iLounge

iPods are being used by a number of athletes at this month’s Winter Olympics, and while Apple doesn’t pay for endorsements, the games are providing even further free advertising for the device. U.S. Olympic Committee spokesman Darryl Seibel said Apple is “a sponsorship waiting to happen.”

“The biggest winner of all may have been Apple, maker of the tiny iPod that soared to glory along with snowboarder Hannah Teter,” repots the Baltimore Sun. “This Olympics, U.S. snowboarders have competed while listening to the personal music device, and skiers, speed skaters and other Olympians from all over the world have been observed listening raptly during practice and before competing. All of which makes for great press.”

“One of the lasting images of these games is going to be these snowboarders with their iPods,” said Abraham Madkour, executive editor of SportsBusiness Journal, a trade magazine that covers the sports industry. “It’s the perfect form of subconscious marketing.”