Otto Bock ‘gets set’ for London 2012 Paralympic Games

Otto Bock HealthCare, the Official Prosthetic, Orthotic and Wheelchair Technical Service Provider of the London 2012 Paralympic Games, is set to unveil the principal members of its International Leadership Team on International Paralympic Day (IPD) to be held at Trafalgar Square, London, on Thursday 8th September 2011.

International Paralympic Day, to be hosted by The London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG), will showcase the 20 Paralympic summer sports  with top Paralympic athletes on hand to share their knowledge. Otto Bock will mark the occasion by unveiling its London 2012 Paralympic Games on site technical service team. With over 80 technicians, the Otto Bock team will be responsible for providing athletes with immediate repairs for orthoses, prosthetics and wheelchairs throughout the Games, ensuring all athletes and their equipment function to their full potential.

Technical service and equipment showcased

Otto Bock’s mobile workshop unit will be present at IPD, providing insight into the set up and equipment that will be used to support Paralympians in the athletes’ village. The technicians preparing for the London 2012 Paralympic Games will be on site to demonstrate the types of repairs they expect. The public and the media will be able to view the equipment used in Paralympic sports such as wheelchair rugby, hand cycling and the running blades used by Paralympic sprinters.

Meet the Paralympians

A selection of athletes set to compete in the London 2012 Paralympic Games will demonstrate their talents at the event. These will include Germany’s Heinrich Popow, who achieved three bronze medals in Athens in the T42 100m, 200m and Long Jump and silver in Beijing in the T42 100m. 

Sporting demonstrations

At the event, Heinrich Popow will showcase his sport prosthetic as well as the capabilities of the Otto Bock C-Leg®, which he uses on a day-to-day basis, in a visually impaired celebrity penalty shoot-out and on a 60m running track. There will also be an exhibition rugby match featuring the German Wheelchair Rugby Team.

Philip Yates, Managing Director of Otto Bock UK, states, “International Paralympic Day will create excitement for the London 2012 Paralympic Games and gives us an insight into the importance of technical services for Paralympic athletes throughout the Games, something Otto Bock has been doing since Seoul in 1988. We look forward to introducing the personnel that will manage 12 repair centres in the athletes’ villages and competition venues, as well as a mobile unit responsible for supporting the diverse range of technical requirements of athletes during the London 2012 Paralympic Games.”

Sir Philip Craven, IPC President commented, “Otto Bock Healthcare has been at the forefront of technical innovation and has been providing persons with impairments the opportunity to be active and independent for almost 100 years. Their wealth of knowledge, experience and expertise, accumulated from providing technical service to the Paralympic Games since 1988, makes Otto Bock an invaluable partner to the Games and the IPC. All Paralympic athletes competing at the London 2012 Games can be confident that whatever their technical needs, they will be understood and expertly looked after.”

For more information on Otto Bock’s range of innovative solutions that restore mobility, please visit www.ottobock.com

For further press information and images regarding the Paralympic Games in London 2012 please contact:

Charlotte Rowland / Matt King
Media Safari
Telefon: +44 (0)1225 471202
E-Mail: charlotter@mediasafari.co.uk

Anna Parisi
Manager – PR and Partnerships
London 2012 Paralympic Games
Otto Bock Healthcare
Telefon: +44 (0)7584 162563
E-Mail: anna.parisi@ottobock.com