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Torri Huske Becomes First College Swimmer to Sign with TYR, Thanks to New NIL Rules BY DAVID RIEDER
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n one of the most impressive performances of this year’s U.S. Olympic Trials, 18-year-old Torri Huske dominated the women’s 100 butterfly, going out under world-record pace and setting an American record as she qualified for her first Olympic team. Six weeks later, Huske was in the hunt for gold in the event at the Tokyo Olympics up until the bitter end, only to finish fourth, one hundredth away from the bronze medal and just 0.14 away from gold. Later in the week, she would earn her first Olympic medal as she provided the butterfly leg on the U.S. women’s 400 medley relay, which captured a silver medal. And now, Huske is making more history as one of the first swimmers to sign a sponsorship deal while maintaining her NCAA eligibility. Huske will begin her college career at Stanford University next month, but taking advantage of new NCAA rules that allow student-athletes to monetize on their name, image and likeness (NIL) rights, Huske has signed a deal with swimwear company TYR. Huske wore a TYR suit in her races at the Olympics. “I’m really excited, and I could not be more thankful for this opportunity and for TYR’s support as I pursue my goals in my passion, and I look forward to a long relationship with TYR in the future. It’s very exciting that I get this opportunity,” Huske said. “I’ve worn other suits before, but at training camp in Hawaii, we suited up at practice one day, and in the middle of practice, I did a 100 fly, and I swam super-fast in the TYR suit. I wanted to try it out just to see. That’s partially
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the reason why I decided to swim in TYR, because I felt really good in their suit.” While Huske is the first college athlete on TYR’s roster of sponsored swimmers, she joins an impressive group that includes three of her teammates on the U.S. women’s Olympic team, Katie Ledecky, Simone Manuel and Lilly King. Huske said that she began speaking with TYR about a deal before the Olympics, and she even got a recommendation for TYR from Ledecky at the Olympic team training camp. “We are beyond thrilled to have Torri as a member of the TYR family,” TYR Sport CEO Matt Dilorenzo said in a presss release. “As TYR’s first NIL athlete, Torri will have the opportunity to represent the brand at both international and national level competitions and pro meets. A fierce competitor, Torri’s grit and tenacity aligns perfectly with our core company values, and her talent and potential is unmatched as we look towards Paris.” The NCAA rule change allows Huske an opportunity not previously afforded to swimmers, to compete collegiately and represent a university while profiting off her likeness and her swimming success. After the 2016 Olympics, Manuel returned to Stanford and Ledecky joined Manuel on the Farm, and both competed collegiately through the 2017-18 season before choosing to go professional. King returned from Rio to Indiana University and swam all three of her remaining years of NCAA eligibility.
