Kendall Ellis uses portable toilet accident to land a toilet paper deal and go to the Olympics

SAINT-DENIS, France (AP) — The summer was filled with opportunities for U.S. 400-meter champion Kendall Ellis.

Track and field fans may remember Ellis as the runner who got stuck in a portable toilet during the U.S. track and field qualifying and spent 10 minutes pounding on the door in a panic, trying to get someone’s attention, fearing her Olympic hopes were in tatters.

Help finally arrived.

Ellis won the semi-final and then the final, thus winning a trip to the Olympics.

Shortly after, she signed a latest sponsorship deal with toilet paper manufacturer Charmin.

“It was just a perfect fit,” Ellis said.

Before we ignore all this product placement, let’s not less than pay attention to how much effort someone like Ellis has to put in to run for a living.

At 28, she works in a world where only the best earn tens of millions. According to a 2023 study by the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee, 82% of the 475 athletes who responded made lower than $100,000 a 12 months.

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Before the portable toilet, Ellis’s best hope of creating Team USA was her long history as a regular relay athlete, having helped the women’s 4×400 team win gold and the mixed relay team bronze in Tokyo three years ago.

This time, she’ll be going for her own medal in the women’s 400m. Whatever the case, she’s got a sponsorship deal to count on. Quite a comeback after almost seeing her Olympic dreams dashed.

“It was terrifying,” Ellis said. “I don’t like small spaces. Being stuck in one is one of my biggest fears. Elevators. Portable toilets. Water slides.”

She said she was there for “a good 10 minutes.” She didn’t have her cellular phone along with her.

“I didn’t start to panic until I got to the 5-minute mark,” she said. “I thought, ‘OK, I’m going to have to call for help.’ As embarrassing as it was to scream in a portable toilet and ask for help, I had to do it.”

A sort practice track worker heard the banging and cries for help and went over to open the door.

What followed was a classic case of moving from the outhouse to the penthouse.

Ellis clocked a personal best time in the semi-final (49.81 seconds) and then repeated the feat in the final (49.46 seconds).

“I thought to myself, ‘Everything’s OK, this means something wonderful is about to happen,’” Ellis said of her thoughts as she banged on the door. “And then I just hoped I’d get rescued in time for something wonderful to happen.”