TYR has scored another major international partner by signing the German Swimming Federation (DSV), the world’s largest. The agreement made TYR the official sponsor of the National Team’s “deck gear,” meaning that all team warm-ups will feature the TYR logo, and will offer their suits to national team members who choose to wear them. Among the athletes who could potentially be wearing TYR-made suits at the 2012 Olympics, including their top-of-the-line Tracer suit, will be Paul Biedermann and Britta Steffen.
The deal is worth $1 million US dollars annually. Although DSV’s previous deal with Adidas was worth about 25% more, at around $1.28 million per year, TYR received a discount likely because it will not receive exclusive status in it’s category, swimsuits.
Biedermann first made a name for himself at the 2009 World Championships, where he became the first swimmer in a long time to knock of Michael Phelps in a major international competition. He currently holds 4 World Records, in the 200m and 400m distances both long course and short course. This is more records than any male swimmer in the world not named Michael Phelps. Steffen is the current LCM world record holder in the women’s 50 and 100 freestyles, and pulled off the sprint double at both the 2008 Olympics and 2009 World Championships.
The Tracer series, although seemingly not as popular stateside as Speedo’s Fastskin line, continues to win over world-class athletes and top swimming federations. If they continue to produce top times, win over world-class athletes, and put out really awesome marketing posters, they could begin to make up considerable ground.
TYR poster featuring a comic-book version of Matt Grevers, who is also a giant in real life.
The DSV is the world’s largest swimming federation, surpassing even USA-Swimming in size. In addition to the signing of domestic stars Nick Thoman, Amanda Weir, Matt Grevers, Mary Decsenza, and Ariana Kukors, TYR now has partnerships with 4 of the top European national teams. In addition to Germany, TYR also has contracts with the French, Dutch, and Spanish swimming federations through at least the 2012 Olympics.