A Mighty Ducks moment

The GIST: U.S. Olympic rugby (and TikTok) star Ilona Maher and former NCAA swimmer Ann Ragan Kearns launched a skincare line today, called Medalist. The brand’s products are specifically designed for women athletes, which involved rigorous testing from Maher and other athletes across different age groups and sports. Gold in a bottle.

The founders: Kearns is a former Penn State Division I swimmer and a beauty brand veteran thanks to her award-winning PR firm, Odyssey Public Relations. Maher is a rugby sevens player who represented Team USA in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and will again in Paris this month. She has also built a strong audience in the athlete and body positivity space with over 1.5M social media followers.

• Kearns came up with the idea for Medalist after experiencing irritation from chlorine — she wanted to create a brand that was tried and tested by athletes like her. She reached out to Maher, who felt Medalist aligned with her dreams of flexing her entrepreneurial muscles. A match made in heaven.

The details: The women-founded company is driven by an entire team of women athletes, from those creating the products to the graphic designers creating launch imagery. Products are also tailored for different athletic environments across multiple sports, which differentiates Medalist in the skincare market.

The industry: The beauty industry is booming — it generated $625B in revenue globally in 2023. Social media and influencer marketing helps, especially for Gen Z (and Gen Alpha) brand-driven crazes on TikTok. Medalist kept that in mind by tapping a bevy of Trinity University athletes to model for the launch of its line.

Zooming out: Kearns and Maher identified a niche gap in the beauty industry and used their skills outside the game to fill this need. Naomi Osaka and Serena Williams each got into the makeup and skincare game recently, but it’s rarer to see a rugby player like Maher as an influencer while her sport is still securing a U.S. foothold. Even if rugby doesn’t have brand recognition in the U.S., Maher does.

• Medalist also represents a good add to the marketplace outside of sports, because if it works at clearing skin in the toughest environment, it works period. WNBA testers said they loved using the products on and off the court, which is why pro leagues are already discussing partnerships with the brand. A lay-up.

The GIST: The Women’s Super League (WSL) is getting bigger and better, and the numbers continue to prove it. After the season wrapped in May, new data from the Women’s Sport Trust (WST) and Future Sport & Entertainment indicate UK soccer fans are spending more time watching WSL matches than ever before.

📈 Viewers are staying engaged with WSL broadcasts for longer than ever before. They watched for a record 40 minutes on average during the 2023-24 season (up 11% YoY), a little less than half the average length of a WSL match. Don’t touch that dial.

📺 BBC kept WSL audiences engaged the longest. Matches shown on Sky Showcase averaged 43 minutes (up 26% YoY), but BBC One’s WSL broadcasts averaged 47 minutes among viewers (up 18% YoY). BBC was also home to the most-watched WSL game ever: a Manchester Derby that peaked at 997M viewers.

🔵 Arsenal brings the crowds, but Chelsea brings the views. Though Arsenal broke the WSL attendance record thrice this past season, Chelsea had the highest broadcast reach of all WSL clubs — an estimated 17.5M viewers tuned into its 18 televised games. The WSL champions were followed by Manchester City’s 15.8M viewers and Arsenal with 15.4M. Over land and sea.

📱 The WSL is growing its reach beyond broadcasting. Its TikTok account accrued 147M views during the 2023-24 season, up from 92.9M the previous season, making it the top domestic women’s sports league on the app.

Zooming out: The WSL season runs from September to May, which partially covers the content gap for NWSL fans during the American league’s three-month offseason. With Chelsea and Arsenal playing exhibition matches in the U.S. this summer, the WSL is primed to charm North American audiences.

• The U.S. already has hubs of Premier League (EPL) fandom, which could translate to the WSL when its UK media rights (and U.S. media rights under CBS) expire. Broadcasting played a large role in scoring $7.43B in revenue for the EPL last year, and the WSL is on a similar track. Put it on the telly.

Sha’Carri Richardson proved she’s better than ever at the U.S. Track & Field Olympic Trials. The Nike athlete ran to a lightning-fast 10.71s in the women’s 100m final — the fastest of the year — earning her a spot on the U.S. Olympic Team. Pressure, who?

• Beyond the track, Nike went all out to support their athletes at the Trials, including at their Nike Athlete House complete with everything a competitor could need. From a friends and family lounge to new Nike x Hyperice gear to speed up recovery, Nike took care of everything so these athletes could just do it.