I have to add in on Kara Goucher. Definitely marketable since she has a family and what not.
For men I have to say hands down it's Matt Centrowitz. He's been successful on both the collegiate and world stage at a distance most people can relate to (the mile, at least indoors) presents himself as a relatable guy (jokes around about pursuing girls), not bad looking, and is young.
Not to mention a bronze medalist at the World Championships.
How about Evan Jager? Kids got swag and talent... feel like he appeals to lots of high school runners, boys and girls.
What about that Italian girl, a late-teens 1500m runner, who was voted Most Attractive Runner by Letsrun a while back?
douglas burke wrote:
for the woman tirunesh dibaba is by far more accomplished, faster and better looking than any of the females mentioned.
While Tirunesh is a great talent, nobody will be interested in her once they hear/read/say her name. Look at all the big sports personalities-do any of them have "weird" foreign names? Hell, she's not even American. Or are you not talking about marketability in America...?
The Ritz cracker, Dathan Ritzenhein!
I think that many of you are confusing MARKETABLE with your FAVORITE athlete. They are far from the same. Women are responsible for 80% of all buying in the US. That means that if it is a woman it should not be a woman that is too beautiful or someone that is threatening to other women.
Men think that MARKETABLE is the woman that they want to sleep with. That is 100% wrong if you are trying to sell a product.
I've gotta go with Tom Elnick recently of Brown University. Fans will always love him for his big win at the 2007 Wizard Invite and his bronze medal performance at the 2008 Alden Invitational. He's one of the few true "household names" in our sport.
Obviously he's been up-and-down with injuries over the past couple of years, but the fact that he's still managed to stay incredibly relevant indicates just how marketable he is.
Surprised no one's mentioned him yet.
DKCCC wrote:
douglas burke wrote:for the woman tirunesh dibaba is by far more accomplished, faster and better looking than any of the females mentioned.
While Tirunesh is a great talent, nobody will be interested in her once they hear/read/say her name. Look at all the big sports personalities-do any of them have "weird" foreign names? Hell, she's not even American. Or are you not talking about marketability in America...?
Yao Ming, Hakeem Olajuwon, Dirk Nowitzki, Manute Bol, Hideki Matsui . . .
Obviously Sara Hall. How can someone who hasn't been really elite (and no, winning the Pan Am SC and the most recent US XC champs doesn't make you world class) continue to get sponsored by ASICS? Hopeful the OT will be the nail in her running career coffin.
Genevieve Lacaze
I second Tom Elnick. Was shocked to see this thread get to four pages before he was mentioned. I mean, when was the last time an American was 3rd at the Alden Invite?Also can't forget his equally talented, but more frequently injured, twin brother Mike. Having a twin definitely seems to up your profile - Torres's, Borlee's, Robertsons, Rosas.Now that they've graduated, I expect a nice little bidding war between Nike, Addidas, NB, Saucony, etc...it'll be interesting to see who lands them.
oh brother wrote:
I've gotta go with Tom Elnick recently of Brown University. Fans will always love him for his big win at the 2007 Wizard Invite and his bronze medal performance at the 2008 Alden Invitational. He's one of the few true "household names" in our sport.
Obviously he's been up-and-down with injuries over the past couple of years, but the fact that he's still managed to stay incredibly relevant indicates just how marketable he is.
Surprised no one's mentioned him yet.
Brie Felnagle
You guys don't seem to get it. Who already has their face on boxes in the store and random ads on the internet? Ryan Hall. This thread is done.
So what I've learned from reading through this thread is that 95% of the most marketable distance runners are from a country where no one really cares about distance running.
crazy person wrote:
You guys don't seem to get it. Who already has their face on boxes in the store and random ads on the internet? Ryan Hall. This thread is done.
to religious and moralistic.
Ryan Hall. Posed nude for ESPN Magazine, see him now on an Asics commercial on different channels, all over Nissan, Garmin ads. He's the one.
Definitely Jager...already see him all over the place...point of being marketable is being likeable...not necessarily the best runner in the world. So Hall way too religious...Kara Goucher always seems snobby to me....that's just me..she's good looking and all, but I really don't like her for some reason. For me it would be humble people that are still very talented such as Jager for the men, and probably somebody like Hasay or Felnagle for the women. I know many of you may disagree because for some reason you're stuck up Kara and Ryan hall's ass, but they really both blow for marketing and there are much better people to go to over them
Visa ad featuring Lopez Lomong currently being shown on US network television narrated by Morgan Freeman:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nejHSwbHpNA
Tide US Athlete video on his life:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BwZ2n0kURuY
US flag bearer at the 2004 Olympics.
Photo of Lomong with President Bush at the 2004 Olympics:
http://www.citizenship-aei.org/2011/12/coming-to-america/
No current US distance runner, male or female, is even close to obtaining this level of media exposure.
He was the flag bearer at the 2008 Olympics, not 2004. However, you are correct in that he is the most marketable US distance runner.
I love Hall but he is kind of dorky. The comercial poster boy for distance running is and will continue to be Pre.