Nike Will Allow Swimmers To Wear Speedo's LZR Racer At Olympics
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Nike To Allow Endorsers Like Hansen To
Wear Speedo LZR Suit At Beijing Olympics |
Nike has "agreed to allow its Olympic swimmers to wear the Speedo LZR Racer suit for Olympic competition," according to Darren Rovell of CNBC.com. Sources said that Nike swimmers "received a letter telling them that wearing the Speedo brand during the games would not be seen as a compromise to their contract" with Nike. Nike Dir of U.S. Media Relations Dean Stoyer said, "Nike is a company that exists to serve athletes -- hence this limited exception to allow Nike swimmers to compete without distractions was the correct thing to do given the very unique circumstances." Agent Evan Morganstein, who reps Nike sponsored swimmers Aaron Piersol and Brendan Hansen, "all but acknowledged that the switch would take place." Morganstein: "I always appreciate Nike's willingness to have my clients wear whatever is right for them. As far as I know, my clients will wear the same suit they wore at the trials." Piersol and Hansen "donned the Speedo suit" during the June 29-July 6 U.S. Swimming Trials in Omaha. Rovell noted Nike will "still benefit from potential wins by Piersol and Hansen because the two will still wear their Nike cap and goggles, but other companies have not reacted as positively." adidas is "insisting that its home country Germany, which it has a $6.2[M] contract with through 2009, wear their swimsuit despite outspoken comments from the team and their desire to go Speedo." Also, swimsuit manufacturer Arena reportedly "broke off its sponsorship deal with the Italian swim team earlier this week after their star Filippo Magnini switched from their brand to the Speedo variety" (CNBC, 7/30).
SPIN CYCLE: In London, Stef Blin reports Japanese Olympic cyclist Tomohiro Nagatsuka plans to wear Speedo's LZR Racer swimwear beneath his tracksuit during the Beijing Games. Nagatsuka said that "knee-length LZR shorts helped [him] slash his personal 250-metre record by about 0.2 seconds to 17.8 seconds in training." Nagatsuka: "I thought what was effective in swimming would be also good in cycling" (TELEGRAPH.co.uk, 7/31).
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