BMW of North America, the Official Mobility Partner of the United States Olympic Committee, has unveiled its BMW Performance Team for the Sochi 2014 Olympic and Parlympic Winter Games. This elite group of U.S. Olympic and Paralympic athletes and hopefuls will receive financial support as well as access to BMW resources and technologies as they strive for the opportunity to be the world’s greatest.
The U.S. Men’s Bobsled Team will race a BMW-designed two-man bobsled.
Members of the BMW Performance Team include two-time World Champion Steve Langton (bobsled), 2010 Olympic bronze medalist Elana Meyers (bobsled), two-time Olympic gold medalist Alana Nichols (Paralympic alpine skiing), three-time World Sprint Champion Heather Richardson (speedskating), eight-time World Cup gold medalist Evan Strong (Paralympic snowboarding) and 2010 Olympic gold medalist Curt Tomasevicz (bobsled).
“We now have relationships with athletes who perform on land, water, snow and ice and the one thing that remains consistent across each of them is their inspiring commitment to performance,” said Trudy Hardy, Vice President, Marketing, BMW of North America. “Their passion for sport is what drives us to find new ways to support their journey to gold. We’re proud to be among their supporters.”
In addition to its financial support of Team USA, BMW is also applying its engineering and design expertise to the development of a new two-man bobsled for use by Team USA in the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games. Working closely with USA Bobsled & Skeleton Federation (USBSF) for more than two years, BMW is aiming to help Team USA chase its first Olympic gold medal in the event since 1936.
BMW completely reconstructed the bobsled system from the ground up, working to minimize the turbulence associated with the speed and force of driving an Olympic bobsled. BMW engineers will continue to work closely with USBSF, coaches and athletes to optimize and refine the bobsled in the lead up to the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games.—Paul Duchene
