Not everyone is Léon Marchand, Teddy Riner or Antoine Dupont. Gold medalists in less exposed disciplines at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games are experiencing this in recent months. Despite a spotlight during the summer, some are having difficulty finding sponsors ready to support them until the Los Angeles Games in 2028, where visibility will be less compared to last summer, spent at home.
“When you are a gold medalist, you imagine that you will receive lots of calls, and that is simply not the case. Ultimately the first step, even before finding new partners, is to try to keep those who were already there”poses Manon Apithy-Brunet, Olympic saber champion. “There was no effect after the gold medal. There were no new proposals, and on the contrary, I have 50% of my partners who stop. For one of between them, it was a one-year contract, and there was no new signing. For the other, it's a construction company and it's difficult for them at the moment.confirms Jules Ribstein, Paralympic champion in PTS2 triathlon.
A striking contrast with the period preceding Paris 2024, during which many companies wanted to be part of the adventure. “I was able to land partners who were not at all planned,” remembers Manon Apithy-Brunet. “Partners called me without even knowing what they wanted to do,” says Mathieu Bosredon, triple gold medalist in Paris in para-cycling in the H3 time trial, the H3 road race and the mixed team relay.
Once the Parisian euphoria has subsided, companies are not looking ahead to Los Angeles 2028 in the same way. “In people's minds, we've already moved on to something else. I didn't expect it to be Versailles, but I told myself that by winning gold it would be quite easy to find partners. In the end, I have the feeling that the gold medal is good for those who have bet on me in recent years, they made a good choice, a nice little publicity stunt, but it is not the future “regrets Jules Ribstein, who spends around ten hours a week looking for sponsors or honoring existing contracts.
“The global economy is suffering”explains Antoine Léon, founder of the High Performance Management agency, which supports athletes in their search for sponsors, including boxer Billal Bennama, Olympic vice-champion in the under 51 kg category. “Companies are struggling to turn a profit. They are more selective in their spending factors and sponsorship is not a priority. Companies who respond to me tell me they are suffering. Even if they have sponsored in the past , or if they want to do it in the future, they must first get past the zone of turbulence. Furthermore, sponsorship has a tax benefit, but when a company does not generate many results, it is of no use to it. not much point in tax exemption”adds the agent.
In this context, the search for sponsors becomes “the sinews of war“, as Nicolas Gestin explains. “I also thought that it was going to fall on me, then you become a little disillusioned. If we imagine that a kayaker is going to be like Léon Marchand with LVMH, we are wrong. But ultimately it's a blessing in disguise, that allows me to build a project that I like and in which I want to invest myself”explains the Olympic champion. He wishes to partner with companies that can support him in his community projects with child protection, or ecological projects since he is campaigning for the return of natural rivers in his sport.
Sponsors become all the more essential to him as he estimates that his seasons will now cost him more. “It is in my interest to be supported more than I was before, because I am moving from anonymous sport to professional sport, which is much more visible. To continue to perform, I need to surround myself with a press officer, perhaps an agent, an accountant… Fees that I didn't have before the gold medal”he elaborates.
This choice of support paid off for Mathieu Bosredon, who found a balance with his sponsors, thanks to his entourage. “There are a lot of athletes who don't want to surround themselves because it can seem cumbersome, it costs money, but it allows them to maintain the link with companies, to be very structured and to save time “he assures.
To help Billal Bennama find sponsors, Antoine Léon and his agency, for example, reworked his social networks. “An athlete, for a brand, is a marketing product and a means of communication. If an athlete does not have many followers, or the audience type is not varied enough, with for example too many 18-25 years old while the company is targeting forty-somethings, it will not follow”he explains.
While waiting for partners to take the bait, the Olympic bonus received by the medalists can act as financial security, although it is taxed. With the hope of a new contract as a Christmas present? After calls on TV sets, Aurélie Aubert, highly publicized Paralympic boccia champion in September, ended up signing a partnership contract with Kinder chocolates on Wednesday December 18.“We have to waitwarns Nicolas Gestin. There are companies I have applied to who will make their choices at the beginning of 2025.”
