The 2020 Summer Olympics are set to begin in Tokyo on July 23, 2021, almost exactly
one year after they were originally supposed to start in 2020. However, due to the global
COVID-19 pandemic, the Summer Games faced a delay, being postponed due to concerns over
athletes' and attendees' health and safety. After much anticipation, though, the Games
are almost here, and athletes are competing in their national Olympic trials to determine
if they'll be able to travel to Japan to represent their country.
"Let's go!"
One such athlete to make her nation's Olympic Track & Field team is Alica Schmidt, a sprinter
who will compete in the 4x400 women's relay, as well as the 4x400 mixed relay, an event
that is making its Olympic debut in Tokyo. And while Schmidt is well-known and well-lauded
for her athleticism and skill, she has also made a name for herself for her striking good
looks.
The German track and field star was, in fact, dubbed the "World's Sexiest Athlete" by Australian
sports blog Busted Coverage back in 2017, and that description of Schmidt has since
shown up all over the internet, from the New York Post to Maxim to British tabloids like
The Sun.
The Sun reported that Schmidt was actually approached by Playboy to model for their magazine,
due to her viral success. However, she ultimately turned it down, and questioned why people
would be interested in her looks over her athletic achievements. According to The Sun,
Schmidt said,
"I do not know why I got this title. Sport clearly comes first. There are thousands of
girls on Instagram who look good and still do not have as many fans."
Like any media-savvy star in the 21st century, Schmidt has taken the opportunity to grow
her brand on Instagram. The Olympic-bound athlete has a significant following on the
social media site, boasting an impressive 1.8 million followers as of the making of
this video, a number that is surely only going to grow as she makes an appearance at the
Tokyo Summer Games.
While she definitely highlights her athleticism on her Instagram, posting pictures of herself
from various meets and during her training, she also shows glimpses of her life outside
of the sport. Schmidt appears to be an avid fan of traveling, posting images of her travels
throughout the world prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
She also is a proponent of healthy eating and uses her Instagram to share details about
her eating habits and how that helps her training regimen. In fact, she once shared via a post
that her family "always says that food is [her] favorite topic." She told her fans that
she liked to "eat as healthy and clean as [she] can" and that she "love[s] to cook,"
a hobby she occasionally documents online.
While she uses her large Instagram following to showcase her life and training routines,
Schmidt also relies on her social media account to highlight some of the endorsement deals
she has made over the past few years. She seems to have had promotional agreements with
a variety of food organizations, which are peppered throughout her Instagram, like a
pasta company and a snack box company.
Schmidt also has active endorsement deals with Foodspring and Puma, according to her
Instagram bio. Foodspring is a German "fitness food" company, per its official website, and
Schmidt often posts images of herself with the brand's products. Additionally, she has
partnered with Puma to be one of their brand ambassadors, as seen on their website.
In 2018 she took part in a commercial for the brand, with a voiceover answering the
question, "Why run?" The extended version shows Schmidt — decked out in Puma gear
from head-to-toe — running through the streets of Berlin. Puma is still Schmidt's official
sponsor, so it wouldn't be surprising to see her rocking the brand while competing in Tokyo.
Though the 22-year-old Schmidt is relatively young for a track and field athlete, she seems
to be planning for a life off the track as well. As seen on her Instagram, alongside
her rigorous Olympic training schedule and her endorsement requirements, Schmidt is also
taking college classes. She shared in one of the videos that she is studying Media and
Communications Management and has been doing so since October 2018.
Schmidt has also answered many questions from her fans about the process of her specific
university study, as she has been enrolled in distance learning prior to the COVID-19
pandemic. She said she chose that method of study because it allowed her to simultaneously
go to school and continue training at the high level she needed in order to be globally
competitive.
It seems like Schmidt is well on her way to achieving her goals both athletically and
academically. Good luck in Tokyo, Alica!
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