USA -- On the cusp of its sophomore season at retail in the performance running category, iconic performance footwear and sportswear brand K-Swiss is proud to announce that it has inked a long-term, official partnership with World Triathlon Corporation, owners of the brand Ironman.

Under the agreement, K-Swiss will be the exclusive footwear and apparel provider of an evolving collection of co-branded K-Swiss/Ironman performance and lifestyle footwear and apparel. The K-Swiss/Ironman product will initially be sold through online distribution channels kswiss.com and ironman.com, on-site at the events, and ultimately through strategic performance retail partners.

"We are excited to be partnered with K-Swiss. They understand the Ironman brand's DNA extremely well and have invested the necessary resources to develop an amazing line of footwear and apparel products," said Andy Giancola, Director of Sponsorship and Licensing for Ironman.

Additionally, K-Swiss will continue to support Ironman events throughout 2009 as the Official Run Course Sponsor of Ironman 70.3 Boise, Amica Ironman 70.3 Rhode Island, Ford Ironman Louisville and both World Championship events; the Ford Ironman World Championship in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, and the Foster Grant Ironman World Championship 70.3 in Clearwater, Florida. K-Swiss will also serve as a sponsor for all other Ironman and 70.3 events domestically as well as Ironman UK and both 2009 Ironman events in Germany.

"Ironman athletes demand top-performing products to endure the rigorous training and competition. The brand's official logo, the 'M-Dot,' is truly the purest symbol of that level of performance," said K-Swiss Sports Marketing Director, Erik Vervloet. "K-Swiss has spent the last several years developing and testing our products with world-class Ironman athletes, culminating in products that are ready to perform at the highest level, and uphold the Ironman logo."

K-Swiss supports a growing roster of triathletes, Olympians and Ironman champions including Paul Amey, Terenzo Bozzone, Hillary Biscay, Leanda Cave, Gina Ferguson, Belinda Granger, Heather Gollnick, Chris Lieto, Luke McKenzie, Kim Loeffler and Matt Reed.

K-Swiss sponsored athlete and recent Ironman New Zealand Champion Terenzo Bozzone commented, "I am new to K-Swiss but I already know that it is a company that I want to grow with. I ran in K-Swiss' new Ironman shoe, the K-ONA, in my first ever full- distance Ironman event two weeks ago. The shoe is revolutionary - I had no blisters and a lot less post-race aches and pains than I normally suffer from a 70.3 race. K-Swiss' new partnership with WTC is a great match as K-Swiss is a company that is not afraid to step it up and be different - traits that will benefit the sport."

The brand will introduce several styles ranging from the Ironman tested K-ONA, built to withstand the rigorous racing conditions of Ironman, to the ULTRA-NATURAL RUN II, the perfect triathlete training shoe, and ultimately a range of recovery/compression style sandals. Apparel will launch at this years upcoming events.

"At the end of the day, every Ironman product we make will have to answer to one simple question, will this help a triathlete race, train or recover better? If the answer is yes, only then will we brand it Ironman," said Vervloet.
 
K-Swiss