Simone Biles signs with an exclusive clothing brand for women

Simone Biles ended her endorsement relationship with Nike. The Olympic champion of artistic gymnastics had been associated with this sports brand for six years, now the American joins Athleta, which specializes in designing exclusive sportswear for women.

"I share Athleta's passion for helping girls grow. They are committed to diversity and inclusion, which is very important to me. It represents everything I believe in. I thought it was time for a change," said Biles, who has four gold medals in the Olympic Games and 19 in the World Championships.

Nike loses one of its best ambassadors in the women's market. For years he had a hard time making his way into women's clothing. With Biles, along with Serena Williams, she had made it to outsell other womenswear brands for the past two years.

Athleta, founded in 1998 as a brand for female athletes, said it plans to co-create a sportswear line with Biles and design other exclusive products.

The brand has also pledged to support Biles's post-Olympics Tokyo 2020 gymnastics tour that she plans to put on herself, rather than the usual USAF-backed one.

Biles follows in the footsteps of Allyson Felix who joined Athleta in 2019. She left Nike after criticizing it for not supporting pregnant athletes.

*Photo: @Athleta