While many titles, world records and medals followed, Bolt says that “dominating throughout the years is very important to the legacy that I built for myself. Anybody can win one Olympics, but to actually win three back-to-back Olympics over the span of eight to ten years is very difficult. For me, that’s how I kept myself motivated and focused because I didn’t skip a year, I didn’t focus on four years to come, I focused on every year throughout, because those years were also important to dominate and to keep training and work at a high level. He admits that he missed being at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo last year: “When I watched the Olympics, I really missed it. Especially watching the Mens’ 100m and not seeing a Jamaican in the finals really made me miss it and really wanted to be there. For me, the girls did extremely well for Jamaica. They really showed up. Again.” Bolt says he fully embraces the vision of “Only See Great”. “Greatness is just being yourself and dominating at a high level over years and doing things that no one has ever done before”, added the World’s fastest man.

The idea for PUMA’s “Only See Great” campaign was inspired by cultural icon, entrepreneur and philanthropist Shawn “JAY-Z” Carter who first said: “I only see great. I don’t see good. I don’t see compromise. We should always strive to make something great, something that will last.” 

Shah will also be featured in PUMA’s women’s platform “She Moves Us”, which celebrates women who continue to move sports forward. With the goal of inspiring young women and girls globally, PUMA has invited their female ambassadors to speak about what inspires them, the challenges they have faced in their respective industries and what they have learned along the way. Through her partnership with PUMA, Shah will share her experiences as a South Asian female in the fitness and wellness industry. To learn more about “She Moves Us”, click here.

“We are very proud to partner up with the Brazilian Confederation of Athletics, which is the first time ever that PUMA sponsors a Brazilian national sports team, so it will be a landmark.” said Fabio Kadow, Marketing Director PUMA Brazil. “Their successful track record in world class athletics, with 19 Olympic medals, makes this partnership a perfect fit for PUMA.”

"Partnering with PUMA is a huge responsibility for us and a source of great pride”, said Wlamir Motta Campos, CBAt´s president. “I'm sure the athletics community will embrace PUMA, because we're talking about a product of excellence, a fantastic technology that will help the performance of our athletes."

PUMA has a long and rich history in Track & Field, having sponsored the Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association since 2002. The brand also kits out several national federations including Cuba, Bahamas, Trinidad and Tobago, Grenada, Dominican Republic, Norway, Switzerland, Portugal and South Africa. Individual PUMA sponsored athletes include World Champion 400m hurdler Karsten Warholm, pole vault star Armand "Mondo" Duplantis, triple Olympic medalist Andre De Grasse, long distance runner and Olympic medalist Molly Seidel, and triple jumpers Patricia Marmona and Will Claye.

“PUMA’s list of high-performance athletes is impressive and being one of them just feels amazing,” said Abby Steiner. “I am very happy to be part of the PUMA family now and I cant wait to take off.”

PUMA has a long and rich history in Track & Field and has sponsored the Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association since 2002. Elaine Thompson-Herah now joins her Jamaican compatriot, sprint superhero, world record holder and Olympic gold medalist Usain Bolt.

“PUMA just felt like the right fit, a company that has been working with the World’s Fastest Man for decades,” said Elaine Thompson-Herah. “I’m excited to be part of such an elite group and can’t wait to get started. I really want to break the 100-meter world record. The current one has been undefeated for 34 years. Now is the time. I think there's still a lot I can unleash."

At 26 years old, Woo Sanghyeok already has several medals to his name such as gold at the World Indoor Championships in Belgrade and silver at the World Athletics Championships in Eugene. In 2022, he set a personal best and the Korean Record of 2.36 meters at the indoor event in Hustopeče, Czech Republic.

“We are very excited to welcome Sanghyeok to the PUMA family,” said Pascal Rolling, Head of Sports Marketing at PUMA. “We believe he will be among the best high jumpers in the world in the next years.”

At PUMA, Woo Sanghyeok will join a roster of world-class athletes such as 400m hurdles World Record Holder Karsten Warholm, pole vault World Record Holder Armand “Mondo” Duplantis and Jamaican sprinters Shericka Jackson and Elaine Thompson-Herah.

At only 26 years old, “KoKo”, as she is known in the track and field community, can already look back on an impressive career. She is the reigning European Champion in the 5,000 meters and has medaled at the World Championships and the European Indoor Championships. She has set several German records ranging from 1,500 meters to 10,000 meters.

Apart from her success on the track, Klosterhalfen has also shown that she can be a serious contender in road races. She won her debut half-marathon race in Valencia last year, setting the third-fastest time ever run by a European woman.

“KoKo is an incredible talent who has proven her speed time and time again,” said Pascal Rolling, Head of Sports Marketing Running. “We are very excited that she has chosen PUMA to partner with, both on the track and on the road.”

Following the introduction of a new line of running products that uses PUMA’s NITRO technology, the company built a strong team of middle and long-distance runners, including Olympic medalist Molly Seidel, World and Olympic Champion Emmanuel Korir and Jenny Simpson, one of the most successful runners in US-history.

On the track, Klosterhalfen will compete in PUMA’s new evoSPEED Distance NITRO Elite+ 2 spike, an ultra premium race day shoe which incorporates PUMA’s latest NITRO ELITE midsole for responsive cushioning and a full-length internal carbon plate for exceptional energy return.

For road races, she can choose from PUMA’s latest road running shoes such as the Deviate NITRO Elite 2, which is made with a carbon fiber PWRPLATE that ensures stability and maximum running efficiency combined with the supreme cushioning of PUMA’s NITRO ELITE foam.

The Deviate NITRO ELITE 2 will be available on February 1 on PUMA.com and in store at PUMA Flagship stores and select retailers globally.

Notes to Editors

PUMA welcomes the PUMA ForeverRun NITRO, a close relative of the PUMA FASTROID NITRO and PUMA Fast-R NITRO Futrograde.

PUMA NITRO™ cushioning is a specialized, nitrogen-infused foam that maximizes response and bounce while remaining super-lightweight. Nitrogen infusion amplifies the inherent properties of foam, making it highly springy and soft.

The PUMA FASTROID NITRO originally debuted in September 2022 during PUMA’s “Futrograde” presentation at New York Fashion Week. 2,000 pairs of PUMA NFRNO NITRO and FASTROID sneakers were made redeemable through PUMA’s interactive Black Station platform. The shoe’s debut colorway featured a fully blacked-out upper, resting atop a gradient-hued NITRO™ sole unit with unmissable text branding.

Now the FASTROID NITRO is first off the blocks in 2023, featuring two new fresh colorways in the monotone but stealthy “Triple Black,” complemented by a popping gradient “Sunset” colorway.

The PUMA FASTROID NITRO will be available starting May 13, 2023 from PUMA.com. PUMA flagship stores, and select retailers globally.

“Track and field is sports and athleticism in its purest form and embedded in the very core of PUMA,” said PUMA CEO Bjørn Gulden. “We are proud that many world records were set in our shoes and we are looking to our athletes writing the next chapter in sports history in Eugene.”

Current world records in PUMA shoes are triple jump (Jonathan Edwards, 1995), 1,000m (Noah Ngeny, 1999), 3,000m Steeplechase (Saif Saaeed Shaheen, 2004), 100m and 200m (Usain Bolt, 2009), 400m hurdles (Karsten Warholm, 2021), and pole vault (Mondo Duplantis, 2022).

PUMA heads to Eugene with improved versions of its successful evoSPEED NITRO spikes, making them even lighter and more competitive. For Norwegian hurdler and world-record holder Karsten Warholm, PUMA created the ultimate hurdles shoe, the evoSPEED Naio NITRO.

There are also improved versions of the gold-medal-winning PUMA evoSPEED Nitro Elite and several new products for long-distance runners. The evoSPEED Distance Nitro Elite+ 2 spike uses PUMA’s proprietary NITRO foam and a PWRPLATE for exceptional energy return and is aimed at events ranging from 800m to 10,000m.

PUMA’s road racing athletes can choose from the DEVIATE NITRO ELITE 2, which is even lighter than its predecessors and also features a new last, or the futuristic and aggressively designed FAST-R NITRO Elite, which uses NITRO Elite technology and a PWRPLATE to support an efficient run.