GE, the Elite Partner of the British Triathlon GB Team, is to become a local main sponsor of the Dextro Energy Triathlon London, presented by Tata Steel, in Hyde Park in 2010 and 2011.
The World Championship Series event will this year take place on 24-25 July 2010 featuring high profile athletes including current world champion Alistair Brownlee and 2009 Series final bronze medallist Helen Jenkins.
Mark Elborne, President and CEO of GE in the UK said, "As a worldwide partner of the Olympic and Paralympic Games and the Elite Partner of the British Triathlon GB Team, GE is keen to be involved in the Dextro Energy Triathlon ITU World Championship.
“The London events over the next two years will provide the British Triathlon GB Team athletes with a high standard of competition and will serve as an important testing ground for the challenges they will face at the London 2012 Olympic Games. This event also provides an important opportunity for GE staff involvement as 12 of our Age Groupers will be able to take part in the competition."
James Robinson, Commercial Director of event promoters Upsolut Sports UK added, "We are delighted to have GE on board as a sponsor and are looking forward to working with them over the next two years to maximize their involvement. It is thanks in part to top tier commercial sponsors like GE that the event is enjoying such a growth in popularity and profile."
The Dextro Energy Triathlon ITU World Championship Series allows the world’s top athletes to compete head-to-head on an ongoing basis. This format features six world-class events in Sydney, Seoul, Madrid, Hamburg, London, and Kitzbuhel as well as an exciting Grand Final in Budapest on 8-12 September 2010.
With the support of global partners such as Dextro Energy and Suunto, presenting partner Tata Steel and local sponsor GE, the new series introduces an exponential growth in athlete prize money, media coverage and sport exposure. With a year-end bonus pool of US$500,000 and a US$150,000 prize at each event, the stakes are high in the battle to become ITU’s 2010 World Champion.
The 2010 Dextro Energy Triathlon ITU World Championship London presented by Tata Steel, will see the women’s elite race, junior and youth aquathlon, paratriathlon plus the age group Sprint Distance events staged on Saturday 24 July with the men’s elite race and age-group Olympic Distance races on Sunday 25th July.
The event will be broadcast live on BBC with a 52 minute highlights show on Channel 4 and British Eurosport, as well as reaching a global audience through international broadcast partners, the event is set to attract thousands of spectators.
GE, one of the worldwide sponsors of the London 2012 Olympic Games, is the Elite Partner of the British Triathlon team, providing support and expertise for the athletes as they prepare and compete at the highest levels in the run up to the 2012 Olympics. GE is also supporting British Triathlon Elite events, the Elite Paratriathlon team, Age Group teams, home nation regional academies, and the British Triathlon Coach Development programme.
Zara Hyde Peters, OBE, CEO of British Triathlon said, "It is great that GE want to build on the newly signed sponsorship of the British Triathlon elite team by sponsoring our best event that will really showcase the sport in the UK."
As part of its partnership, GE is working with British Triathlon to identify ways to support the 50-strong team of athletes, which includes Men’s World and European Champions Alistair and Jonathan Brownlee, Women’s Under 23 World Champion Hollie Avil and the 2008 Women’s World Champion Helen Jenkins.
In keeping with previous Games, where GE provided state-of-the-art medical imaging equipment for the early diagnosis and treatment of sporting injuries, the partnership is exploring specific ways in which GE’s healthcare technology and expertise could help to optimise and improve the performance of the GB team in the events leading up to and including the London 2012 Olympics.
