Bridgestone Develops Innovations for the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris 2024
Bridgestone Boosts Support for Paris 2024 Paralympic Games
Japanese tyre manufacturer Bridgestone Corporation has announced its commitment to enhancing the experience for athletes, staff, fans, and visitors at the upcoming Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris 2024. As a Worldwide Paralympic Partner since 2018, Bridgestone is focusing on making sports and society more inclusive.
In a bid to address the challenges faced by adaptive athletes, Bridgestone conducted a survey in partnership with the Challenged Athletes Foundation. The survey revealed that 61 percent of respondents find it difficult to source adaptive sports equipment, and nearly 60 percent have modified or customized their equipment themselves. In response, Bridgestone is using its rubber, materials, and design expertise to enhance rubber components for adaptive sports equipment.
Bridgestone has collaborated with Paralympic athletes in the United States and Japan to develop, test, and evolve rubber equipment pieces for various sports. Notable collaborations include Chuck Aoki, co-captain of Team USA Wheelchair Rugby, who praised a pair of custom rubber gloves created by Bridgestone, and Susannah Scaroni, a Team Bridgestone athlete ambassador, who won gold in the 5000m event at Tokyo 2020.
Several Team Bridgestone athlete ambassadors will be competing with Bridgestone's rubber equipment at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, including Aaron Pike, Chuck Aoki, Daniel Romanchuk, Manami Tanaka, Susannah Scaroni, and Yukako Hata. Select athletes in Paris will use gloves, hand rims for wheelchair racing, tires for wheelchair tennis, and more equipment enhanced by Bridgestone.
Bridgestone's support extends beyond the competition, with the corporation currently backing 20 current and retired Paralympians as Team Bridgestone athlete ambassadors, 17 of whom will be competing at Paris 2024. These decorated athletes have collectively won 10 total medals over the past three Paralympic Games.
For further information about Bridgestone's Worldwide Olympic and Paralympic Partnerships, visit Bridgestone.com/Olympics. Bridgestone is dedicated to supporting and enhancing the experience for all athletes, staff, fans, and visitors in Paris for the Olympic and Paralympic Games Paris 2024.
