Heads up. Olympic gold medalist Jeremy Wariner might deliver your next Jimmy Johns sandwich
In 2004, U.S. sprinter Jeremy Wariner brought home the gold in the men’s 400-meter race and men’s 4×400 meter relay race, just two of four Olympic medals he won between that and the 2008 games. He was also basically unbeatable at every other major race between those years, taking home multiple world titles and earning the 2007 Best Male Track Athlete ESPY Award.
Fast-forward to 2017 and the guy who shows up at your door with the Jimmy John’s sandwich you ordered might be Wariner.
However, the reality isn’t as harrowing as that sounds. Considered one of the fastest U.S. sprinters of all-time, Wariner isn’t just a guy delivering sandwiches, he actually owns a Jimmy John’s franchise in Texas. Perhaps he just needs to be on the move all the time after a career spent trying to be the fastest person in the room.
After a string of injuries forced Jeremy to retire last year, the speedster has been forced to think on his feet. Despite storied track career full of world championships and speed records to go with his four Olympic medals, the lack of a long-term strategy and an unfortunate lack of financial support for runners has forced him to work hard to make his second-act successful.
“I had money that I saved up but there’s athletes out there that aren’t fortunate enough to have made what I did at the beginning of my career,” Wariner says. “It’s not good for our young athletes. At the end I realized, it’s not about who you were. If you’re not running fast now, you’re not even getting into meets. If you are lucky to get in, sometimes they won’t pay anything except maybe the hotel and some food. For U.S. athletes it’s not cheap to get out to Europe so you have to pay your travel and hope to win back what you’re investing to chase fast times. Sometimes you lose money. The prize money now isn’t what it used to be.”
The sandwich business is good for the ultra-competitive Wariner. He says he still races against the clock when he has to make a delivery. He makes sure to check his time and he tells SI that he’s proud of his “eight to nine minute average on orders.”
