoubtedly contributed to him topping the poll.
Ireland’s exploits on the track were also recognised by survey participants. One in five voted for the efforts of Sharlene Mawdsley, Phil Healy, Sophie Becker and Rhasidat Adeleke in the 4x400m relay final, where they fell agonisingly short of a medal, as their most memorable moment of the Games.
A third of respondents voted Wiffen’s social media content as the most engaging of all Team Ireland athletes during the tournament, perhaps unsurprising for someone with their own established YouTube channel, running Swim Twins alongside his twin brother and fellow swimmer Nathan.
A video Wiffen posted about the freebies Olympians get was widely shared on social media platforms and has over 75,000 views on YouTube.
An “unboxing” video of Wiffen’s gold medal has over 2.9 million views and 120,000 likes on Instagram. Not quite the 5.2 million likes Team USA’s Simone Biles received for one of her Instagram posts displaying her medal haul during the Games but, in fairness to Wiffen, Biles has almost 12 million followers on the platform. Wiffen is still just shy of 100,000, but that represents a phenomenal 418 per cent increase in his following during the Olympic Games alone, according to Olytico.
Biles is one of the most marketable Olympic athletes, making over $7 million in brand endorsements in 2023. While Irish athletes will envy her commercial clout, it is unfair to compare an established international superstar with her own Netflix show with athletes like Wiffen or Adeleke, who are in the infancy of their careers, albeit with huge potential to grow their profile and endorsement earnings.
Adeleke went into the Olympics with lucrative sponsorship deals with Nike, KPMG and Allianz, while Wiffen was an ambassador for PTSB as part of their Team Ireland sponsorship, in addition to his deal with Finis, a US-based swim apparel company. Both athletes will now be commanding significantly higher endorsement fees post-Paris.
Wiffen and Team Ireland’s other top performers are firmly in the shop window for brands who will be keen to align themselves and their products with Ireland’s Olympic heroes. While it is important that athletes capitalise on the Olympic spotlight, they need to ensure they choose companies who are an authentic fit with their personal brand and can offer stable, long-term and mutually beneficial partnerships.
Alan Keane is a Senior Consultant in Teneo Sports Advisory, a leading sponsorship consultancy and part of Teneo Ireland.
