There are a huge amount of world class athletes who are going to be in London this summer, showing exactly what they can do across the track, field, pool and various other environments.

However, most Olympic athletes, talented though they are, don't have the fame, presence, or sponsorship pulling power of the Usain Bolts of this world. But they can build a presence via social media, or at least, the more tech-aware athletes can.

Such as Ricky Berens, an American swimmer, who has been working hard on developing his social media presence on both Facebook and Twitter over the past year. He enlisted some help from a media marketing firm, and has picked up some sponsorship deals from his profile-raising efforts - including the likes of BMW.

Berens told Mashable: "You're not getting all the TV time, so you have to create your own story. Social media gives me a chance to do that."

He takes the time out to chat with fans on social networks, to encourage youngsters attempting to follow in his footsteps, and he's been busy revamping his personal website.

"I think businesses are starting to realize the potential of having social media as one of their main channels. So when they look to sponsor athletes, they want to see how big of a following they have on Twitter and Facebook and how involved they are."

Source: Mashable