News release
31st August 2011
Otto Bock ‘gets set’ for London 2012 Paralympic Games
Otto Bock to unveil its London 2012 International Leadership Team
at International Paralympic Day, London, 8th September 2011
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.co.uk or follow @ottobockuk on Twitter.
Notes to Editor:
Otto Bock’s new ambassador Australian Kelly Cartwright will also be available for interview by phone
or Skype. Kelly was a finalist in the T42 100m at the Paralympic Games in Beijing and 2011 World
Champion in the T42 100m and F42 long jump, in which she also set a world record. With Otto
Bock’s help Kelly has her sights set firmly on London 2012.
Picture caption: (Further images available on request)
Otto Bock Healthcare gets set to unveil its International Leadership Team, who will manage all of its
80 world-class technicians on site at the London 2012 Paralympic Games, on International
Paralympic Day, at Trafalgar Square, London, on Thursday 8th September 2011.
About Otto Bock Healthcare
Otto Bock is a world leading supplier of high quality, innovative and practical solutions that restore
human mobility and help people to rediscover personal independence. Otto Bock Healthcare is part
of the Otto Bock global group of companies established in the UK in 1976. Its wide product range
includes high quality prosthetic and orthotic components, wheelchairs, rehabilitation and mobility
products available through the country's leading clinics and dealers. With a highly motivated and
skilled team of professionals offering expert advice, product sales, service and support, Otto Bock
solutions enhance the physical comfort, confidence and mobility of the individual. Otto Bock aims to
achieve the best possible outcome for its customers, combining the latest technology with cuttingedge products and services.
Otto Bock is also the Official Prosthetic, Orthotic and Wheelchair Technical Service Provider of the
London 2012 Paralympic Games. It has been promoting sports for people with disabilities for more
than three decades with the commitment to the Paralympic Games beginning in 1988. Otto Bock has
been an official ‘Worldwide Partner of the Paralympic Movement’ since 2005. www.ottobock.co.uk
For further press information and images please contact:
Charlotte Rowland / Matt King
Anna Parisi
Media Safari
Manager – PR and Partnerships
T: +44 (0)1225 471202
London 2012 Paralympic Games
E: charlotter@mediasafari.co.uk
Otto Bock Healthcare
T: +44 (0)7584 162563
E: anna.parisi@ottobock.com