Puma and some of its world-class ambassadors gathered at the company’s headquarters in Herzogenaurach, Germany, to share some of their most memorable moments in sports history over the past 75 years and celebrate the company’s anniversary. “I think along all these 75 years, one thing which has not changed at Puma is the purpose,” said CEO Arne Freundt. “We are here to write the future history of sports and culture.”
In addition to the fastest man in the world, Usain Bolt, other Puma legends took to the stage in Herzogenaurach to talk about the highlights of their careers and how they made sports history together with the brand: Six-time Grand Slam winner Boris Becker, 1991 FIFA Footballer of the Year Lothar Matthäus, NBA Hall of Fame inductee Ralph Sampson and world athletics champions Linford Christie, Heike Drechsler, Armand “Mondo” Duplantis, Colin Jackson, Merlene Ottey and Yaroslava Mahuchikh.
“Success came from what happened in the background, the training, the dedication and the sacrifice that you made. So that’s where I put all the work,” said Bolt. “But when I competed, I enjoyed it. I was going out there to perform, not just going out there and running. And I think I kind of changed the game by just showing people, you can relax, you can enjoy what you do.”
Becker, who won his first Wimbledon title at age 17, reflected on what it was like to be so successful at such a young age. “The beauty of youth is you’re too young to know that you’re not supposed to win. But you feel that people look at you differently. In the morning, you go to the locker room, and the guys stare like you’re some guy from Mars, because you’re so young. So it really changed my life in a dramatic fashion,” he said.
Ottey also began her career at a young age but was active internationally into her 50s. She told the audience that it was her love of the sport that kept her going: “I loved what I was doing. When you have that passion, you are mentally ready for any challenge. You’re up for it. And I’m not one to take defeat sitting down. I would always fight back for the next time.”
Puma’s founder, Rudolf Dassler, had a vision of developing products that would give his athletes the agility and performance of a feline predator: From the spikes that Puma’s track and field athletes used to win titles and set records to the tennis rackets that 17-year-old Becker used to conquer Wimbledon, to the soccer shoes that legendary players like Matthäus played in.
Throughout its history, Puma has helped athletes achieve peak performance with innovative designs such as the first soccer shoe with screw-in studs in 1952, the legendary Brush Spike of 1968, the groundbreaking RS computer shoe in 1986, the first Disc laceless athletic shoe in 1991, and most recently, Puma’s new Nitro foam technology for running shoes.
