Humon, a startup that has created a wearable that aims to optimize athletic performance, has announced that sports professionals, Ato Boldon and Michael O’Neil, have joined its advisory board. The board and Humon will benefit from the athletic experience of four-time Olympic medallist, Ato Boldon, and the sports business skills of the President of the Boston Triathlon, Michael O’Neil.
“Ato is an ideal advisor given his expertise in optimizing athletic performance and how athletes can push their bodies to succeed at the highest level,” said Humon Co-founder, Alessandro Babini. “His knowledge on training regimens and his influence in the track and field community will prove to be extremely beneficial to the advancement of our device and our company.”
Boldon first participated in the Olympics during Barcelona’s 1992 games. It was in 1996 during the Atlanta Olympics when Boldon won the bronze medals for both the 100m and 200m events. He added two more medals to his legacy when placing second in the 100m and third in the 200m sprint events during the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney. After his Olympic career, Boldon became an influential broadcaster, beginning with the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field championships and then the Summer Olympics in 2008, 2012 and 2016. Boldon was the first nominee from track and field broadcasting for a Sports Emmy Award in 2012. Currently, Boldon also works as a coach for sprinters.
When discussing his role as an advisor, Ato Boldon said, “Humon has shown remarkable progress in very little time. As an advisor, I am thrilled to work with such a motivated team who shares my same passion for sports.”
As for Michael O’Neil, Babini added, “Mike’s experience building the Boston Triathlon provides Humon with insight for how our wearable can penetrate into the triathlon market. Mike is also a sports agent for some of the world’s best professional and Olympic endurance athletes and brings an important perspective about what information is key for athletes to access during workouts.”
O’Neil owns the firm ethos, which owns and operates the Boston Triathlon and the Lobsterman Triathlon in Freeport, Maine. O’Neil’s background includes professional athlete management, sports marketing and event management.
“The Humon team has the skills and drive to make a product that will improve athletic performance and I look forward to bringing my experience to the company,” said O’Neil. “As an athlete, and athlete manager for world-class endurance athletes, I’m convinced that the way Humon leverages muscles oxygenation data in real-time will change the way endurance athletes train.”
Humon, a company that started out of MIT, and is based in Cambridge, MA, has developed a wearable that allows athletes to train smarter by measuring the way muscles are using oxygen and providing real time personalized insights on how hard athletes should push themselves. By analyzing the muscle oxygen content during a workout, the wearable interprets the limits of the muscle. Humon’s first product, the Humon Hex, is designed to be worn on the thigh and will reveal to athletes how to optimize their training to achieve peak performance.
