Dunfee gets sole source to foot bill
Evan Dunfee is no longer walking on worn-out shoes.
The Canadian race walker who famously opted not to protest his fourth-place finish at last summer’s Rio Olympics has signed with sponsor New Balance. Asics opted not to re-sign the 26-year-old from Richmond, B.C., after Rio.
“It’s been great to get something underfoot,” Dunfee said. “Just to have that peace of mind going forward knowing I’m not going to have a couple thousand dollars of expenses to account for, that I hadn’t planned on accounting for, is great.”
In January, Dunfee tweeted a picture of his running shoes, which were worn almost through at the toes despite the fact they were barely two weeks old. Under the photo, he wrote: “When you’re no longer getting shoes for free u come to realize that you’d like them to last longer than 2 weeks ... what are some good shoes?”
During heavy training periods, Dunfee will go through a pair of shoes in three to four weeks — or between 400 and 500 kilometres of walking.
New Balance reached out to help within hours after The Canadian Press published a story about Dunfee’s lack of a shoe deal.
“Shoe-wise they’re providing me with an ample amount of shoes,” Dunfee said.
The partnership came just in time for Sunday’s Race Walking Challenge in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, where Dunfee finished sixth in the 20-kilometre event.