NEW BALANCE ADDS WORLD CLASS TRIATHLETE LUKAS VERZBICAS

TO TEAM NEW BALANCE

 

 

BOSTON, February 19, 2014
‰ÛÒ Global athletic leader New Balance announced today the signing of
their latest Team
New Balance athlete, the 2011 ITU World Junior Champion Lukas
Verzbicas. Lukas will compete in the Clermont Pan American Cup on March 1^st as his first official event as a Team New Balance Athlete under this multi-year endorsement contract.

 

‰ÛÏWe
are thrilled to welcome Lukas into the Team New Balance family. At New
Balance we consider triathlon an extension of running and Lukas has
strong roots within that sport,‰Û says John Evans,
Running Sports Marketing General Manager at New Balance. ‰ÛÏWe look
forward to working with him to achieve excellence within the U.S. but
also on the world triathlon stage.‰Û

 

As
a young high school athlete Lukas was one of the best runners in the
country, becoming only the fifth U.S. high school runner in history to
run a sub-4 minute mile. He also won titles in
several national meets including three at the 2011 New Balance Indoor
Nationals as well as victories at the 2009 and 2010 Foot Locker Cross
Country Championships. He still holds the high school national record in
the two mile run. In August 2012, Lukas suffered
severe injuries to his spinal cord after crashing into a barrier during
a bike training exercise, requiring multiple surgeries to fix. As a
result doctors told Lukas he may never walk, let alone run again.
Defying the odds, Lukas is once again in full triathlon
training in Chula Vista, CA near the U.S. Olympic Training Center.

 

‰ÛÏAfter
being told I would never walk again it is a dream come true to have the
support of a powerhouse running brand like New Balance,‰Û says
Verzbicas. ‰ÛÏAfter meeting with and talking to Team
New Balance athletes I look forward to achieving my athletic goals with
a brand that feels like an extension of my own family.‰Û

 

About New Balance:

New
Balance, headquartered in Boston, MA has the following mission:
Demonstrating responsible leadership, we build global brands that
athletes are proud to wear, associates are
proud to create and communities are proud to host.  New Balance is
currently the only major shoe company that manufactures athletic
footwear in the U.S. with 1 out of every 4 pairs of shoes we sell in the
U.S. made or assembled here.  New Balance owns five
factories in New England and one in Flimby, U.K.  New Balance employs
more than 4,000 associates around the globe, and in 2012 reported
worldwide sales of $2.39 billion. To learn more about how New Balance
Makes Excellent Happen, please visit
http://www.newbalance.com.