From podium to partnership: the Milano Cortina effect on athletes When medals turn into media value
What will we remember about the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics? The immediate answer, at least for the Italian audience, revolves around the 30 medals won by the Azzurri athletes—an all-time national record—which turned the 17 days of competition into a nationwide celebration where, almost overnight, people became experts in hockey and curling. Then of course there were the outfits, the accessories, the locations, the stories.
But beyond the obvious answers, there is something—or rather someone—we will carry with us in the years to come: the athletes. Because one of the direct consequences of these Games has been the transformation of medal winners into brand ambassadors. Nothing new, of course—brands have always leveraged popularity to amplify their products. Yet compared to the Summer Games, where the sheer number of disciplines means many athletes arrive already backed by extensive sponsorship portfolios, several competitors at Milano Cortina started as relative unknowns, only to leave Italy with follower counts capable of unlocking potentially multi-million-dollar deals.
The Athletes Who Gained the Most Followers
Let’s be clear: winter sports have their superstars too. Snoop Dogg was spotted in the stands of the Tofane cheering on Lindsey Vonn, who boasts nearly 4 million Instagram followers and endorsement deals including Rolex. Lucas Pinheiro Braathen claimed gold in the giant slalom wearing a Moncler race suit. And Eileen Gu cemented her status as the most decorated freestyle skier ever, with endorsement earnings reportedly reaching $23 million.
Still, the most compelling narratives belong to those who arrived as outsiders and left as bona fide stars. Take Alysa Liu, the American figure skater who captured gold in both the individual and team events. According to data collected by Lefty for nss sports, between February 1 and 24 her Instagram following surged from 304,065 to 5,217,705—an extraordinary 80.72% increase. In Italy, a comparable rise was recorded by curler Amos Mosaner, whose Instagram following grew by 69.26%.
Who Generated the Highest Earned Media Value
Numbers alone, however, mean little unless translated into commercial impact. In this category, Ilia Malinin reigns supreme. The “Quad God” not only delivered a spectacle on the ice but also generated remarkable visibility for his sponsors. According to Lefty’s data, Malinin was the medal-winning athlete who produced the highest Earned Media Value (EMV): $1,941,251.
EMV represents the estimated cost of achieving equivalent reach through paid advertising and the estimated monetary value of organic exposure a brand receives through athlete-generated content. The larger and more successful the athlete, the greater the traffic their posts can drive. It comes as no surprise, then, to find Amber Glenn, the American figure skater with 1.3 million Instagram followers, among the leaders. More unexpected, however, is the presence in third place of Italian athlete Francesca Lollobrigida, who won gold in the 3,000m and 5,000m speed skating events.
Italy’s Top 10 Instagram Growth
It is worth taking a closer look at Team Italy. The 30 medals secured marked a historic milestone for the Winter Olympics, and the media spotlight translated directly into social and commercial capital. For example, Giovanni Franzoni, Olympic silver medalist in downhill skiing, and Stefania Constantini, bronze medalist in mixed doubles curling, were—alongside Mosaner—the athletes who recorded the highest percentage growth on Instagram. Constantini and Franzoni also generated the highest EMV among Italian athletes after Lollobrigida, outperforming established icons such as Federica Brignone and Arianna Fontana in this particular ranking.
Fashion, Luxury and Tech Brands at the Games
Shifting focus to the brands, the data confirms what many sensed ahead of the Games: fashion and luxury felt right at home at Milano Cortina 2026. Of the 52 brands associated with medal-winning athletes, 12 belonged to the Apparel & Fashion sector and six to Luxury Fashion. It was also an edition defined by technology, with the highest EMV values generated by Google—thanks to the media exposure driven by Ilia Malinin and Amber Glenn—and Samsung, a worldwide partner of the Games and supporter of a 40-athlete Italian roster through Team Samsung Galaxy.
The Commercial Legacy of Milano Cortina
Milano Cortina 2026 was both a sporting and commercial triumph. Inevitably, the conversation will now shift toward legacy—toward infrastructure that may be repurposed or, conversely, risk falling into neglect. For the athletes, however, one certainty remains: a newly built social capital ready to be leveraged commercially. And for brands, the Games have revealed a fresh generation of ambassadors poised to define the next chapter of sport-meets-fashion storytelling.
