TYR Sport has really made a strong move into the swimming sponsorship market with their second major splash in the last month. After signing French backstroke Champion Camille LaCourt just two weeks ago, American Ricky Berens has announced via Twitter that he too has signed an endorsement deal with TYR.
Berens was a member of the American 800 free relay that took gold in Beijing (he swam the 3rd leg in finals). He took two World Championship golds the next year as part of both American free relays in Rome. It was at that meet that he garnered his most mainstream-fame when he infamously split his polyurethane Jaked 01 suit open in the butt, which was caught on camera by any number of professional and amateur photogs (and later memorialized hilariously in this interview with the SwimBrief blog). I think it’s safe to say that he won’t have that issue wearing TYR’s Tracer line of textile jammers.
Prior to turning pro, in 2010, Berens showed incredible leadership by captaining his team through the dreaded virus that delayed the NCAA National Championship meet and to the collegiate title.
At last year’s USA-Swimming National Championship meet, Berens earned himself a spot as part of the 800 free relay for this month’s Shanghai World Championships. Earlier this year, Berens left Austin and Longhorn Aquatics that had been his training home for so long to join his girlfriend Rebecca Soni in Los Angeles at Trojan Aquatics.