A gendered analysis of Olympic athletes' visual self-presentation on InstagramResubmitted to Sport Management Review

Today’s elite athletes face increasing demands to develop a new media presence in order to build their personal brand and connect with a wide variety of stakeholders. Myriad studies have focused on athletes’ new media use by examining content posted online; however, few studies have examined new media usage from the athletes’ perspectives. Using the theoretical framework of self-presentation theory to uncover athletes’ new media perceptions, goals, and strategies, semistructured in-depth interviews were conducted with six elite female athletes training for the 2016 Rio Olympics. Findings revealed that although athletes had goals for sharing their lives, developing connections, sponsorship, and self-promotion, they did not employ specific strategies to meet these goals or attempt to measure whether their goals were met. Gender-related findings included feeling pressure to post sexually suggestive images and receiving unwanted private communications from male fans. The implications are discussed within the paper.

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Numerous studies have focused on athletes’ use of social media by examining the content posted on social media sites, revealing an opportunity to gather firsthand experiences from athletes. Using uses-and-gratifications theory as a theoretical framework to inform an open-ended questionnaire, the authors examined athlete attitudes toward their social media use during a major sport event, as well as the gratifications they received and the challenges they experienced from this use. The study assessed a sample of 57 athletes and their social media use across 20 international major sport events. Findings revealed that social media enabled athletes to communicate with family and friends. Having a connection to home through social media can make athletes feel relaxed in a high-pressure environment. The results reveal uses and gratifications not previously found in research on athlete social media, while also underscoring opportunities for sport organizations to enhance social-media-education programs they provide to athletes.

Social media present athletes with a number of benefits and challenges. As a result, various sport stakeholders have debated appropriate social media use among athletes at major sport events, with some suggesting that using these platforms can have negative consequences. The purpose of this research was to examine the elements of social media that athletes perceive to be distracting during major sport events and the practices they undertake to address such distractions. Interviews with Australian elite athletes (N = 15) were conducted and data were analysed using thematic analysis. The findings reveal several elements associated with distraction, including positive and unwanted messages, branding pressures, and competitor content. Athletes reported two key practices that assisted in overcoming distractions, including switching off and handing over the control of their social media accounts. The findings extend distraction-conflict theory to athlete social media research, while presenting a preliminary conceptual model to assist researchers in further understanding the potential impact of social media distractions on athletes. Opportunities for sport practitioners to develop or implement social media education programs are described.

This article aims to develop a better understanding of how sport fans perceive events' social media presence. An online qualitative survey was conducted with sport fans (n ¼ 105) of four professional tennis events (Australian Open, Roland Garros, Wimbledon, and U.S. Open). Findings suggest that fans perceive the events' usage of social media to be about three aspects: interaction, insight, and brand anthropomorphism. In addition, fan responses suggest that while Facebook is the most popular site for general social media usage, these fans consider Twitter to be their most preferred platform to follow the events. Finally, fan responses illustrate three barriers that brands need to overcome in order to successfully develop and execute their social media strategy: competition with other media, a lack of yearround incentives, and technological capabilities of the platforms, which ultimately influenced fans' motives and use.

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Research question: Ambush marketing is utilized at all major sporting events, and Rule 40 of the Olympic Charter is designed to prevent ambush marketing tactics during the Olympic Games, restricting what content athletes can post on social media about non-Olympic sponsors. Utilizing ambush marketing as a framework to guide our examination of athletes' adherence to Rule 40, the purpose of this study was to examine Olympic athletes' social media posts from the 2016 Olympic Games to determine whether athletes violated Rule 40 and therefore engaged in ambush marketing.Research methods: Using content analysis, this study examined 100 randomly selected U.S.Olympic athletes' social media posts on Instagram for a six-week time period before, during, and after the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. Frequencies, chi square, and independent samples ttests were calculated with SPSS25.Results and Findings: Significant differences in posting behaviors existed during the three time periods, and over 19% of all posts during the blackout period violated Rule 40, indicating a form of ambush marketing by the athletes. Additionally, athletes appeared to miss opportunities to highlight their personal sponsors and build their athlete brand after the Games.Implications: Athletes play a role in the Olympic ambush marketing network, whether intentionally or unintentionally, and Rule 40 enforcement issues were apparent, leading to questions about its feasibility. Athletes' brand-building efforts should extend to the time period after the Olympic Games, as they have the ability to highlight sponsors in their posts to a greater degree during this timeframe.