Gold-Medal Athlete Phelps Extends Speedo Swimwear Contract
The relationship between Speedo and Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps has been golden. And it will continue for a few years.
Speedo USA, with offices in Los Angeles, announced it has extended its contract with Phelps through 2013, which means Speedo will be front and center at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.
Phelps, the country’s top swimmer, has been part of Team Speedo since 2001. He has been instrumental in developing and promoting Speedo’s high-tech LZR Racer suit, which Phelps wore during his historical win of eight gold medals at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.
“Michael has transformed the sport of swimming, with more fan interest and participation than ever before,” said Joe Gromek, chief executive and president of Warnaco Group Inc., the New York company that holds the North American license for the Speedo brand.
Phelps will continue to be part of an athlete advisory group to the Speedo Aquashy;lab, the research-and-development center in Nottingham, England, that produced the LZR Racer, an expensive suit that has been highly controversial. The suit is made of high-tech materials that cut drag and apply pressure on the body to make it more hydrodynamic.
But recently, FINA, swimming’s governing body, announced during this summer’s world championships in Rome that it had changed swimwear regulations, outlawing non-textile suits at the beginning of 2010.
Men’s suits won’t be allowed to extend above the navel or below the knee, while women’s suits can’t go above the shoulder or below the knee.
Speedo’s LZR Racer will be banned as well as other high-tech suits, such as the Arena X-Glide, a polyurethane suit considered even faster.
Speedo said it is working on a new suit that will meet FINA’s requirements and be ready for the 2012 Olympics.
Other Speedo Team swimmers include Olympic medalists Natalie Coughlin, Ryan Lochte and Katie Hoff of the United States, Libby Trickett and Eamon Sullivan of Australia, Park Tae Hwan of South Korea, and Rebecca Arlington of Great Britain.—Deborah Belgum
