@tommyt.photo<\/a>\/Instagram)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nI finished the race and knew my foot wasn\u2019t going to be good, and I hobbled over to the team. Everyone was all at the finish line. We had a team moment which was special. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
As soon as I went underneath the stadium after the race, I realized I couldn\u2019t put any weight on my foot and had to get in a wheelchair to take me to the medical tent and meet the doctor, coach, and figure out what to do with my foot. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
One race is better than none. Here we are.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
NK: You\u2019ve mentioned in the past, after signing with Lulu, that you felt that all eyes were on you. Expectations were different, especially after not running in the Tokyo Olympics and not racing in a long time. And then donning the kit you helped create with Lulu. That\u2019s a lot. How has the pressure been, internal or external? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nCQ: <\/strong>I realized after last summer when I dropped out of the Olympic Trials and had to call my Lululemon team that I wasn\u2019t going to be able to compete because my foot was so bad. I was limping. I couldn\u2019t do it. I was nervous about that call. They had just invested in me and backed me. When I signed, I told them I made the team every single year emdash I tried five times and made the Olympic team five times. <\/p>\n\n\n\nColleen Quigley at the 2022 Toyota USATF Championships (Image via Cortney White)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nIt was a mixture of embarrassment and that I let them down because I didn\u2019t hold up my side of the bargain. I felt so sad to make that call. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The support I got from them on the other end was amazing coming from the situation I was coming before with a more traditional sponsor who only cares about performance. Lululemon told me \u201cwe just want you to be healthy and happy doing what you love. That’s how you can be the best ambassador for us \u2014 being a leader and advocate and an elite athlete. You don\u2019t have to win every time.\u201c When they say that, it\u2019s almost hard to believe it because no one else is saying that. No other brand has those values. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was special for them to say it to me but also show it to me that that was the case. When shit hit the fan, they showed that they cared about me and they weren\u2019t tied to results like every other brand in track and field is. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I realized at that moment I thought the pressure came from external sources sponsors fans family. When I got myself in a situation where my coach couldn’t be more supportive and couldn’t be more invested in me as a human being, and my sponsor is the same way, it\u2019s me. There\u2019s no one left to blame. I have control of that theoretically<\/em>. I need to figure out how to let it go \u2014 the expectations I put on myself, the expectations to make it on the team. Giving myself the time and space to do that it\u2019s become apparent that it\u2019s the pressure that I put on myself. <\/p>\n\n\n\nIt\u2019s a blessing to realize that the pressure and expectations I put on myself that make it not fun, I have control over. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
NK: You left Nike and subsequently Bowerman Track Club to join Lululemon. I feel like a lot of people who grow up running and love the sport look up to (Steve) Prefontaine, (Bill) Bowerman, and Nike\u2019s historic legacy. For you, what were that decision and process like as an individual but also as a woman in the sport? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nCQ: <\/strong>People hold on to that legacy of the brand. <\/p>\n\n\n\nFor me, I don’t love traditions. I think there are a lot of things traditionally that we do in our society that is outdated and doesn’t make sense, but we keep doing them because it\u2019s tradition. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
So many people love Nike because of the tradition and what the brand stood for, the big players who started it & were at the forefront of it. Those people aren’t there anymore. You have so many people who have joined the brand since then and they might not have the same values that the company once stood for. But people have a hard time letting that go. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I pushed back on the notion that Nike is so great, perfect, and powerful. It was interesting to see who didn’t want me to leave the brand and who was excited to see me partner with a brand that aligned better with their values. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Breaking traditions can be hard. Anything you do something different, people are uncomfortable at first. They\u2019ll adjust. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
NK: You\u2019re not the only high-profile athlete to leave Nike as of late. Allyson Felix, Simone Biles, and now yourself. It\u2019s interesting that outspoken women are leaving the brand, betting on themselves, and allowing themselves to be them<\/em> rather than an athlete of a brand. What\u2019s it been like to see other powerful, resilient women start a new chapter? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nCQ:<\/strong> I\u2019m not at the same level as them. I bow down to both of them. Allyson\u2019s brother, Wes Felix, was my agent who helped me with the Lululemon deal. She was a big part of why I felt brave enough to leave Nike. If Allyson can do it, I\u2019m not the same level as her, it\u2019s easier for me to leave. People were so shocked to see her leave. I saw her do it, and it gave me courage. <\/p>\n\n\n\nShe\u2019s always been a leader in our sport. When she speaks, you listen. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
NK: You\u2019ve talked about branding yourself on being more than just an athlete. You\u2019re big on mental health. With the pandemic and managing that, switching sponsors, Olympic Trials, and everything else, how do you value mental health not only in your running but outside of the sport? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nCQ:<\/strong> For athletes, we seem strong and powerful. You see all the highlights. But athletes are people too who are struggling & going through a lot of things and then have to go do the job. That you’ve been working towards. That you\u2019re paid to do. That everyone expecting to do. That you’re representing your country, your team, your sponsors. Athletes don’t want to show that they have any weakness or vulnerability. <\/p>\n\n\n\nWhen I’m open and vulnerable to share about injury, there\u2019s confidence from that. I don’t have to act like I’m perfect or invincible. I\u2019m confident in what I’m doing and that I can be transparent. That’s important for fans to see that side of athletes because they can relate better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They need to know it\u2019s not going to be easy all the time. When they come across something like this, they don’t have to think that \u201cI\u2019m not good enough because the athletes I follow don\u2019t go through this.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
It needs to be normalized so we can stop having unrealistic expectations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
NK: Going back to your partnership with Lululemn, what was the process with them like in creating a product, helping develop it, and feedback? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nCQ:<\/strong> It was great to finally go to Vancouver this year and meet the team I was doing Zooms with. They had me in the lab, they had me run on the treadmill, and they did my measurements. I took a selfie with Ha, the woman who helped design my kit. It was so special to be able to go through the process to make a kit that fit me perfectly.<\/p>\n\n\n\nColleen Quigley with Ha (Image via Colleen Quigley)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nWe went through everything to make sure it was exactly what I wanted. I was having so much fun with it. Having a smaller team, they’re able to do that. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
There\u2019s a whole new sense of pride when you run. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
NK: What more can expect from Lululemon in footwear? They\u2019ve been rolling out a lot of footwear but you were still racing in Nikes at Hayward. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nCQ: <\/strong>Lululemon has an everyday running training shoe. That\u2019s what a majority of people are looking for. Spikes are so niche. They knew they wouldn’t sell many and it’s a hard market to get into. <\/p>\n\n\n\nBlissFeel is my trainer. I\u2019ll go on an 8-mile recovery run in those and they feel great. I\u2019ve had conversations with the footwear team about performance footwear \u2014 a shoe that I can wear on the track that doesn\u2019t have spikes on the bottom. I don\u2019t wear spikes often, just races or when I practice in the water pit. I need a shoe I can train in that is more aggressive than the BlissFeel. Eventually, I would love to create a spike. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n <\/figure>\n\n\n\n <\/figure>\nColleen Quigley in the Lululemon Lab (Images via Colleen Quigley)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nThe BlissFeel took four years to perfect. They scanned the feet of over a million women to create the last. They’re super intentional about it. I know they’re going to take the same approach with the performance shoe. They haven’t started yet, so I get to be a part of it from start to finish \u2014 that is such a unique opportunity to do that. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I\u2019ve never been able to be of that process before. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
NK: What\u2019s the legacy you want to leave behind on and off the field?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nCQ: <\/strong>I\u2019ve been working a lot with Voice in Sport<\/a> over the last couple of years. <\/p>\n\n\n\nWhat attracts me to them is this whole idea of creating a space for girls and women in sport to feel supported, seen, be able to learn, ask questions, and have access to role models. Voice in Sport is the female version of Uninterrupted. It feels like it\u2019s going to be huge. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I try not to think about life after running. With Voice In Sport, I can see myself doing something where I\u2019m still involved in the sport. It\u2019s a strong vehicle to learn life lessons. Most of all, allowing people to explore and feel that they can be themselves: accepted and welcomed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I don’t know what my role is going to be in all of that yet, but that\u2019s what moves me forward and keeps me going. I know I’m more than what I do on the track. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
There’s something to be said for knowing that that’s not everything I can bring to the sport. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Keep it locked on Snkrs Day for more interviews and the Sneaker Release Dates<\/a> page for more information on upcoming drops. <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"(Lead image via Cortney White) Running is multifaceted. Distances from 100-meter sprints to 26.2 miles. Obstacles from hurdles to water…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":328301,"featured_media":1077837,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[1259388,1259454],"cultivate_rss":[],"class_list":{"2":"type-post"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
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