IOC: Nike to replace Reebok as Sydney sponsor

US sports gear giant Nike is to replace Reebok as a sponsor of next year's Sydney Olympics, the International Olympic Committee announced today.

US sports gear giant Nike is to replace Reebok as a sponsor of next year's Sydney Olympics, the International Olympic Committee announced today.

"Almost as we speak, Nike and SOCOG and the Austrian Olympic Committee have concluded discussions ... which will lead to an agreement very shortly," IOC vice-president Dick Pound told a news conference after the IOC passed sweeping reforms.

As well as replacing Reebok, Nike will outfit the Australian Olympic and Paralympic teams, Pound said. He called it "perhaps one of the fastest partnerships ever recorded."

Further details will be announced in Sydney early on Monday, he added.

Reebok said on Wednesday that it was suing the Sydney organizing committee, which it said breached its contract by allowing rival companies to supply Olympic clothing for sale, and terminating a sponsorship deal estimated at between US $6.3 million and $9.45 million.

"I don't want to pass judgment on any of the issues that may be involved at this time," Pound said.