Taylor Swift is more than just a pop star and of late, she has been impacting everything from economies to elections and now the biggest sporting event in the world too. With the prestigious Summer Olympics 2024 underway in Paris, the singer-songwriter has taken on the new role of being the soundtrack to inspire many athletes. From Team USA using …Ready For It? in their promo to Simone Biles performing on her track in her floor routine, it’s a Swift era for the Olympics. Let’s meet some famous Olympic athletes who are Swifties.
While Taylor Swift is busy with the Europe leg of her uber-successful Eras tour, she was delighted to receive a shoutout from the US Olympic team in their promo. Taking to social media, the singer sent her regards for the athletes competing at the tournament and wrote, “So ready to scream at my tv cheering for these athletes.” The promo features notable names from Team USA including gymnast Simone Biles and Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James.
| Taylor Swift’s “…Ready For It (Live from Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour) is officially being used in new promotion for the Paris Olympics! #Olympics
— The Eras Tour (@tswifterastour) July 27, 2024
Given her success as one of the biggest artists in the pop industry, her perseverance to achieve perfection, as well as her impressive business acumen, Taylor Swift’s success story, is an inspiration to many. Add to this, a discography that boasts of songs exploring a range of emotions and it isn’t hard to understand why she has built a global fandom that includes celebrities, some of the most influential people from the sectors of politics and business as well as athletes.
Simone Biles and Taylor Swift’s bond is a heartwarming tale and one of the greatest examples of women supporting women. Legends in their own leagues, Biles and Swift have shared a friendship since 2016 when the singer gave a shoutout to the gymnast and cheered for her at the Rio Olympics. Biles has been a proud Swiftie and even gave her fans a glimpse of the iconic moment when she first met Taylor in 2017 and wrote on Instagram, “always a joy watching you perform, nice to finally meet you @taylorswift.” Seeing the two successful women in one frame, fans were quick to declare it a breaking-the-internet moment.
After Biles faced a tough moment in her career at the Tokyo Olympics, and withdrew herself from several events citing mental health reasons, Swift was among the first artists to boldly defend the gymnast. Their mutual admiration for each other is often reflected on social media as well. Showcasing the highest form of praise and love for her favourite artists, Simone recently also chose Swift’s …Ready for It? track for her mind-blowing floor routine during the Olympics qualification trials in June.
At the Paris Olympics 2024, Simone Biles continued her success streak by clinching a gold medal, with a floor exercise set to music by Taylor Swift and Beyoncé. Considering the Olympic win and the role that …Ready for It? is playing at the tournament, many Swifties have been wondering if the artist may finally make a surprise drop of Reputation (Taylor’s Version) — a re-recorded version of her sixth studio album which originally featured the song.
Yet another Olympic athlete who has been smitten by Swift fever is Anna Hall — who is competing in the women’s heptathlon javelin throw at the Paris Olympics 2024. A major tell about Hall being a huge Taylor Swift fan was seen when she shared a video showcasing her journey from performing at the Olympic trials to securing a spot on the official US Olympic team set to Swift’s 1989 track — Out of the Woods.
this my psa that taylor swift liked my instagram… i screamed in the weightroom at the olympic village when i saw the notification. if anyone was wondering😂 https://t.co/n5SprXNGJS
— Anna Hall (@annaahalll) July 28, 2024
After an eventful first half of the year where she underwent knee surgery, Hall impressively made it to the Olympic trials in June. Hence, it was a special moment for the athlete when she shared her journey for the 2024 Summer Olympics in a reel and much to her surprise, it also caught the love and attention of Taylor Swift.
After fans pointed out to Hall about Swift liking her post, the Swiftie in her responded by saying, “This my psa that taylor swift liked my instagram… i screamed in the weightroom at the olympic village when i saw the notification. if anyone was wondering.” This sweet reaction also earned a comment from the official Team USA account saying, “I think this means you’re best friends now.”
Much like Simone Biles and other Swifties all over the world who use Taylor Swift tracks to motivate and inspire them through the day, Olympic rower Michelle Sechser also revealed her favourite tracks by the singer that she has thought about while racing. Naming the likes of Shake it Off and Don’t Blame Me as her go-to tracks, Sechser told USA Today that these songs help to tune out the unexpected challenges that rowing entails and regarded the lyrics and beats of Shake it Off as perfect to get rid of the pressure. The 37-year-old American rower has qualified for the semifinal in the lightweight women’s double sculls competition at the ongoing Paris Olympics.
Sailor Daniela Moroz revealed in an interview before competing in the Olympics how Taylor Swift is a part of her competition playlist. While one would expect the power ballads of the singer to be the source of inspiration for the athlete, Moroz has revealed that Swift’s famously sombre track, All Too Well (10-minute version) is added to all her playlists. Deeming it as the “best song”, the American sailor certainly proved her Swiftie status.
Furthermore, the connection between Moroz and Swift doesn’t just end there. In fact during one of her press interactions when asked about a future biopic, the athlete chose Taylor’s best friend Blake Lively as a preferred candidate to portray her character.
Olympic ski jumper Josie Johnson clinched a silver medal at the 2024 Youth Olympic Games in January 2024. The 16-year-old athlete from Park City, Utah left fans of Swift bursting with joy as she credited the pop star for the historic win. After delivering an awe-inspiring performance at the tournament, when Johnson was asked whether she was nervous going into the jumps, the teen acknowledged feeling the pressure but added that she thought of Taylor Swift to keep herself focused.
She said, “I was thinking about Taylor Swift. Specifically, I was thinking about her Reputation dance from the Reputation Tour. That’s just what I do sometimes when I’m a bit nervous. I just do some of the dances in my head.” Netizens deemed it a celebratory moment and credited Johnson’s reply as an impactful “girls supporting girls” move. One fan also cleverly questioned, “Is Taylor Swift our Roman Empire?”
As Taylor Swift performed at the La Défense Arena in Paris, the US women’s polo team made sure to absorb all the excitement and energy from her show and use it to gear up for their Olympic competition at the same venue. The gold-medal favourites found the coolest way to prepare for the prestigious tournament by watching Swift enthral the Paris arena with her greatest hits.
In a special request made by their team manager Ally Beck and American rapper Flavor Flav, the US women’s polo team secured tickets for the Eras tour to witness an iconic evening. Sharing a glimpse of the team’s Swiftie moment, Captain Maggie Steffens wrote on Instagram, “Wildest Dreams THANK YOU @taylorswift !!!!! Hoping to channel Taylor’s energy next time we’re in this arena for #Paris2024.” Watching Swift command the stage in all her glory seemingly enthused the team to take charge of the pool in the same way.
@teamgb Meet Team GB’s Swifties… @Taylor Swift ✨ What’s your favourite era?! #erastourtaylorswift #eras #rowers #rowing #teamgb #reputation #swifties @British Rowing
If there’s one common thread that has athletes from all across the world united in a tournament like the Olympics, it seems to be Taylor Swift. The never-ending appeal of the pop star also has members of Great Britain’s women’s rowing team under her spell making them a part of the long list of Olympic athletes who are Swifties. Proudly representing the Team GB Swifties are rowers Sam Redgrave, Rebecca Edwards, Hannah Scott, Lucy Glover and Chloe Brew.
Displaying their love for the pop artist, the rowers revealed their favourite eras in a fun TikTok video. While Redgrave, Scott and Glover picked the iconic Reputation era, Edwards excitedly confessed 1989 to be her pick and named Shake It Off as her beloved banger. In a surprising move, Brew showed love for the singer’s most recent album, The Tortured Poets Department. The team also referred to Swift as “Mother Taylor” while putting in a bid to score tickets for her Wembley show.
Hong Kong’s Siobhan Haughey who recently clinched a bronze medal in women’s 200-metre freestyle swimming at the 2024 Paris Olympics is a self-admitted Swiftie. During the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Haughey confessed her love for the American artist and revealed the key role her music has played in shaping her. Speaking about how much Swift means to her and how she celebrates every song and album released by the artist, Haughey said, “I am a huge Taylor Swift fan. I grew up listening to her music and I still do till this day. I bought all of her albums and also went to her Reputation Tour in 2018.”
The swimmer has affirmed on many occasions how Taylor’s songs have helped her prepare for important tournaments and during the 2022 Fina World Cup in Berlin, she credited Swift’s Midnights album as the go-to for her pre-race routine.
American swimmer Caeleb Dressel makes his third Olympic Games appearance at the 2024 Paris Games after the 2016 Rio de Janeiro and 2020 Tokyo Olympics. The decorated swimmer already has eight gold medals and is being dubbed the next Michael Phelps. While the list of his achievements is expected to continue to soar, the swimmer has already won the internet thanks to his Swiftie badge. It was during the Tokyo Olympics that Dressel revealed how Taylor Swift was among his go-to musical artists. While speaking to Rolling Stone, he revealed that besides pop punk bands like Blink-182, a modern-day artist who features frequently on his playlist is Swift.
The enduring appeal of Taylor Swift remains common between Dressel and his fellow swimmer on Team USA, Katie Ledecky. Floored by Taylor’s diving skills which were surprisingly displayed at the Eras Tour in her viral “stage dive” moment, Ledecky raved about the artist’s talents. Beyond her musical offerings, Ledecky is a fan of Swift’s impressive underwater prowess and believes that the singer is “secretly a swimmer.” The excitement to have a meet and greet with Taylor Swift seems to be on Ledecky’s bucket list and before the Olympic trials which were held at an NFL Stadium in June, she even jokingly spoke about hoping to see Taylor Swift and her athlete boyfriend Travis Kelce in the stands.
I’m dead
Yes, I cried many times during the show.
Yes, it was incredible. You are amazing @taylorswift13 pic.twitter.com/JbpRWarbUw— Iga Świątek (@iga_swiatek) June 14, 2024
The No.1 women’s tennis player, Iga Swiątek has confessed her love for Taylor Swift on multiple occasions. After winning her fourth career French Open title in June, the Polish tennis player celebrated her win by finally attending an Eras tour show in Liverpool. While Swiątek described her experience of attending the Eras tour as overwhelming and also admitted to shedding tears at several points during the show, her excitement further doubled after receiving a special note from Swift addressed to her. With mutual admiration for one another, Taylor congratulated her on her Roland Garros win in her special note to the tennis player. On another occasion, Iga also shared how much she loved Swift’s new album, The Tortured Poets Department, and even made a separate playlist of her favourite songs from it.
(Main and featured images: Simone Biles/Instagram; The Eras tour/X)
This article was first published in Prestige Malaysia
Simone Biles is a decorated American gymnast who has eight Olympic and 30 World Championship medals.
Simone Biles is currently making her third appearance at the Paris Olympics 2024. She Biles first debuted in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games at the age of 19.
Taylor Swift has won several accolades in the music industry including Grammys, VMAs and American Music Awards. However, she has not participated in any competitions besides a local talent competition by singing a rendition of LeAnn Rimes' "Big Deal" at the age of 11.
Senior Digital Writer, People, Entertainment and Fashion
Surabhi Redkar is a pop culture enthusiast with a keen interest in celebrity fashion and beauty trends. A post graduate in multimedia journalism from Birmingham City University, she has worked with several ..Read More
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