Nike is "significantly stepping up its association with the Olympic movement" by taking over from Mizuno as official clothing supplier of the IOC, according to David Owen of INSIDETHEGAMES.biz. In its new role, Nike garments will be supplied until the end of '16 – a period including both the 2014 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games in Sochi and the 2016 Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro. Japan's Mizuno had been clothing the IOC since '95. The move is "likely to be interpreted as a further sign of improving relations" between the U.S. and the IOC after the tensions of recent years. Nike is already both a sponsor and official outfitter of the USOC. The Oregon-based company also provided competition and ceremony uniforms for the four London Games competitors from Netherlands Antilles and South Sudan who competed as independent Olympic athletes (INSIDETHEGAMES.biz, 9/12). IOC Marketing Commission Chair Gerhard Heiberg confirmed the deal to Around the Rings. A public announcement "could come within a few days." Sources familiar with the agreement said that only product is involved, not cash (AROUNDTHERINGS.com, 9/13).
