Ellie Simmonds tipped to be highest-earning British Paralympian

Ellie Simmonds could be set become the highest-earning British Paralympian ever with a surge in commercial and sponsorship earnings following her gold medal wins at the London 2012 Games.

EllieSimmonds.London

Sponsorship experts predict the 10-time Paralympic gold medal swimmer, who has dwarfism, will be swamped with further offers after the Games end next week (9 September).

The 17-year old has signed Games-time deals with London 2012 sponsors such as Adidas, BMW and Cadbury.

Simmonds won her second gold medal of the Games last night (3 September) when she set a world record time in the SM6 200m individual medley final. It marked her second win of the event, after being victorious in the SM6 400m freestyle at the weekend (1 September).

The performances are set to boost Simmons’ brand value at a time when media interest in the Paralympic Games has never been so high, according to Nigel Currie, director of sports marketing and sponsorship at Brand Rapport.

Currie says Simmonds is currently earning about £300,000, but adds that this could rise to £500,000 depedning on how well she performs.

He adds: “Just four years ago, there would have been very little prospect of Paralympic athletes attracting significant levels of sponsorship.

“Around a dozen athletes from Paralympic GB will earn six figure sums from sponsorship and commercial endorsements [now]. Ellie Simmonds looks like once again being one of the stand out athletes and personalities of the Paralympic Games and could realistically earn £300-£500K over the next 12 months from commercial deals.”

Rupert Pratt, managing director at Generate, says: Brands and companies will want to buy into the success associated with her, because clearly what brands want is to be associated with successful athletes and she is one of Britain’s most successful.”

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