Jamaican athlete Rasheed Broadbell, the reigning Commonwealth Games champion in the 110m hurdles, has been appointed as a global brand ambassador for Visa in preparation for the upcoming 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris.
Visa, the worldwide payment technology partner of the Olympics, officially made the announcement on Thursday.
Visa’s commitment to supporting athletes on their journey to the Olympic and Paralympic Games is evident through its Team Visa initiative. In total, Visa plans to back 117 athletes as they prepare for these prestigious global sporting events.
Broadbell enthusiasm about joining Team Visa
Rasheed Broadbell expressed his enthusiasm about joining Team Visa, saying, “I am thrilled to be part of Team Visa in my road to Paris 2024, my first Olympic Games. The support of a brand like Visa is key as we continue to push boundaries and elevate the sports in our region.”
While Broadbell has had remarkable success, including winning the Commonwealth Games hurdles championship in 2022, he also faced a high-profile setback at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary, earlier this year. Despite entering the Championships as the world’s fastest hurdler, a mishap at the penultimate barrier during his heat resulted in an entanglement with the barrier, allowing his competitors to pass him.
Visa’s Team Visa initiative for the Paris 2024 Olympics includes the largest and most diverse group of Olympic and Paralympic athletes and hopefuls in the program’s history, representing over 60 countries/territories and spanning 40 sports, including the newly added discipline of breaking.
Team Visa Summit held in Paris
Among the 117 athletes selected, they collectively boast 175 Olympic and Paralympic medals. Impressively, 15 members of Team Visa are aiming to compete in their first-ever Olympic or Paralympic Games. The roster also features renowned USA sprinter Noah Lyles, who is the reigning world champion in both the 100m and 200m events and won bronze in the 200m at the Olympic Games in Tokyo 2020.
Recently, Broadbell and Lyles, along with their fellow Team Visa athletes from various parts of the world, participated in the Team Visa Summit held in Paris. The two-day event featured creator-led content masterclasses focused on brand immersion and best practices for sharing their personal stories within the broader creator economy.
The Summit also provided athletes with opportunities to engage in content challenges and collaborative sessions, which included trying their hand at new sports, creating exclusive music tracks, exploring street art, and capturing trending social media content around Paris.
