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Alysha Newman, one of a growing group of athletes to run OnlyFans accounts, caused controversy on Wednesday after celebrating an Olympic pole vaulting bronze by twerking.
The Canadian pole vaulter had broken her national record by clearing 4.85 metres in a hotly contested final on Wednesday night, becoming the first Canadian woman to win a medal in the event in Olympic history to equal Edward Archibald in 1908 and William Halpenny four years later.
But her risqué celebration – shaking her posterior towards the crowds and watching TV cameras – will doubtless have been intended to help boost growing revenues for her adult-only OnlyFans’ site. Charging £10-a-month, the 30-year-old’s earnings are expected to soar after her success in Paris.
But social media users were divided on her celebration, with many accusing her of attention seeking while others defended her celebration as enjoying an historic moment.
Newman, from Delaware, Ontario, in Canada, cleared the same height as rival Katie Moon but the American missed fewer attempts to land silver.
A host of athletes have been using the raunchy online platform to help fund their Olympic dreams. Jack Laugher, who claimed bronze for Great Britain in the men’s synchronised 3m springboard, previously told Telegraph Sport how he was part of a growing group to sell images on the site. “Yes, I try and make extra money,” Laugher said. “Obviously, I’ve got something people want, and I’ll happily cash in on that. I’m a bit of a hustler and I want a bit more money if I can.”
Noah Williams, who partnered with Tom Daley in the 10m synchronised platform at the Paris Olympics, is another diver who posts on the site, while tennis player Nick Kyrgios has also signed up, albeit with a fully clothed photograph.
Users can choose what they post on OnlyFans, but the site more widely includes sexually explicit images and concerns have been raised at the degree to which children are protected from the 18+ platform. But sporting federations have taken a relaxed position towards athletes’ use of it.
OnlyFans says that it hosts numerous professional sports people and Laugher confirmed that other divers joined in after hearing about the earning potential. “I was the first person to do it in our team,” he said. “Dad was saying to me, ‘You put stuff out on Instagram for free – but when the product is free, like Instagram is, you are the product’. So now I’m giving people stuff which is very similar to what I post online, but it’s for a small subscription fee.”
Athletics is the only sport awarding prize money at this year’s Olympics ($50,000 per gold) despite the billions that the International Olympic Committee generates in broadcast and commercial revenues.
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