‘World’s sexiest athlete’ Alica Schmidt named on the Forbes 30 under 30 list

She has 3.3 million Instagram followers, has been named the ‘world’s sexiest athlete’ and now millionaire sprinter Alica Schmidt has been named on the Forbes 30 under 30 list.

But despite all her fame and fortune, the German 400 metre runner insists it is ‘all about the sport’.

The 24-year-old revealed her latest accolade with a post on her Instagram stories to her adoring fan base, adding: ‘This means so much to me’.

Forbes’ annual list brings together the best entrepreneurs among people younger than 30, and Forbes estimates the group’s wealth to be more than $1billion in 2022.

In 2017, Australian magazine Busted Coverage named Alica the ‘World’s sexiest athlete’. However, in an exclusive interview with SunSport, Alica revealed she didn’t like the title.

‘This title doesn’t mean anything to me. ‘It’s based on a subjective opinion of someone else judging the appearance of a person. I like to think that beauty comes from the inside,’ she said.

However the German athlete has previously admitted that social media was essential to make a living outside of the meagre wages athletics provides.

‘It’s good for all us athletes to be active on social media in order to get sponsors,’  she told the official Olympics website earlier this year.

‘It’s not easy, especially in Germany to live from athletics. So a lot of athletes have to do another job to live from that and do the training.

‘And yeah that’s a great thing to do a social media on the side so you can get some more sponsors.’

‘Sometimes it’s not that easy. The training is, of course, the main focus and all other things come behind that. But I also love to do some model jobs or take the people with me on social media.

‘It’s a big hobby of mine and I love to do that. But the main focus is sports.’

While the benefits of Schmidt’s social media empire are plain to see, she also has to deal with her share of detractors and trolls.

She said it was important to block out the negativity and remain focused on the athletics.

‘I think you just have to let the people talk whenever they want to,’ she said.

‘There are always people who judge you. That’s part of the game and I’m happy that I have so many supporters along the way. I’m so, so grateful for that.

‘I don’t feel like I have to prove anything to anyone. It’s just for me. I just want to prove myself that I’m worth it. And I know that I work so hard for that, I know what I’m capable of and that I haven’t showed everything yet.’

Schmidt recently qualified for the European Championships and is currently training for the 2023 athletics season.