U.S. Paralympics Track and Field Team Members Bring Home Gold, Silver and Bronze Medals with BMW Racing Wheelchair

BMW Performance Team athletes Tatyana McFadden and Chelsea McClammer each earned a spot on the podium following historic performances in Rio

Woodcliff Lake, NJ – September 20, 2016… BMW of North America, the Official Mobility Partner of the United States Olympic Committee (USOC), congratulates the members of the U.S. Paralympics Track and Field for their valiant, medal-winning performances at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.

Using the newly designed BMW racing wheelchair in select events, BMW Performance Team members Tatyana McFadden and Chelsea McClammer took home a collective seven medals in addition to setting four Paralympic records. The 14-time world champion McFadden earned her seventh career Paralympic gold while McClammer impressively achieved three personal best performances. McFadden and McClammer both added to a separate feat of completing two American podium sweeps in the women’s 1500 T54 and women’s 5000m T54 events, securing a gold and bronze medal, respectively.

“It’s been a remarkable year for these athletes and we are so proud to have watched their hard work come to fruition,” said Trudy Hardy, Vice President, Marketing, BMW of North America. “To witness multiple BMW Performance Team athletes compete in the BMW wheelchair and earn a spot on the podium was incredibly rewarding and we are so privileged to have been part of the journey.”

In addition to financial support for athletes, BMW applied its engineering and design expertise to the development of a new racing wheelchair for use by members of Team USA at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games. Developed by world-class designers and engineers at BMW Group Designworks, BMW’s global creative consultancy, the new racing wheelchair draws upon the aesthetics and engineering of the automaker’s signature vehicle design. Encompassing BMW’s core competencies and fundamentals, the wheelchair features modernized aerodynamic efficiencies, carbon fiber material, a complete chassis redesign and a personalized approach for customized athlete fit.

For the Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games, BMW North America supported eight Olympic and Paralympic athletes through the BMW Performance Team, including three-time Olympian and eight-time Olympic medalist Nathan Adrian (swimming), 2012 Olympic gold medalist Tyler Clary (swimming), four-time Olympic medalist Maya DiRado (swimming), four-time Paralympian Josh George (Paralympic track and field), four-time Paralympian April Holmes (Paralympic track and field), five-time Paralympian Tatyana McFadden (Paralympic track and field), two-time Paralympian Chelsea McClammer (Paralympic track and field) and three-time Paralympian Aaron Pike (Paralympic track and field).

To learn more about BMW’s partnership with the USOC and its four national governing body partners – U.S. Paralympics, USA Golf, USA Swimming and U.S. Bobsled & Skeleton – visit www.bmwusa.com/teamusa and www.bmwusanews.com.

BMW Group In America

BMW of North America, LLC has been present in the United States since 1975. Rolls-Royce Motor Cars NA, LLC began distributing vehicles in 2003. The BMW Group in the United States has grown to include marketing, sales, and financial service organizations for the BMW brand of motor vehicles, including motorcycles, the MINI brand, and the Rolls-Royce brand of Motor Cars; Designworks, a strategic design consultancy based in California; a technology office in Silicon Valley and various other operations throughout the country. BMW Manufacturing Co., LLC in South Carolina is part of BMW Group’s global manufacturing network and is the exclusive manufacturing plant for all X5 and X3 Sports Activity Vehicles and X6 and X4 Sports Activity Coupes. The BMW Group sales organization is represented in the U.S. through networks of 341 BMW passenger car and BMW Sports Activity Vehicle centers, 153 BMW motorcycle retailers, 125 MINI passenger car dealers, and 36 Rolls-Royce Motor Car dealers. BMW (US) Holding Corp., the BMW Group’s sales headquarters for North America, is located in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey.

Journalist note: Information about BMW Group and its products in the USA is available to journalists online at www.bmwusanews.com and www.press.bmwna.com.

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