Takeaway: If UA's equipment really kept the U.S. off the Olympic podium, we can't imagine that they'd stay married to UA.

US Speedskating to Renew Under Armour Deal 

  • "US Speedskating and Under Armour Inc. will announce that they have renewed their partnership through the 2022 Olympic Games, the company confirmed, a deal that comes on the heels of a public flap over new Under Armour skinsuits that divided the team in Sochi."
  • "Under Armour Chief Executive Kevin Plank 'is a proud American and they will not retreat from supporting USS despite the challenges we've gone through together,' US Speedskating executive director Ted Morris said in an email to athletes, reviewed by The Wall Street Journal."
  • "A spokeswoman for Under Armour confirmed the deal, but the terms of the deal weren't immediately known Friday."

$UA: Don't Blame Under Armour for Olympic Disaster - us8

Takeaway from Hedgeye's Brian McGough

Everyone has an opinion on this issue. So here's ours. Simply put, this whole thing is ridiculous.

If you were going to 'go for gold' in the Olympics, do you think that just maybe you'd have tested out your suit before the games? We have to think that these athletes did (in fact, they did at the Olympic trials -- and did not complain when they were beating athletes wearing Nike suits).  

A few of the classier athletes -- like Shani Davis -- stood up and said something like "I'm not blaming the suit. I went out there and gave it my all, and other skaters were simply faster". #respect, Shani. We give the US credit for sticking to its guns with UnderArmour despite this PR mess. If they really thought that it was the equipment that kept us off the podium, we can't imagine that they'd stay married to UA.

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