- Olympic Gold Medallist Ariarne Titmus makes a surprise return to her former school to encourage and inspire students with Chase Your Dream message.
- Motivational school session book-ends community activity for Ariarne Titmus in collaboration with Bridgestone.
- Ariarne Titmus' Tasmanian tour shares Olympic Spirit with her home-city.
LAUNCESTON, Tasmania (15 September, 2021) — Fresh from winning two gold, a silver and a bronze medal at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, Ariarne Titmus has returned to her home-city of Launceston to surprise students at her former school, share her success and provide encouragement through an inspirational question and answer session at a special assembly.
Ariarne, who is a Team Bridgestone Australia ambassador for the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, was keen to return to Launceston, where her Olympic dreams were formed, and share her story at an assembly for St Patrick's College Year 7-10 students, before spending time with the school's swimming team.
"Giving back to the community is something I am so passionate about, and being able to return to St Patrick's and celebrate my Olympic Games success with them is important to help others realise that dreams are possible," Ariarne said.
"I wouldn't be an Olympic Gold medallist without the inspiration from some of my heroes and the motivation of those around me, and I'm proud to be able to help inspire the next generation through activities like this."
This is the second community focussed activity that Ariarne has carried out in collaboration with
Worldwide Olympic and Paralympic Partner, Bridgestone, in line with the ethos of its 'Chase Your Dream' campaign. Prior to the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, Ariarne conducted a motivational session with her other former school, St Peters Lutheran College in Brisbane, to inspire the rising swimming stars ahead of local competitions and conduct a workshop with two students – both of whom went on to win their events.
"It's incredibly rewarding and humbling knowing that sharing my own story can make such a difference to others, and shape how they approach going about fulfilling their dreams in the same way I did. That's why I enjoy being part of Bridgestone's Chase Your Dream initiative," Ariarne added.
"It's great to have the support from and be able to collaborate with a company like Bridgestone that shares my passion for giving something back and wants to encourage others to chase their dreams."
St Patrick's College boasts a swim team of 45 students who compete in the competitive state-based schools competitions. According to principal, Tony Daley, the benefit of having Ariarne returning to the school goes beyond sporting achievements.
"Ariarne's visit means the world to our students and staff. It shows our current students who are passionate about sport that if they work hard and follow their dreams they too can succeed at the highest levels, Mr Daley said.
"I think it's always inspiring, but particularly in regional areas, for students to see someone from their own community succeeding on the world stage. Ariarne is an outstanding role model and represents the importance of youth engaging in sport and physical activity," he added.
Through investing in facilities and by partnering with Team Bridgestone Australia athlete ambassadors such as Ariarne, Bridgestone aims to encourage and inspire emerging athletes to 'Chase Your Dream' through a series of community-led projects that commenced in the lead up to Tokyo 2020, right through to the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 and beyond.
"To bring Bridgestone's Worldwide Olympic and Paralympic partnership to life in Australia, our hope was to take the 'Chase Your Dream' message to as many parts of the country as possible, and encourage and inspire Australians through meaningful activities just like this," said Bridgestone Australia & New Zealand Managing Director, Stephen Roche.
Throughout Bridgestone Australia's Tokyo 2020 activity, the tyre company has shown its commitment to making contributions to society though the refurbishment of a basketball court in Sydney's west with Tokyo 2020 Medallist Joe Ingles, introduced a group of children in Perth to surfing through a surfing school with professional surfer Connor O'Leary, contributed to a state-of-the-art Athletics facility in Adelaide and hosted an intimate training session with Sydney 2000 Olympic Gold Medallist Cathy Freeman, conducted a wheelchair tennis workshop in Melbourne with Rio 2016 Paralympic Gold Medallist Heath Davidson, and the two inspiration school appearances with Ariarne.
"Our objective was to showcase Bridgestone's values, going beyond our products and services, and highlighting that as a company we have a shared responsibility in shaping future generations. With the help of our Team Bridgestone Australia partners, we've achieved this by using our own Corporate Social Responsibility initiative as the basis for our projects," Mr Roche added.
Bridgestone Australia's Olympic-themed activity is underpinned by the company's global commitment to Corporate Social Responsibility, known as 'Our Way to Serve'. Through the 'Our Way to Serve' initiative, Bridgestone aims to improve the way people move, live, work and play through its three priority areas: mobility, people and environment.
The tyre company will continue to work locally towards this objective as part of its ongoing Worldwide Olympic and Paralympic partnership, with initiatives for the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 to be announced in the coming weeks.
About Bridgestone’s “Our Way to Serve” initiative:
“Our Way to Serve” aims to inspire Bridgestone teammates to continue doing great work, by continuing to do good for the world. “Our Way to Serve” organizes Bridgestone’s CSR efforts under three Priority Areas: Mobility; People; and Environment. “Our Way to Serve” reflects the company’s longstanding philosophy of “Serving Society with Superior Quality” and a recognition that the best companies not only perform for their stakeholders, but also contribute to a better world.
From our beginnings in the 1930s, our founder, Shojiro Ishibashi, believed that a business that contributes to society would do well by doing good. Today, this is more important than ever, with mounting social and environmental challenges threatening the planet and the quality of life of all people living on it. Now, as a global leader, the Bridgestone Group is committed to serving society by improving access to smart, safe transportation, building healthy, resilient communities, and minimizing our environmental impact. Looking forward, we remain committed to driving innovation around mobility, people, and the environment – so that we can continue to serve society with superior quality for generations to come.
About Bridgestone Australia Ltd.:
Bridgestone is a global leader in tyres and rubber, and is building on its expertise to provide solutions for safe and sustainable mobility. In Australia, Bridgestone Australia Ltd. offers a range of services and solutions to all segments of the Australian market to deliver social value and customer value. Bridgestone’s extensive range of quality tyres is complemented by the provision of mechanical and fleet services through the company’s nationwide retail network of Bridgestone Select and Bridgestone Service Centres, mobile service provider Lube Mobile, and the manufacturing and sale of quality retreads through Bandag Pty Limited. Bridgestone offers a diverse product portfolio of premium tyres and advanced solutions backed by innovative technologies, improving the way people around the world move, live, work and play.
About Team Bridgestone and Team Bridgestone Australia:
Athletes are the driving force of the Olympic Games and represent the heart of the Olympic Movement. They are also Bridgestone customers who put in countless hours on the road, day in and day out, traveling to and from training and competition, no matter the distance or weather conditions. In the lead up to the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games Beijing 2022, Bridgestone is proudly supporting athletes who embody the company’s “Chase Your Dream” message and will serve as the face of Bridgestone activities as Team Bridgestone.
Bridgestone Australia is proudly partnering with Australian Olympic Snowboarder and rising star, Tess Coady, to share the ‘Chase Your Dream’ message through the lens of ‘resilience’, building on the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) driven projects leading up to and during Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020.
About the Bridgestone Corporation Worldwide Olympic and Paralympic Partnerships:
Bridgestone Corporation, headquartered in Tokyo, proudly became a Worldwide Olympic Partner in 2014 and a Worldwide Paralympic Partner in 2018. The company has global rights to the Olympic and Paralympic Movements through to 2024, a period that includes the Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020, Beijing 2022 and Paris 2024. Bridgestone activities related to its Worldwide Olympic and Paralympic Partnerships are guided by a global “Chase Your Dream” message, which intends to inspire people to overcome obstacles and persevere in pursuit of their goals. Additionally, these activities advance the company’s efforts to help create a more inclusive and sustainable society in alignment with its global corporate social responsibility commitment, Our Way to Serve. As a worldwide partner, Bridgestone has marketing rights that include its full range of tires, tire services and selected automotive vehicle services, self-propelled bicycles, seismic isolation bearings, and a variety of building and industrial products.
