Mens Journal

12

RED BULL

AMERICAN

RUNNER

NICK SYMMONDS

IS A WORLD-CLASS

PROVOCATEUR

8

He may be a long shot to medal in the 800 meters but his racing is the

least interesting thing about Nick Symmonds. The six-time U.S. national

champion is best known for taking bold stands — appearing on Russian

TV to speak against that country’s government homophobia being

quoted in a magazine in favor of banning assault weapons starring in a

PETA campaign with his own pet bunny and proclaiming his affection

for Paris Hilton. So when Symmonds runs in Rio this summer all eyes

will be on the big ugly white tape on his shoulders a covert protest

against Nike’s monopoly-like dominance of American track and field.

The short version is that USA Track & Field sells Olympic team

sponsorship to Nike for a reported $20 million a year but gives only a

fraction to its athletes leaving elite runners below the poverty line

while USATF paper pushers earn six figures. USATF also guarantees

Nike that Olympic team members regardless of their individual

sponsors wear only Nike at official team functions. Symmonds’

frustration boils over when they won’t even define those functions.

“So I’ll be eating my breakfast and I’ll have some asshole from USATF

screaming at me that I’m not wearing team gear” he says.

The IOC even forbids athletes’ sponsors from mentioning the

Olympics in advertisements meaning that Brooks Symmonds’ primary

sponsor can’t even run an ad that says “Go for the gold Nick!” That

has put such a damper on his earning potential that Symmonds started

his own company — Run Gum caffeinated gum — and resorted to

auctioning tattoo space on his body. T-Mobile recently paid $21800

which is where that ugly white tape comes in: Olympic rules require

Symmonds to cover up non-Nike brands on his own skin.

Symmonds’ company sued USATF this year for restricting sponsor

advertising but a judge dismissed the case. He’s now pushing an

alternative plan for the financial salvation of track stars everywhere: a

pro circuit like the tennis Grand Slam. Running races can be a little

uneventful but Symmonds has a fix for that too: “Basically turn it into

human horse racing” he says. “Gambling and booze are so intertwined

in American sports that trying to create a successful business model

without those things would just be dumb.”—DANIEL DUANE

CROSSFIT MADE AMERICA AN OLYMPIC

WEIGHTLIFTING POWERHOUSE AGAIN

The CrossFit craze has had

one curious consequence:

the promotion of Olympic

weightlifting a sport

we haven’t medaled in since 2000.

Because CrossFit utilizes

Olympic-style “snatch” and “clean

and jerk” lifts more athletes who

have mastered those techniques

are flooding the ranks of USA

Weightlifting. In 2008 USAW

membership was at 3383; now it’s

above 10000. This year Morghan

King a former college soccer

player who didn’t seriously lift

until she was introduced to

CrossFit in 2012 is going to Rio.

“The CrossFit community has been

able to bring in way more people”

says one USAW coach.

7

SEPTEMBER 2016 85 MEN’S JOURNAL

If Nike Were a Nation It Would Dominate

Picture this: The Nike swoosh emblazoned across an orange flag

flying high over the podium. You would see that scene in Rio a lot

if athletes played for their corporate sponsors rather than their

countries. At the last Summer Games in London in 2012 Nike

athletes won a field-crushing 161 medals making the U.S. by comparison

seem as powerful as Azerbaijan. At this year’s Games the swoosh will

appear even more ubiquitous. Nike is the midst of a multiyear sponsorship

deal that includes not only individual athletes but also the entire USOC

roster (a pact that runs through 2020).

6

161

NIKE

12

UNDER ARMOUR

104

USA

King can lift

more than

double

her body

weight.

2012 SUMMER OLYMPIC MEDAL TOTALS

FROM TOP: HAYLEY YOUNG; NAT AREM/HOOKGRIP