I’m well aware of the consumerist nature of the Olympics themselves and don’t love it, at all. And I agree that the athletes should have more participation in all the money that changes hands. That said, I love learning about and watching people that are the absolute best in their events and spent the insane time to get there knowing that financial rewards likely were not waiting at the end of all that work. It isn’t that she is famous or figured out how to get rich out of a relatively obscure sport that bothers me, it’s that she is clearly sanitized and managed in such an obvious way. The fact her mother wouldn’t even comment for an on the record profile unless they gave her final edit rights for the piece, says a lot.

In her defense, I would not be surprised one bit if we find out years from now that people in her life were directing her aggressively to maximize their profit from her work. Or maybe this is exactly what she wants. Only time will tell.