Supporting Athletes - 2020 Olympic Marathon Trials
Jeremy Nelson | Founder of ROLL Recovery
Supporting athletes is part of our DNA. ROLL Recovery was built on the foundation that the tools we create will sell themselves if they truly help athletes in their daily lives. When the time came to launch the R4, there was an opportunity to advertise during the 2020 Olympic Marathon Trials taking place this weekend in Atlanta, GA. What a great opportunity, right? To get in front of thousands of people for a 30 second spot on television. Then we asked ourselves, where is the ad revenue going during the Olympic Trials? Is revenue being shared with the athletes that we are all watching like in other major sports? Are they supporting our sport and giving back to those who work tirelessly day in and day out? As we already knew from the 2016 Marathon Trials, which some of us here at ROLL Recovery competed in, USATF actually requires athletes to pay an entry fee to compete. Requiring the athletes we select for our Olympic Team to pay in order to compete for the opportunity to represent our country is wrong. And any revenues generated during the broadcasting tends to find itself in some executive's pocket and not the athletes. 2016 Press Release. While we believe Atlanta Track Club has done an incredible job of supporting athletes we believe the governing bodies have a long way to go. So for us it was an easy decision to make. Use the budget we could have used for a 30-second commercial to send every athlete competing in the Olympic Trials Marathon a package with our brand new R4. We know the work, dedication and sacrifice it takes to qualify for the Olympic Trials. We’re beyond proud to do what we can for the community and sport we love. Take a look at these smiling faces below and tell us it wasn’t worth the cost?
