I wish these National writers would call this what it is, which is just being a basic influencer. Her popularity has nothing to do with her athletic ability or performance, and her value to a business as a female athlete would be $0 if she wasn’t a smoking hot girl who knows how to tease dudes on the internet.
There’s a clear difference between someone like Quinn Ewers, who is being purchased by boosters for on-field potential but will probably never be seen advertising a single product, and women athletes like this who are being rewarded exclusively based on their social media followers. The latter is the same business model that exists for all women as long as they are hot enough and comfortable enough with the idea of strange men beating off to their pictures. It has nothing to do with athletics whatsoever, so I don’t understand why a national journalist is acting like this is some big advancement for track and field athletes when it’s actually just par for the course for sexy attention whores.