Nike "has pulled out of the Olympic swimwear market," according to Darren Rovell of CNBC.com. Sources said that Nike told college swim coaches with whom they have contracts "that the company would no longer be developing the latest and greatest for championship swimmers." Though the company "had its expected share of disappointments" at the Beijing Games, its "biggest disappointment just might have been the fact that it couldn't make a competitive swimsuit to compare to the Speedo Fastskin LZR Racer." Nike had unveiled its Swift swimsuit line before the '04 Athens Games and its Swift Amp'd suits this spring before Beijing. But it appears that "will be the last effort in what is termed the championship space unless top officials in certain areas of Nike's footprint around the world decide that it's worth it for them to override Nike's decision, ... and devote their research and development and marketing budget towards continuing to evolve the swimsuit in Nike's name." Rovell noted "it is unlikely that Nike will sign any new swimmers once most of their deals run out" at the end of the year. Premier Management Group's Evan Morgenstein said Nike's move "is the death of American elite swimming as we know it." Morgenstein: "Some swimmers make 95[%] of their income in non-Olympic years from these apparel deals. If one of only three major players is out (Nike) and the market leader (Speedo) feels [it's] in a position where they don't have to pay much as long as they have the best suit, the financial model that most Olympic swimmers have lived by since 2000 is over." Sources said that Nike "will continue to license the Nike name and familiar swoosh to Perry Ellis International" ( CNBC.com, 9/21 ).
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