Nike Athletes To Wear Speedo's LZR Racer At U.S. Olympic Trials
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Nike Allowing Endorsers To Wear
Speedo Suits During Olympic Trials |
Nike confirmed that it is "allowing its seven sponsored Olympic hopefuls to doff the Swoosh and [wear] Speedo International's flashy new full-body swimsuit" at the U.S. Olympic Trials on June 29 in Omaha, according to Brent Hunsberger of the Portland OREGONIAN. Since the February launch of Speedo's LZR Racer, swimmers wearing the suit have broken 38 world records. Nike Senior Manager of Media Relations Derek Kent said of Speedo's LZR Racer, "It's a limited exception to allow swimmers to experiment with other products to satisfy their curiosity and compete without distractions." Speedo VP/Marketing Craig Brommers declined to comment "on whether Nike would extend that permission to the Olympic games." He also "declined to say definitively whether Nike was redesigning its 'Swift' swimsuit." SportScanInfo analyst Matt Powell said that Speedo's market share "has increased 7 percentage points year over year to 61[%] for the week ending June 8" (Portland OREGONIAN, 6/14). The GLOBE & MAIL's James Christie wrote, "In the long run, having Nike-sponsored swimmers in the Olympic Games is to the company's benefit, no matter whether they wear the LZR or [Nike's] Swift suit to get there" (GLOBE & MAIL, 6/14).
CHANGING THE GAME: In Ft. Lauderdale, Sharon Robb reported 3,000 LZR suits will be "made available to all swimmers at the trials, including those under contract with other companies." Ft. Lauderdale-based swim coach Ian Cross said of the LZR Racer, "This has already changed the face of swimming. When you look at all the world records that have been broken, it is a definite trend that cannot be ignored" (South Florida SUN-SENTINEL, 6/14).
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