Premier Farnell sponsors 3 athletes with a disability, each with ambitions of competing in the 2012 Paralympic Games
element14 will follow these three elite athletes over the next two years while highlighting the latest in sports technology via a dedicated portal
21 April 2010, London – Premier Farnell plc (LSE:pfl), the leading multi-channel, high service electronics distributor, is excited to announce that it is now supporting three athletes with disabilities, David Stone (Europe), Nurulasyiqah Mohammad Taha (Asia Pacific) and Sam Kavanagh (Americas), as they aspire to compete at the London 2012 Paralympic Games. Each of these athletes compete at the highest level in their sport and have all achieved significant international successes. In line with Premier Farnell’s commitment to support local communities, the Company will provide funding and support to help meet the needs of these athletes’ as they continue to excel in a global competition.
In addition to the athlete sponsorships, Premier Farnell will promote some of the latest innovations in sports technology via an exclusive Sport Technology portal on element14, the online technology e-community for electronic design engineers. This specially developed portal contains a wide range of information about technology applications used in high performance sporting events. The content will be enriched with insightful and interesting inputs from the athletes themselves via their individual blogs, as well as information from industry experts. To learn more about these technologies and the three athletes visit the Sports Technology portal at: http://www.element-14.com/community/groups/sport-technology.
The European Paralympian is British cyclist David Stone who has cerebral palsy. 28-year old David, who has been cycling since the age of 8, specialises in time trial events and has achieved a string of successes in senior events around the world in recent years. He made his Paralympic Games debut in Sydney 2000 and went on to win gold medals in both road disciplines for his class at the Beijing 2008 games. David’s ultimate goal is to repeat his Paralympic success on home soil, but ahead of that time he will be keenly focused on both the World Cup and World Championships.
Singaporean Nurulasyiqah Mohammad Taha has been playing boccia for the last seven years – an exciting and skilful indoor ball game designed for individuals diagnosed with cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy or other neurological-based forms of severe physical disabilities. Boccia has now developed into a major international and Paralympic sport and Nurul has participated in several regional and international competitions — putting Singapore on the map for the sport. With support from Premier Farnell, Nurul hopes to realise her aspiration to do well in the upcoming London 2012 Paralympic Games and beyond.
The North American athlete is Sam Kavanagh, a US track sprint cyclist whose interest in the discipline began after he had to have a part of his left leg amputated following an avalanche accident in 2005. Sam has his sights set on success in London in 2012. Sam is also a Civil Engineer, and has a desire that his actions encourage and inspire others to overcome obstacle in their life so they may achieve all they are capable of, with no regrets. Sam has chosen to live his life as an amputee, not on the sidelines, but rather striving to push his abilities to new levels in hopes of advancing prosthetic technology and changing society’s perception of those with physical disabilities.
“Sam, David and Nurul are remarkable individuals who embody the high performance traits that we at Premier Farnell truly value,” said Harriet Green, CEO of Premier Farnell. “They are an inspiration to all and throughout the next two years we will celebrate their progress, support them in their goals and work with them to understand the role that technology plays in their sporting achievements.”
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