Simone Biles, the most decorated gymnast ever, has signed an agreement to represent the women’s clothing brand Athleta and is leaving Nike, her longtime sponsor, just three months before the Summer Olympics begin in Tokyo.
The deal, announced Friday, also includes arrangements for Athleta to fund a post-Olympic gymnastics exhibition tour organized by Biles that will represent a direct financial challenge to U.S.A. Gymnastics, the sport’s national governing body.
In interviews, Biles suggested she felt better aligned with the values of Athleta, a division of the clothing retailer Gap, than with those of Nike. “I think they stand for everything that I stand for,” she said of Athleta to The Wall Street Journal, which first reported the agreement.