PARIS, France — Italian gymnast Giorgia Villa played a role in her country's return to the podium for the first time since 1928, but what's a silver medal when you've already struck gold?
Social media went wild this week after discovering Villa was a brand ambassador for Parmigiano Reggiano. No, not a brand or company, but the cheese. Well, officially, it's the official consortium of producers of parmesan cheese.
"I need the people to know that olympic silver medalist giorgia villa is sponsored by parmesan cheese and regularly posts pics of herself with giant wheels of cheese," one user posted on X, which was shared more than 22,000 times.
Pictures from a photoshoot of Villa doing the splits, a handstand and other poses with massive wheels of cheese quickly gained traction on social media.
Villa hasn't shared a Parmigiano Reggiano-sponsored post since 2022, and the consortium didn't immediately respond to questions about if the partnership is ongoing.
Villa was set to compete in Tokyo but a sprained ankle just days before the Games kept her out of her first Olympics. The 21-year-old competed with Italy for the Paris Olympics team final but did not qualify for any individual apparatus finals in Paris.
According to Italian marketing agency Impresa e Sport, the company behind the partnership, other Parmigiano Reggiano ambassadors have included basketball player Nico Mannion, fencer Matteo Neri and Paralympic Swimmer Giulia Ghiretti.
