Agents often get a bad rap. The media portrays them in a very stereotypical way, as seemingly “using” athletes to build their own wealth, while not doing much else for them. While I am sure some agents act this way, the vast majority of agents are in the business to help athletes, setting them up to succeed at the highest of levels.

While American track and field fans may have heard of agents Ray Flynn, Mark Wetmore (not the coach) and Tom Ratcliffe, they may not have heard of Ricky Simms. Simms, who is director of PACE Sports Management, is one of the big-time track and field agents in the world. His roster of athletes is expansive, but his most notable star is Jamaican Usain Bolt.

Once again, Bolt captured the world’s attention on the Olympic stage, blitzing the field in each of his races and showing that he can now lay claim as one of the greatest Olympians of all-time and the greatest sprinter of all-time. Bolt alone captures Simms and his PACE team a lot of praise.

Simms’ stable though doesn’t revolve around a single athlete though, as Great Britain’s Mo Farah (5k & 10k gold) and Christine Ohuruogu (400m silver) captured the host nation’s attention, inspiring fellow British with their rousing performances. Farah's performance means Simms not only manages the greatest sprinter in the world, but the greatest distance runner, as well. That's a dominating combination.

The frosting on the Simms cake came this past Tuesday when the U.S. 1,500m men threw down the most impressive American performance in an Olympic mens 1,500m final since 1926. 1926! Leo Manzano (silver) and Matthew Centrowitz (fourth) showed American distance running is on the rise in the most popular of distance events.

A track and field agent does many things. They not only help manage sponsorship contracts and media requests, but manage much of athletes’ day-to-day activities at international events, finding them suitable housing and cooks, while offering support and guidance in nearly every aspect of their athletic careers.

An Olympic athlete’s success, more times than not, does not happen without a hard working agent behind them. Simms showed that he and his staff help their athletes succeed at the highest level and with the amount of success the Simms athletes saw in London, it wouldn’t be surprising at all if PACE Sports Management takes another big step forward over the next quadrennial.