Team USA athletes to be equipped by Zoot Sports at the inaugural Collins Cup on 28 August in Samorin, Slovakia.
Based in California and with over 35 years of prestigious history in the world of triathlon gear, Zoot will put all its tech know-how to use as official outfitter of Team USA at the first-ever Collins Cup event on 28 August.
Founded in 1983 in Kona, Hawaii, the home of the Ironman World Championships, Zoot couldn’t be more intrinsically linked to the sport of triathlon. Zoot’s journey started by meeting the needs of the fast-growing community of triathletes, catering for their swim, bike and run activities with pioneering performance apparel.
Prior to Zoot’s innovation, it was regular practice for even the pros to get fully changed between disciplines. Christal Nylin, a Kona resident, quickly understood that multisport athletes needed more functional race attire and set about creating something specifically for triathletes. She started by sewing pads into run shorts, experimenting with swim fabrics, attaching run singlets to bike shorts and eventually created one and two-piece race suits for triathletes – changing the look of the sport forever.
Zoot’s innovative designs immediately gained popularity, the striking colourways chiming perfectly with the exuberant character of the young sport. In 1996, Zoot moved from Hawaii to California and has since grown to be a premier global endurance sports brand, whose triathlon-focused designs have been accompanied by sport-specific options to help swimmers, cyclists and runners perform worldwide.
Team USA #8, Ben Hoffman, is one of many top-level pro athletes on the Zoot Sports roster, which also includes double Challenge Daytona champion Paula Findlay, the trailblazing Sika Henry – the sport’s first African-American female pro – and Aussie 70.3 star Ellie Salthouse.
We’ll see 12 athletes wearing Zoot for Team USA this August at the Collins Cup, with currently qualified names including Skye Moench, Jackie Hering, Heather Jackson and Sophie Watts on the women’s side and Sam Long, Rudy von Berg, Matt Hanson and Ben Kanute for the men.
“We have been making performance apparel, wetsuits, footwear and accessories for over 35 years and continue to draw on our history in the sport and our athletes to deliver the most comprehensive, technologically-advanced, and complete multisport product line in the world,” says Zoot Sports president, Shawn O’Shea. “We are very excited about the inaugural Collins Cup which looks set to be the first of its kind and an innovative Word Class event like no other. We are proud to be the official outfitter and are backing Team USA to show who rules Triathlon.”
Sam Renouf, Chief Executive Officer of the PTO stated: “Zoot Sports have been kitting out triathletes since the early days of Triathlon so it seems fitting that they should be the official outfitter for Team USA in The Collins Cup. We look forward to leveraging the excitement, rivalry and drama of Team battles while showcasing the personalities of our amazing PTO athletes to a global audience.”
