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Rayssa Leal is the clearest answer supported by the available historical reporting: she reportedly gained about 5.8 million Instagram followers during the Tokyo 2020 Olympics period. Simone Biles was another major growth story, but her exact gain and position in the ranking are not verified here. These are 2021-era figures, not a current ranking.
What the Tokyo 2020 follower figure means
The question is about net followers gained during an Olympic-period window—not an athlete’s total follower count, percentage growth, engagement rate, or number of viral posts. A contemporaneous GiveMeSport article published on August 11, 2021 compared athletes during the Tokyo Games cycle. Its headline names Biles and Leal, and the available reference trail reports Leal’s gain at approximately 5.8 million.
That evidence supports identifying Leal as a leading Tokyo-era growth story, but it does not establish a complete, independently checkable ordered list. The original article’s full ranking, precise collection dates, and underlying analytics method are not available in the accessible source material. It would therefore be misleading to supply exact places or follower gains for Biles or other athletes.
Why Rayssa Leal broke through
Leal won silver in women’s street skateboarding at Tokyo 2020, when she was 13. Her medal, distinctive skating, expressive personality, and strong following in Brazil helped turn the young athlete into an international social-media story. The Olympics result and the reported follower gain belong to the Tokyo Games period; they should not be confused with her later career. Leal won bronze at Paris 2024, a separate event and outside the Tokyo-era calculation.
#1 Best Overall
The result also shows why medals alone do not explain social growth. A breakout athlete can attract more new followers than a better-known champion if their performance, personality, or viral coverage reaches a new audience.
Simone Biles was another major story—but the exact number is unconfirmed
Biles entered Tokyo as one of the world’s best-known gymnasts. Her Games drew attention both for her competition and for the global conversation about athlete mental health after she withdrew from several events. Her presence in the 2021 article’s headline signals that she was among the notable Instagram-growth stories, but it does not establish her exact gain or rank without the article’s underlying figures.
Rank #2
Why there is no definitive table here
A reliable ranking needs more than a list of names. It needs a common measurement window, a consistent account scope, and comparable follower snapshots. The available material does not provide those details or the complete ordered results, so a table assigning ranks to Biles, Leal, or other athletes would imply more certainty than the evidence supports.
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Names such as Suni Lee, Sky Brown, Tom Daley, Neeraj Chopra, Ilona Maher, and Athing Mu may be sensible candidates to investigate in a full dataset, but they are not verified entries in this ranking. They should not be presented as ranked participants without confirming the source data.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How to interpret Olympic follower-growth claims
- Absolute gain differs from percentage growth. An athlete who adds millions may have a lower percentage increase than someone starting from a much smaller audience.
- Growth is not necessarily caused by a medal. A viral clip, interview, controversy, national-media coverage, or promotion by an Olympic or team account can all bring followers.
- Counts are time-sensitive estimates. Instagram totals change continuously, public counts may be rounded, and third-party trackers can use different collection times or methods.
- Account and timing choices matter. Time zones, snapshot dates, renamed or unavailable accounts, and whether the comparison includes all Olympians or only selected athletes can change the result.
For those reasons, the approximately 5.8 million figure should be read as a reported historical estimate—not an exact count, a current total, or proof that Leal had the most Instagram followers overall. The Olympics-focused gain is a different measure from who has the largest audience today.
For athlete background and Olympic results, see the official Olympics profile of Rayssa Leal and the official account of her Tokyo 2020 Visa Award.
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