2024 has been a one-of-a-kind year at SunGod.
From over a million of you joining our exercise challenges - getting outside whatever the weather - to our pro athletes claiming Olympic medals, F1 Championships and more, in 2024 the SunGod Community has been active, in every sense of the word.
As we look back on a year like no other, we've picked out 10 incredible highlights to celebrate 2024 at SunGod.
1. Our exercise challenges get 1 million of you moving
2. £100k+ donated to our charity partners
3. Double Gold in Paris for our world-class cyclists
4. Releasing our first ever Impact Report
5. Sailing teams make history in the America's Cup
6. McLaren claim their first F1 Constructor's Championship in 26 years
7. Team SunGod trail runners dominate the world's toughest races
8. Our Ambassadors open up the conversation on International Women's Day
9. Creating top-quality kit for the Visually Impaired England Cricket Team
10. Meet the Miras™: Our first sunglasses for smaller faces
1. Our exercise challenges get 1 million of you moving
In 2024 we ran two exercise challenges with our friends at Strava, aiming to get people moving in the great outdoors. From cycling to running, windsurfing to skiing - we didn't mind what sport you did, so long as it got your body moving in the great outdoors. And to each person who completed a challenge, we sent a SunGod voucher as a reward for clocking up 50+ minutes of outdoor exercise.
We were absolutely blown away by the response. Over 1 million of you joined in, and between you all, you clocked up a mind-blowing 90 million kilometres of exercise. To everyone who got involved - thank you!
2. £108k+ donated to our charity partners
This year, as part of 1% for the Planet, we've donated over £108,000 to our charity partners. This includes Protect Our Winters, Surfers Against Sewage, The Bike Project and Shades of Love, to name a few.
Shades of Love support remote Indigenous communities in the Himalayas and the Andes, where high altitude and thin air mean that even on cloudy days, local people are continually exposed to harmful UV rays. Up to 80% suffer from eye diseases, blindness, or cancer in their lifetime, and the resulting issues - often blindness - mean many can no longer work or care for their families.
To combat this, Shades of Love have distributed 460,000 pairs of UV-protective sunglasses - including SunGods - to people in the most remote high-altitude regions in the world. They're also helping to fund and facilitate eye surgeries to prevent or cure ocular diseases. We're proud to have played a part in Shades of Love's important work this year!
3. INEOS Grenadiers riders become double Olympic Mountain Bike Champions
INEOS Grenadiers riders Pauline Ferrand-Prévot and Tom Pidcock laid it all on the line in Paris this summer, winning gold medals in their SunGods.
After claiming World Champion titles in Gravel, Cyclocross, Road and MTB across her career, elite cyclist Pauline had nothing left to prove - but was hungry for more. The French rider won Gold in the Women's Cross Country MTB in her home Olympics, showcasing herself once again as a true legend of the sport.
Meanwhile, her INEOS Grenadiers teammate Tom Pidcock claimed Gold in the Men's Cross Country MTB, holding on to his title from Tokyo. Tom created one of the most gripping moments of this year's games, as he suffered a puncture, causing him to drop 38 seconds behind, before reclaiming the lead and riding to victory.
4. Our first ever Impact Report
In February of this year, we released our first ever Impact Report. This report covered all our sustainability activity up to the end of 2023, and was designed to be an open and honest account of our sustainability work; from carbon footprinting and low-impact packaging initiatives, to charity partnerships and gender equality campaigns.
Check out our first Impact Report here.
5. Sailing teams make history in the America's Cup
2024 was an all-important year on the water, as the pinnacle of the sailing world - the America's Cup - came to a head. Both our men's and women's teams made history; in the men's competition, INEOS Britannia became the first British crew to win an America's Cup Challenger Series, and the first British team to enter the America's Cup Match final in 60 years. Meanwhile, our women's team Athena Pathway made history by competing in the first ever Women's America's Cup, putting up an impressive performance and making it to the final. While they narrowly missed out on the win, we're so proud of what the team have achieved as trailblazers in their sport.
Both teams had the advantage of competing in our 8KO®Water lenses, developed specifically to improve performance on the water; featuring a highly water-repellent lens coating, improved gust visibility, increased salt water resistance and enhanced glare reduction.
6. McLaren win the Constructor's Championship for the first time in 26 years
The most exciting F1 season in years culminated with McLaren F1 team, our long-term partners, winning the Constructors' Championship for the first time since 1998. After a remarkable turnaround of form in 2023, which saw McLaren go from the back of the grid to the front, the team started 2024 4th fastest.
In the final race of the season, McLaren drivers Lando and Oscar locked out the front row, working together to claim the race win - Lando's fourth of the season - and crucially, the team's first Constructor's Championship in 26 years.
Show your support for the team and shop the SunGod x McLaren Collection.
7. Team SunGod trail runners dominate UTMB and the world's toughest races
Team SunGod's roster is jam-packed with elite ultra-runners, and this year the athletes were fitter and faster than ever. Kiwi-born Ruth Croft claimed 2nd place in the iconic UTMB, while Hayden Hawks topped the podium in the 100km CCC.
Meanwhile across the pond, the undisputed queen of the trails Courtney Dauwalter was making waves. After winning the UTMB last year, in 2024 Courtney faced up to the Hardrock 100 Endurance Run through the San Juan Mountains of Colorado. Courtney finished the 160km race in 26 hours and 44 minutes, winning the race, claiming a new course record and finishing an astonishing 7 hours ahead of the next female competitor.
8. Our Ambassadors open up the conversation on International Women's Day
To celebrate International Women's Day this year, we opened up the conversation with some of our incredible female athletes and ambassadors, asking for ideas on how we can collectively shape a more inclusive sporting world.
Watch our film to discover their thoughts 👇
9. Creating top-quality kit for the Visually Impaired England Cricket Team
In 2024, we were proud to become the Official Sunglasses Supplier of the England and Wales Cricket Board, supporting England Men's, Women's and Disability teams with high-performance eyewear.
The Visually Impaired Ashes took place in Australia this year, and our product designers worked alongside the England Visually Impaired team to create a unique range of blackout goggles for them to wear on the field. Blackout goggles are used in visually impaired games, creating a level playing field for all athletes with varying degrees of visual impairment. With their custom-built blackout Vanguards™ goggles, the Visually Impaired team took on Australia in the Ashes; and while Australia clinched the series win, England put up a valiant effort, with players Mo Khatri and Matt Page winning B1 and B2 Player of the Series respectively.
10. Meet the Miras™: Our first sunglasses for smaller faces
This summer we launched an all-new Lifestyle Series™ design, the Miras™, and they've already cemented themselves as a firm bestseller.
Ed, our Head of Product, says: “The design of the Miras™ stemmed from customer feedback, more than anything else. The models in our Lifestyle Series™ are designed to be unisex and one size fits all, but from extensive research and customer surveys, we realised there was space for a new, smaller addition. Our Miras™ strive to be versatile; at home on the trails, on the bike or in the city."
"Miras™ are designed specifically with smaller faces in mind; we aimed to take a bolder approach on a smaller scale. We wanted a pair that would fit feminine faces, and would hold up in whatever outdoor activities the SunGod community take on.”
So there you have it. From the Himalayas to the Alps, from trail to trackside, every corner of the SunGod community has been buzzing with activity in 2024. The year hasn't been without its challenges, but wherever we look we've seen our community finding strength in one another, and lifting each other up to achieve great things all across Team SunGod.
To every SunGod athlete, ambassador, and customer - thank you for pushing us to take on new challenges, and make SunGod the best brand and community we can be. 2024 has been a wild ride, and we can't wait for 2025: bring it on!
Wishing you a Happy New Year, from all of Team SunGod.
