Skechers celebrates 17-time NCAA national champion Edward Cheserek’s win at the 2019 Carlsbad 5000 in Carlsbad, CA on Sunday, April 7. At the event known as the World’s Fastest 5K, the Skechers Performance elite runner crossed the finish line in 13:29, tying the International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) road world record, achieving a new road 5K personal best, and crossing the finish line 25 seconds ahead of the next runner.
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Skechers Performance elite runner Edward Cheserek wins, achieves new personal best and ties the world record at Carlsbad 5000. (Photo: Business Wire)
Cheserek was joined on the podium by fellow Skechers Performance elite Reid Buchanan, who finished third with 13:56.
“This race is legendary, and it’s been a goal of mine to win, and today I not only won, but tied for the road world record and achieved a new road PB (personal best)—it’s a great accomplishment,” said Cheserek, who raced in Skechers GOrun Razor 3 Hyper™ shoes. “With Meb (Keflezighi) now involved in this event, it’s even more special—he’s in a class of his own and he’s part of the Skechers family. Skechers has supported me from incredibly lightweight custom racing spikes to cheering me on today. I can’t wait to race here again next year."
Since the inaugural race in 1986, the World’s Fastest 5K has been more than just a catchy tagline. Numerous records have been set throughout the past 33 years, and the Carlsbad 5000 is an ever-tested proving ground for racing. Skechers Performance elite marathoner Meb Keflezighi headlines a group of local running industry leaders who took ownership of the event in 2018.
“I love that one of my fellow Skechers Elite runners took home the victory today!” added Meb Keflezighi. “It’s been an honor to join the management team for Carlsbad 5000, and we all agree that Edward is an amazing athlete and a deserving successor to the greats who have left their mark on the World’s Fastest 5K.”
“We’re incredibly fortunate to be with Edward on this journey and so proud of what he’s already accomplished after transitioning from college to elite professional competition,” said Michael Greenberg, president of Skechers. “He’s an inspiration to runners around the globe and an amazing member of the Skechers Performance Team. We look forward to many more events where he’s competing in our Skechers GOrun® footwear.”
Originally from Kenya, Cheserek attended Saint Benedict’s Preparatory School in New Jersey, where he was named the Gatorade 2013 National Cross Country Runner of the Year, before choosing to continue his collegiate career at distance running powerhouse, University of Oregon. In 2013, Cheserek became the first freshman in school history to win the NCAA National Cross Country Championships, and would then go on to repeat as cross country champion in his sophomore and junior years. By the end of his collegiate career, Cheserek was the winningest male athlete in NCAA Division I athletics’ history with a combined 17 national championships in cross country plus indoor and outdoor track and field. After going pro in September 2017, he set a new PR in the indoor mile with a win at the 2018 Boston University Valentine Invitational. Wearing custom Skechers GOrun racing spikes, his time of 3:49.44 placed him at #2 all-time on the world record list for that distance.
Since its debut with the first model of Skechers GOrun worn by Meb Keflezighi in 2012, Skechers Performance footwear has earned respect throughout the running world and won numerous awards within the footwear industry—including the Skechers GOrun Razor 3 Hyper™ recently being named Editors’ Choice by Runner’s World. The entire Skechers GOrun collection for men and women is available at Skechers retail stores and skechers.com as well as select retail partners.
About Skechers U.S.A., Inc.
Based in Manhattan Beach, California, Skechers (NYSE:SKX) designs, develops and markets a diverse range of lifestyle footwear for men, women and children, as well as performance footwear for men and women. Skechers footwear is available in the United States and over 170 countries and territories worldwide via department and specialty stores, more than 3,000 Skechers Company-owned and third-party-owned retail stores, and the Company’s e-commerce websites. The Company manages its international business through a network of global distributors, joint venture partners in Asia and the Middle East, and wholly-owned subsidiaries in Canada, Japan, India, throughout Europe and Latin America. For more information, please visit about.skechers.com and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
This announcement contains forward-looking statements that are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements include, without limitation, Skechers’ future domestic and international growth, financial results and operations including expected net sales and earnings, its development of new products, future demand for its products, its planned domestic and international expansion, opening of new stores and additional expenditures, and advertising and marketing initiatives. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking language such as “believe,” “anticipate,” “expect,” “estimate,” “intend,” “plan,” “project,” “will be,” “will continue,” “will result,” “could,” “may,” “might,” or any variations of such words with similar meanings. Any such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in forward-looking statements. Factors that might cause or contribute to such differences include international economic, political and market conditions including the challenging consumer retail markets in the United States; sustaining, managing and forecasting costs and proper inventory levels; losing any significant customers; decreased demand by industry retailers and cancellation of order commitments due to the lack of popularity of particular designs and/or categories of products; maintaining brand image and intense competition among sellers of footwear for consumers, especially in the highly competitive performance footwear market; anticipating, identifying, interpreting or forecasting changes in fashion trends, consumer demand for the products and the various market factors described above; sales levels during the spring, back-to-school and holiday selling seasons; and other factors referenced or incorporated by reference in Skechers’ annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018. The risks included here are not exhaustive. Skechers operates in a very competitive and rapidly changing environment. New risks emerge from time to time and the companies cannot predict all such risk factors, nor can the companies assess the impact of all such risk factors on their respective businesses or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements. Given these risks and uncertainties, you should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements as a prediction of actual results. Moreover, reported results should not be considered an indication of future performance.
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Contacts:
Jennifer Clay
Skechers
jennc@skechers.com
