10 Olympians who slay social media

The 2016 Rio Olympics begins on Aug 6 (Singapore time).

Anticipation runs high as 10,500 Olympians from all over the world head to Rio de Janeiro to participate in the games .

Part of building an athlete's appeal goes beyond their physical prowess.

Social media plays an important role and some are better at it than others.

Here's a categorised list of Olympians with some of the best social media accounts.

THE GOOFBALL

NAME: Nathan Adrian

AGE: 27

SPORT: Swimming

COUNTRY: US

EVENT: 100m freestyle on Aug 10, 12.02am || 50m freestyle on Aug 12, 12.02am

Adrian is already a three-time Olympic gold-medalist so he already has a large following online, with more than 172,000 followers on Instagram. His photographs go beyond the typical sportsman series of serious training pics.

Adrian's not averse to putting up silly selfies and posing with funny expressions, showing a completely different side to him and proving that he isn't all about his sport.

THE PHOTOGRAPHER

NAME: Emma Twigg

AGE: 29

SPORT: Single Scull Rowing

COUNTRY: New Zealand

EVENT: Single Sculls on Aug 6, 8pm

Twigg is known for winning a gold medal at the 2014 World Rowing Championships in Amsterdam.

While she documents all her adventures on a blog, it is her Instagram account that attracts much of the attention. With just over 4,000 followers, Emma Twigg's account emphasises her love for nature.

The stunning photographs demonstrate her life away from sport - travelling with friends and family, iridescent sunsets and magical moments.

 

THE FANGIRL

NAME: Claressa Shields

AGE: 21

SPORT: Boxing

COUNTRY: US

EVENT: Women's Middle 75kg on Aug 14, 10pm

Shields, who won a gold medal at the 2012 Olympics, was the first American woman to win an Olympic medal in boxing.

Her Instagram has a heavy bent towards fun selfies with other Olympians and actors.

Her descriptions are entertaining too, as she writes of her love for each person she takes a photograph with.

Her adorable photographs and hilarious captions allow fans to see another personality behind the beloved boxer - we see a character that is more relatable and that we can love just a little bit more.

THE FOODIE

NAME: Keri-Anne Payne

AGE: 28

SPORT: Swimming

COUNTRY: UK

EVENT: Women 10km Marathon on Aug 15, 8pm

Keri-Anne Payne is best known for winning a silver medal in the 10km marathon swim in the Beijing 2008 Olympics.

However, she is not just an expert swimmer. She spends her free time cooking and baking and absolutely loves it. Her website is known for its fantastic recipes and nutritional advice.

With nearly 3,000 followers, Payne's Instagram includes photos of delicious foods and drinks.

While the photos displayed aren't about just food, she also focuses on skincare for women, workout regimes, beautiful sceneries and her personal life. A fantastic all-rounder!

 

THE DETERMINED ONE

NAME: Joseph Schooling

AGE: 21

SPORT: Swimming

COUNTRY: Singapore

EVENT: 100m Freestyle on Aug 10, 12.02am || 100m Butterfly on Aug 12, 1.16am

Best known for defeating Michael Phelps in a 100m butterfly race in Texas, Joseph Schooling is focused and has a serious drive to achieve his goal of winning gold at the Rio Olympics.

Brought up in boarding school in Florida, Schooling's Facebook contains articles and videos that he shares in order to allow his fans back home to see his hard work paying off.

He's proven himself to be diligent and perseverant, especially through a recent post on Facebook, where he appealed to fans and mentioned that he would be quitting his social media momentarily in order to focus on his swimming and win a gold medal for Singapore.

 

 

THE INSPIRATION

NAME: Ibtihaj Muhammad

AGE: 30


SPORT: Fencing

COUNTRY: US

EVENT: Women's Individual Sabre on Aug 8, 8pm || Women's Team Sabre on Aug 13, 9.15pm

This is no ordinary Olympian. Ibtihaj has something to win, whether she comes home with a medal or not.

Participating in the Olympics makes her the first woman to compete in a hijab.

"I want people to see Muslims in a positive light," she told PEOPLE Magazine.

Her intense drive and perseverance through the years has allowed her to qualify for this year's 2016 Olympics. Her story is one for the history books, and will remain an inspirational story for women everywhere.

She has over 57,000 followers on her Instagram account. Her pride towards her heritage - clearly shown through her motivational captions - has encouraged Muslim women around the world to dream big.

She has a great sense of humour, too!

 

THE FILM-MAKER

NAME: Yohan Blake

AGE: 26

SPORT: Athletics

COUNTRY: Jamaica

EVENT: Men's 100m on Aug 13, 8.30pm || Men's 200m on Aug 16, 10.50pm || Men's 4x100m Relay on Aug 18, 10.40pm

Yohan Blake, also referred to as "The Beast" by fans, is known to be the youngest athlete to win a gold at the 2011 World Championships. He also holds the world record for the 4X100m relay.

His Instagram is complete with videos which highly inspire his 137,000 followers. Most of them contain a workout of some kind- some of him running on a track or him spending time with his friends.

Other videos contain Blake himself talking to the camera, offering his fans words of encouragement and reassurance.

 

THE FAMILY-LOVER

NAME: Belen Succi

AGE: 30

SPORT: Hockey


COUNTRY: Argentina

EVENT: Field Hockey on Aug 7, 4am

Belen Succi won a gold medal in the 2007 Pan American Games and followed that up with a bronze at the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing.

With over 48,700 followers, her Instagram contains pictures and quotes of her family, particularly her children.

Her photographs usually feature her young son playing hockey.

Her account clearly demonstrates life away from her sport, especially her love for family.

 

THE LIFTER

NAME: Mart Seim

AGE: 25

SPORT: Weightlifting

COUNTRY: Estonia

EVENT: Weightlifting Men's Over 105kg on Aug 17, 6am

Mart Seim is best known for competing in the 2014 World Weightlifting Championships, where he emerged fourth. He will compete in the +105kg category in Rio.

His Instagram, with over 9,000 followers, displays a plethora of videos of his workouts and the vast weights he can lift.

These jaw-dropping sequences often leave fans in awe.

 

THE POSITIVE ONE

NAME: Rohan Bopanna

AGE: 36

SPORT: Tennis

COUNTRY: India

EVENT: Men's Doubles on Aug 7, 1:45am

Currently ranked No. 15 in the world for men's doubles, Rohan Bopanna is now on the Road to Rio.

His Twitter account, with approximately 202,000 followers, has it all.

While he raises awareness by writing about current affairs that trouble our world today, he also tends to liveblog matches that he watches, and never lets down fellow tennis players.

He comes across as an impartial third-party contender, regardless of who he truly supports.

And even better, Bopanna loves to take selfies!