Ralph Lauren Brings Team of Olympic Athletes to U.S. Open – celebritiestalks
Ralph Lauren rolled out the red carpet for a wide range of its athlete ambassadors earlier this week, inviting them to a luxury box at the U.S. Open, where they were got a bird’s-eye view of both Coco Gauff and Novak Djokovic winning their matches in the quarterfinals.
Despite the sweltering temperatures in Flushing Meadows, New York, the athletes were dressed to the nines in their finest Ralph Lauren togs, even donning blazers and ties in the case of Daryl Homer, an Olympic fencer.
“It’s a little hot, but I wanted to go with something a little formal,” he said.
Hommer said he’s been wearing Ralph Lauren since he was a child — his mother used to bribe him with Polo shirts if he managed to get good grades — and began working with the company in 2018. Homer, who is hoping to quality for his fourth Olympics appearance when the selections begin in October, is really getting psyched about the upcoming Games.
“Paris will be beautiful,” he said of next year’s Summer Games venue. “Last time, it was all really stripped down, but my event will be at the Grand Palais, so it’s going to be great. And I’m happy to have Polo along with me.”
Another athlete looking forward to the upcoming Games is Jeffrey Louis, a break dancing athlete who has already qualified to compete in Paris. Lewis said the name of the sport, which will be making its Olympics debut in 2024, is actually breaking. “Break dancing came from the media,” he said.
Jeffrey Louis will compete for the U.S. in breaking at the Paris Olympics.
WESTON WELLS
Louis admitted he was surprised that the sport is being added to the Olympics, but he’s ready to show the world his moves. “Breaking started in the Bronx, so I take pride being from the U.S.,” he said. “But globally, every country has its own unique style. Ours is more foundational while Japan’s has more tricks. So it’s going to be unique.”
Another athlete who has already qualified to compete next year is Katie Grimes, who will take on the 10K open-water swim in Paris. Although the 17-year-old already secured her spot with a narrow photo-finish, third-place showing at the world swimming championships in July, her visit to the U.S. Open — the first time she’d seen live tennis — was one of her rare downtime appearances.
“It’s a certain thing that I’m going to Paris but there’s no breather for me,” she said. “I need to be prepared physically and mentally.” She believes the U.S. has a good shot at medaling in, not only her event, called marathon swimming, but many of the other matches that will take place in the pool. “We have really good distance, sprint and relay swimmers,” she said. “So I always have faith in us because we have such depth.”
Katie Grimes has already qualified for marathon swimming in the next Olympics.
WESTON WELLS
Other athletes who joined Ralph Lauren for the quarterfinal matches included Olympic ice skaters Mia and Alex Shibutani and Olympic gymnast Shilese Jones.
Ralph Lauren has been the official outfitter of the U.S. Open Tennis Championships since 2005. The company outfits the on-court officials and ball crew and creates a commemorative collection of apparel and accessories for men, women and children.
The company also outfits the American team for the Ryder Cup tournament, which will take place this year at the Marco Simone Golf & Country Club in Rome from Sept. 29 through Oct. 1.
Smylie Kaufman is a former PGA professional golfer.
WESTON WELLS
Smylie Kaufman, a one-time PGA professional who is now an on-air analyst for the sport, took in the tennis matches as he prepared to jet off to Italy later this month. “I think it’s going to be the closest Ryder Cup we’ve ever seen,” he predicted. “Everybody thought it would be a U.S. blowout, but as the year went on, the Europeans have come together very nicely. They’re going to be hard to beat.”
Although the captain’s pick of Justin Thomas to be on the team has created some controversy, Kaufman thinks it was the right call. “There were tons of good options, but Justin has been the best Ryder Cup player for the U.S., so it would have been difficult not to pick him.”
Ralph Lauren Brings Team of Olympic Athletes to U.S. Open – celebritiestalks