Walsh-Jennings, Leyva Headline Dick's Sporting Goods Olympic-Hopeful Endorsers

Dick's Sporting Goods identified 11 U.S. Olympic hopefuls it is sponsoring for the Rio Games in addition to more than 170 athletes working in its stores under the chain's employment partnership with the USOC. Beach volleyball star Kerri Walsh-Jennings and gymnast Danell Leyva are part of its sponsorship roster, which includes athletes from eight different sports who have signed deals apart from the employment program. Paralympics track and field athletes Mark Braun and Lex Gillette have also struck deals with Dick's. The employment program’s 170 athletes from 36 different sports, including more than 30 Paralympians, are working in 87 different Dick's locations while they train for the Olympics. Dick's last February agreed to give Olympic athletes flexible work hours and competitive wages while they train under a four-year deal to sponsor the USOC.