Andre De Grasse stunned the world after becoming a triple-medallist at the 2016 Olympics in Rio. The young Canadian sprinter hails from Scarborough, Ontario, and took silver in the 200m, as well as a pair of bronzes in the 100m and 4x100m.
With his rise to fame only just beginning, De Grasse has had to adapt to life in the spotlight. Let’s take a look at how he’s coping with that online:
Fan engagement score: 7/10
De Grasse is quick to acknowledge the support from his Canadian fans, but hasn’t interacted with many of them individually (at least online.) While this did cost him a few points in fan engagement, he still achieved a relatively high score for his graciousness.
Canada you helped me feel invincible! Shout out to all my fans for all the love and support throughout the games! pic.twitter.com/0xr8ocwstr
— Andre De Grasse (@De6rasse) August 20, 2016
I would love to sit back and celebrate last night, but it’s not over yet… Stay wit me Canada. 🇨🇦 🙌🏽🏅
— Andre De Grasse (@De6rasse) August 15, 2016
https://www.instagram.com/p/BGphAGkh-LY/?taken-by=de6rasse&hl=en
https://www.instagram.com/p/BGhlUrZB-Py/?taken-by=de6rasse&hl=en
With Blue Jays fever kicking in in the midst of a pennant race, Canadian fans got a double thrill watching De Grasse throw out the first pitch this summer.
Visual media score: 10/10
For this section, we look at how effectively an athlete is using photos and videos on their social media channels. De Grasse perfected this category with some Olympic themed videos and a number of entertaining photos. Who wouldn’t love a gigantic blowup of De Grasse’s face?
Had a lot of fun today at the #TeamCanada Studio! @De6rasse x 2 😜 pic.twitter.com/SUZ15TlYkX
— Team Canada (@TeamCanada) August 20, 2016
https://www.instagram.com/p/BHuy5fTh_Pp/?taken-by=de6rasse&hl=en
This is cool: Andre De Grasse runs in Jesse Owens' 1936 conditions in an "equalizer" challenge https://t.co/7HZS4Q43Wt thanks @DavidEpstein
— Ross Tucker (@Scienceofsport) August 17, 2016
Full credit to De Grasse for even attempting this challenge, and accepting defeat.
Popularity score: 10/10
For the popularity measure, we consider the number of followers an athlete has as well as how they are generally regarded by the online public. Canadians everywhere swooned when Degrassi’s Twitter account gave a tongue twisting shoutout to the star sprinter.
You’ve got this, De Grasse. Sincerely, Degrassi 🇨🇦
— Degrassi (@Degrassi) August 15, 2016
https://twitter.com/CamNemes/status/765717214511058945?lang=en
Fans from all over the globe also took note of the budding ‘bromance’ between gold medallist Usain Bolt and Andre De Grasse.
Product placement score: 6/10
It’s considered quite normal for sponsored athletes to advertise brands through social media channels, although sometimes it can get a little overwhelming. No fan wants to feel like their favourite athlete is bombarding them with product placement. For this measure, a high score indicates less product placement, while a low score indicates lots of product placement.
While De Grasse’s feeds weren’t overrun by product placement, there was definitely a strong presence of it across his channels.
This is what precision looks like off the track. #PerfectIsntPretty #Rio2016 pic.twitter.com/DkfCzy242N
— Gillette (@Gillette) August 22, 2016
Every race is another chance to reign. @De6rasse #ForeverFaster pic.twitter.com/ZbNq2ux1jk
— PUMA Running (@PUMARunning) August 18, 2016
Keep grinding boy, your life can change in one year!🙏🏽💯
A photo posted by Andre De Grasse (@de6rasse) on Jun 6, 2016 at 8:24am PDT
https://www.instagram.com/p/BBTdhd1h-Pj/?taken-by=de6rasse&hl=en
Final score: 34/40
While there might be some room from improvement, a young superstar like De Grasse will have plenty of time in the spotlight.
