Juliette Whittaker is an up-and-coming track star at Stanford coming off her Pac-12 Freshman of the Year Award and now has a major new name, image and likeness deal to show for it. The Maryland native will now be the first NIL athlete to endorse Swiss running shoe and apparel company On Running.
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“It means a lot. I’m super excited to work with them,” Whittaker said in an interview with CITIUS MAG. “I was excited about the NIL opportunity and the fact that we can brand ourselves and make money in college while not having to give up the NCAA experience. Especially because I’ve loved my first year, and I wouldn’t want to be done with it just yet. It’s just a cool experience to get to have.”
Whittaker isn’t the only Stanford track athlete to make history lately. Her teammate Roisin Willis recently became the first college athlete to sign with New Balance.
On Running is taking a chance on a young runner who has a real chance to make the U.S. Olympic team headed to Paris in 2024. Whittaker runs the 800 meters, reaching the semifinals in qualifying ahead of the last Olympics.
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This time around, she is in great form heading into qualifying. She earned a bronze medal at the 2022 U20 World Championships in 800m, finished second at the NCAA indoor championships this season, and won the Pac-12 conference title in the event.
The 2024 Paris Olympics are from July 26 through August 11, 2024, with qualifying finishing early next year.
