Wheating announces shoe deal

If you happened to catch the Diamond League Prefontaine Classic earlier this month, you would have seen Andrew Wheating compete in his Oregon Ducks uniform for the last time.

The was mainly for sentimental reasons.

When Wheating, a 2008 Olympian, appeared at the Diamond League meets in Paris and Monaco wearing his Team USA kit, that was more out of necessity.

But the 22-year-old Vermont native won't have any wardrobe decisions to make in the near future. Wheating announced through his management team at Global Athletics and Marketing that he has signed a sponsorship deal with Nike.

Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

"Nike is a great partner in all the cool things happening in Track Town and I look forward to being part of its team as I continue to train and develop," Wheating said in a statement. "I want to be a contributing member of the Oregon Track Club and chase my dreams in front of the fans who cheered for me while I was a Duck." 

While the announcement that Wheating would run for Nike is hardly a surprise, given the companies strong ties to the University of Oregon. Neither was the fact that he will remain in Eugene to train with the Oregon Track Club.

"I can't even explain how excited I am about staying in Track Town, USA, and about the chance to continue working with my coach at the same school that supported me as an undergraduate," Wheating said. "Hayward Field has been a special place for me."

This has been a special two-month stretch for Wheating. In front of a home crowd at Hayward Field in June, Wheating won both the 800m and 1500m titles at the NCAA Championships, becoming the first person to pull off that double since Oregon's Joachim Cruz in 1984.

At the Prefontaine Classic on July 3, he was the top American finisher in the Bowerman Mile, placing fifth in a personal-best 3:51.74. At the Diamond League meet in Paris, he recorded another personal-best, this time in the 800m where he finished fourth in 1:44.62. 

Wheating clocked another PR at the Diamond League Herculis Meeting in Monaco on July 22, finishing fourth in the 1500m in 3:30.90, the fourth-fastest time ever by an American.