Shipley based retailer partners with Nike to collaborate on sponsorship deal

Online running shoes, running clothing and outdoor gear retailer SportsShoes.com has partnered with Nike on a joint two-year sponsorship deal for New Zealand professional triathlete Hayden Wilde.

This deal represents the first time Nike has worked with a partner for its global athlete sponsorship programme and includes supporting Wilde for his appearance at the Paris 2024 Olympics.

25-year-old Wilde, who alongside winning bronze at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and silver in the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games for New Zealand, won the 2021 XTERRA World Championships. He also finished first in the 2022 Super League Triathlon Championship Series.

Commenting on his new sponsorship, Wilde said: “I’m absolutely stoked to turn my love of Nike and SportsShoes.com into a formal partnership. I have used Nike since the day I started racing and SportsShoes.com has always been the real deal with their support of me in the early years. One thing for sure is that we are all performance-hungry people. I plan on delivering some big wins in the years to come for the partnership!”

In 2021, Wilde joined SportsShoes.com’s Nike Athletes in Residence. This is a dedicated development programme run by the company to support up-and-coming athletes on their career pathways. Currently, there are 15 athletes in the programme and has supported leading names such as international long distance runners Jake Smith and Samantha Harrison.

Gavin Bannister, brand manager at SportsShoes.com said: “This is a hugely significant step not just for Hayden, but for all elite athletes as organisations consider how to develop sponsorship strategies. By collaborating with Nike in this first-of-its-kind deal, we are setting new standards for organisations to explore how they can leverage the power of partnerships to support athletes develop their careers.

“Hayden is an impressive triathlete. It’s our ambition that he is the first of many to graduate from our Athlete in Residence programme and secure collaborative deals with some of the world’s leading sports brands.”

SportsShoes.com was established in 1982 and offers customers more than 17,000 products from 150 global running and outdoor brands. From a running perspective these include Asics, Nike, Adidas, Hoka and New Balance whilst in terms of outdoor they include Haglöfs, Montane, Rab and Patagonia.

The company has recently acquired non-profit running race organiser Podium 5K. At its ‘Breaking 10’, British distance runner Emile Cairess broke the European 10-mile record with a time of 45:57. Last year, SportsShoes.com announced a new retail partnership with running events series and community RunThrough. The company also became official shoes partner for governing body England Athletics.

By Mark Adair – Correspondent, Bdaily

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