U.S. sprinter Kendall Ellis faced what could have been a huge obstacle at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials in Eugene, Ore., back in June. A few minutes before the semifinals of the 400 meters, Ellis got locked inside a porta potty.
“I’m in there panicking, and I’m banging on the door, trying to get help,” she told FanSided’s Adam Weinrib. “Thankfully a worker hears me, comes over and lets me out after 10 minutes. We managed to jimmy the lock and get me out.”
Ellis went on to win that semifinal and then the final, running a personal best of 49.46 seconds to lock up a spot on her second Olympic team; three years ago, she won two medals as part of the women’s 4x400m relay and the mixed relay teams. She also turned the porta-potty mishap into a sponsorship with none other than toilet paper company Charmin.
“It’s nice that I have Charmin supporting me backside to trackside, making sure all aspects are covered in the bathroom and outside,” Ellis said.
Before you scoff at this partnership, remember that among Olympians, only the very top athletes make big bucks, leading many to juggle multiple jobs or otherwise innovatively fund their training.
Take, for example, American Christina Clemons. In 2021, the hurdler qualified for the Tokyo Olympics team while wearing Doritos Cool Ranch earrings, which went viral on social media. Doritos announced it would sponsor Clemons on Twitter/X, and they sent her custom gold Doritos earrings. (Wearing the logo otherwise was limited by Clemons’ then-sponsorship with Adidas.)
This year, with Clemons no longer sponsored by Adidas, she rekindled her relationship with Doritos ahead of the 2024 Trials, and she wore the Doritos logo on her kit at Trials—albeit, in a creative manner due to USOPC rules.
While Ellis will not be running with the Charmin logo in Paris, she will likely have all the toilet paper she could ever need. Ellis will run in the heats of the women’s 400 meters at the Stade de France starting on Monday.
