LOS ANGELES, November 6. SPEEDO, the top-selling swimwear brand in the world, announced the extension of an endorsement deal with swimming superstar Michael Phelps through 2009. <\/p>\n
This summer, the 18-year old American set an astonishing eight world records in just 41 days. <\/p>\n
The deal is Speedo's richest swimwear sponsorship of all-time and includes a $1 million bonus if Phelps earns a record-equaling seven Olympic gold medals at the 2004 Olympic Games, in Athens, Greece, August 13 \u2013 29, or the 2008 Olympic Games, in Beijing, China. The new contract also extends Speedo\u2019s contribution to Michael\u2019s collegiate education.<\/p>\n
Phelps commented: "Just like most swimmers, I haven\u2019t competed in anything but Speedo even when I was a little kid and I certainly wanted that to continue because their suit and equipment innovation is simply the best. Truthfully, I have been humbled by Speedo\u2019s belief in me since our relationship began in 2001. I\u2019m excited to be part of their team for many years.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor 75 years, Speedo has always been closely tied with the world\u2019s best swimmers,\u201d said Simon Rider, President, Speedo International. \u201cOur relationship with Michael continues that trend \u2013 but at an entirely new level. That\u2019s because he\u2019s taken the sport of swimming to another level with accomplishments in his young career that seemed unimaginable just a few months ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMichael will be the face of Speedo\u2019s marketing efforts heading into the Athens Olympics,\u201d said Joe Gromek, President and CEO, The Warnaco Group, Inc., Speedo North America\u2019s parent company. \u201cBut just as importantly, Michael will continue to be a key part of our behind-the-scenes team with respect to product development.\u201d<\/p>\n
Phelps is the world record holder in the 200m butterfly, 200m individual medley, and the 400m individual medley. In July, at the FINA World Championships, he broke five individual world records \u2013 the first to ever accomplish this feat at a single international meet \u2013 and seven American records on his way to three gold medals and 2 silver medals. <\/p>\n
At 15, Phelps became the youngest male swimmer to qualify for the American Olympic team since 1932, when he earned a trip to the 2000 Sydney Games. He was also the youngest male swimmer to break a world record and the youngest United States male swimmer to turn professional.<\/p>\n
Although his Athens program is not finalized, Phelps will look to compete in multiple events in multiple strokes, distinguishing himself as the most versatile swimmer on the planet. The U.S. Olympic team will be determined at the 2004 Olympic Swimming Trials, in Long Beach, Ca., July 7 \u201314.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
LOS ANGELES, November 6. SPEEDO, the top-selling swimwear brand in the world, announced the extension of an endorsement deal with swimming superstar Michael Phelps through 2009. This summer, the 18-year<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"dois","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6106","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-zzzzzzzzz"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\r\n