Shiffrin Seen as Olympics Marketing Champ After Winning Gold

Peter Carlisle, the sports agent who represents Olympians Michael Phelps and Apolo Ohno, began pitching downhill skier Mikaela Shiffrin to potential sponsors months ago. That job got a lot easier last week.

Shiffrin, an 18-year-old with TV-ready looks, won the women’s slalom event in Sochi -- emerging as the most marketable star of the Olympics, according to Baker Street Advertising executive Bob Dorfman. The exposure led to conversations with a wide range of companies, which see her as the rare athlete that transcends her sport, said Carlisle, a managing director at the agency Octagon. The goal is to forge long-term partnerships with brands such as Samsung Electronics Co., he said.