Li Ning Signs 5-year Deal with Yelena Isinbayeva

March 3rd, 2009 · No Comments · Business, Sportswear, Track and Field

Chinese sportswear manufacturer Li Ning on Monday signed a 5-year sponsorship deal with Yelena Isinbayeva, two-time Olympic pole vault gold medalist and world record holder. The lucrative deal is reportedly worth $ 1.5 million USD annually, the best endorsement offer a company ever made on the track circuit.

Yelena Isinbayeva set a new pole vault world record of 5.05 meters at the Beijing Olympic Games, and the 26-year-old told press earlier that she wanted to clear 5.20 meters by the end of her career. Yelena started Pole Vault with Evgenii Vasilievich Trofimov in 1997 and ended in November 2005. She’s now coached by Vitalii Afanasievich Petrov.

Li Ning is markedly in seek of a change in their branding route with the latest high-profile signing, especially after Anta, its Chinese competitor, sealed a deal with Jelena Jankovic, the top ranked female tennis player this January. Li Ning signed NBA player Baron Davis last November, a confusing branding move to us. The company’s president, former Olympic champion Li Ning, labeled by Chinese as the “Prince of Gymnastics”, ignited the cauldron at the Beijing Olympic Games’ opening ceremony.

About Li Ning Company Limited:

Li Ning was established in 1990. The company now has endorsement deals with Shaquille O’Neal, Ivan Ljubicic and Tolossa, and is official partners of Spanish Olympic Committee, Spanish Basketball Association, Sweden Olympic Committee, Argentine Basketball Association and US Table Tennis.