Four-time Olympic medalist Penny Oleksiak announced Thursday via Twitter and Instagram her partnership with ASICS Canada. The deal is reported to be four years. ASICS is a multi-national corporation specializing in sports footwear and apparel.
Super happy to announce my partnership with @ASICSCanada !! pic.twitter.com/AwavgSmQ7I
— Penny Oleksiak (@OleksiakPenny) July 6, 2017
This is the 17-year-old Canadian’s first major endorsement deal, suggesting she is opting for the pro route over college swimming in the NCAA. She still has one year of high school left. Note that Canada’s USports organization, which is the equivalent of the NCAA, has much less stringent rules on amateurism and allows athletes to compete even if they’re professionals.
Oleksiak was one of the biggest surprises of the 2016 Olympic Games, claiming an astonishing four medals at just 16 years of age. One of those included a gold medal, a tie with American Simone Manuel, in the women’s 100 freestyle which featured the newly minted world record holder Cate Campbell of Australia and the defending champion Ranomi Kromowidjojo of the Netherlands. She became Canada’s first athlete to win four medals at a summer Games, Canada’s youngest ever Olympic champion, and was selected to carry the flag at the closing ceremonies.
In a release from ASICS Canada, they stated: “Penny is an inspiration, and her tenacity, skill and positive competitive spirit aligns perfectly with the direction ASICS is heading in Canada. She embodies the athletic spirit we celebrate as a brand, as well as naturally demonstrates sportsmanship,” says Richard Sullivan, President of ASICS Canada. “Having watched Penny compete at Rio 2016, she not only made the country proud, but displayed her passion for sport. We couldn’t be happier to have her join the ASICS team and be a part of her training journey.”
Oleksiak believes working with a supportive partner who believes in her will be a big benefit as she works towards the 2020 Games in Tokyo.
“As I prepare for Tokyo 2020, I am thrilled to partner with a sportswear giant like ASICS. Working with a supportive partner that believes in who I am and what I need enables me to focus on evolving as an athlete,” said Oleksiak. “ASICS was a natural fit for me, because of the access I will now have to the best technology in both footwear and performance apparel. Land training is critical to competitive swimming, and this partnership will enable me to reach new levels as a competitor.”
Oleksiak is gearing up for the 2017 World Championships in Budapest, which begin July 23rd. She has qualified to swim the 100 free and 100 fly individually, the two individual races she medalled in last summer, and will definitely be a fixture on the Canadian relays.
Good move, and should she decides to study there, the University of T. is as good as any in many fields. Did the HPC broker deals with higher learning centres (graduating after 6 years instead of 4 etc…) to further help the athletes ?
No need to broker a deal per se. USport allows you to swim with 3 classes/term. You have 5 years of eligibility
Congrats Penny! You’re a national hero. I wonder what her co-gold-medalist in the 100 free, Simone Manuel, thinks about this decision.
What decision? Remaining in her home country to swim and go to school? That’s like saying I wonder whay Penny thinks of Simone not coming to Canada for school….
I’m pretty sure she would say ….” Good luck Penny.” ☺
At least this means she won’t be going to Stanford lol. Congrats, Penny!!
Canada right now has a good thing going with developing pros without an NCAA route I think some of the fear of people skipping college swimming may stem from some of USA swimming’s failures with developing young athletes into pros without a college swimming path.
To be clear swimmers in the US who go through college generally end up doing well this who don’t sometimes find it challenging
Congratulations!
Can’t we just be happy for great swimmers who are making their own choices and allowing us to sit in the stands and watch? Not everything is a one size fits all. Get off your hate train and support the athletes!
She has not ruined any eligibility. There are no rules about accepting money and competing at a Canadian University. She can compete CIS if she wants to have the “college swimming experience” and do it in the program she is training with if she desires. Not sure why she would want to compete NCAA, she has never swim nor trained yards, seems pretty risky just for a free education, which she now does not need.
can she still swim in the CIS if she is sponsored?
Yes.
Usports = CIS… they changed names last year…. for the first time in forever.
I believe it’s only worth it to go pro of your endorsements are worth more than the scholarship you would have received if you went to the NCAA
Swimmer – yours is the pragmatic perspective. There are a lot of commenters (and athletes, it’s pretty clear) who place a value on the “college experience” and “college swimming experience” above and beyond the rote financial value of the scholarship. And that…is where the big debate comes from.
I personally land somewhere in the middle. There’s value to the advisors and tutoring and nutrition experts and free coaching beyond just the scholarship, but my personal decision would swing closer to the “take the money now and pay for your own education” than what seems to happen in practice.
Once one has stood on the road of Money there would be no way to return to the road of Education. To become just a student again requires very special mind set.
But of course for many talented athletes the time in college is not exactly the time of getting educated in some other areas besides sport. In such situations it is up to them to decide which way is better. There is no general solution. Nobody can foresee how long the successful sport career can possibly be and if it is essential to start cashing as soon as possible.
There’s nothing stopping someone with a sponsorship deal from getting an education. It means they can’t compete in colleges in the United States, but that won’t stop them from being able to take classes and get a degree.
She can still get a free education in Canada.
This is a totally reasonable approach. Of course, if the athlete is a good student, a nice chunk of their expenses are going to be covered before even getting into athletic scholarships. If Oleksiak’s drive and motivation in the classroom is anywhere near her drive and motivation in the pool, her costs would be cut drastically right upfront. It’s not hard to believe that the money from endorsements would more than cover tuition and room and board.
In the case of a swimmer who won multiple Olympic medals, including gold, however, it’s not sufficient to weigh scholarships against this deal alone. Now that she has officially gone pro, I imagine more companies will be approaching her, and a suit endorsement… Read more »