BMW Reveals Its Picks for the BMW Performance Elite Olympic and Paralympic Athletic Teams!

For a solid six years now, BMW of North America has been a dedicated supporter of the amazing U.S. Olympic and Paralympic teams as their official Mobility Sponsor, and this time around, it’s looking like there’s no slowing the building steam of this proud partnership. Last month, the company revealed its eight choices for the BMW Performance Team, a group of eight standout athletes who will be directly sponsored by BMW in their races to the gold during the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

Chosen from among a wide range of eligible athletes, some of them current Olympians and others still striving to make the cut, the BMW Performance Team will benefit from additional financial support and a host of services from the company, all in the hopes of helping to focus their efforts on training and preparation for the world’s greatest athletic competition. The team is made up of track and field competitors April Field, Chelsea McClammer, Tatyana McFadden, and Josh George, along with swimmers Maya DiRado, Tyler Clary, and Nathan Adrian. We’d like to think that they’ll have some of the best support around, and we’ve got big hopes for Team USA next year!

The team’s selection also follows BMW’s announcement earlier in the year of plans to develop a new, leading-edge racing wheelchair, which it hopes will become the new standard in U.S. Paralympic track and field competition for the 2016 games, a project undertaken in partnership with its respected partner team at Designworks USA. When it debuts, the new design will stand as BMW’s fourth athletic development project in direct partnership with the U.S. teams, an effort that more than proves the company’s dedication to and celebration of more than just automotive excellence. “We are proud and privileged to work with such amazing athletes,” said Trudy Hardy, BMW of North America’s Vice President of Marketing.

Previous developments include a BMW-designed two-person Olympic bobsled that saw great success at the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, Russia and helped U.S. athletes to bring home Silver and Bronze medals in the competition. Seeing the necessity for excellence before the big day is on, as well, BMW has put some serious effort into boosting potential with a specialized motion tracking system that supports the training efforts of Team USA’s swimmers. Capturing detailed data such as the force of kicks and pulls, and allowing swimmers and their coaches to target facets of performance and training in ways never before possible, the system is just one of many innovations that gracefully demonstrate precisely how much BMW has to offer to its partners. Next year, you can bet that all of us at BMW of Elmhurst will be expecting some serious fireworks in Rio for Team USA, and we hope you’ll be looking forward all the same! Catch us here for more upcoming news about BMW’s proud partnership with our great Olympic and Paralympic athletes.