KUMHO TYRES BECOMES OFFICIAL PARTNER OF GB TAEKWONDO TEAM
In doing so, leading global tyre manufacturer Kumho has provided a welcome boost to the team as it begins its final preparations for London 2012. Fresh from its best ever medal haul at the European Championships in May, GB Taekwondo is ranked as one of Britain’s best medal hopes for the impending Olympic Games. The marriage is a natural one too, with Kumho Tyres being part of the giant Seoul-based Kumho Asiana Group, and the team being one of the world’s leading exponents of Taekwondo, the national sport of South Korea.
Said Kumho Tyre UK’s Managing Director Kie Myung Choe: “We are extremely excited to be involved with these fine athletes and very much look forward to assisting their endeavours at London 2012 and beyond. We are naturally very proud to have achieved this link with a sport that is so close to Korean hearts, and is now thought to have some 70 million exponents around the world. We are also deeply impressed by GB Taekwondo’s series of national initiatives that’s aimed at identifying talented young people and helping them to reach their full potential.”
Gary Hall, Performance Director at GB Taekwondo said: “We are delighted to agree a partnership with Kumho Tyres as we make our final preparations for the Games this summer. The backing of such a strong global brand will not only help us put the finishing touches to our 2012 planning, but support our aims for the wider development of the sport in the UK.
“We share a common goal in seeking maximum performance and there are some fantastic opportunities to achieve this with Kumho Tyres in both the short and long term.”
Taekwondo, that loosely translates to ‘the way of the hand and the foot’, first became an Olympic sport in 2,000 and Great Britain is now regarded as one of the world’s top Taekwondo nations, with some 600 clubs supporting 100,000 practitioners. No less than 17 British athletes comprise the ‘World Class Performance Programme’. They are drawn from all over the country and are trained at the sport’s national headquarters in Manchester.
The Olympic Taekwondo competition runs from August 8 to 11. Further details about Kumho and its tyre products for road and track can be found at www.kumhotyre.co.uk.
-Ends-
Editor’s Notes about GB Taekwondo
Based in Manchester, GB Taekwondo is responsible for the preparation, management and performance of British elite athletes at major World and European Championships and at the Olympic Games. Seventeen full time athletes are in training in Manchester, targeting medal performances in London this summer and at Rio 2016. GB Taekwondo as rights holders, are also responsible for the delivery of a series of major taekwondo events including the National Taekwondo Championships, 8-9 September 2012.
For further information contact: Steve Flynn, Commercial Manager, GB Taekwondo
Mobile: 07808 773264 Email: steve.flynn@gbtaekwondo.co.uk
Web: www.gbtaekwondo.co.uk Twitter: @teamgbtaekwondo
