- Olympic Gold Medallist Cathy Freeman outlines her journey to aspiring athletes in next instalment of community-led projects by Bridgestone.
- Future stars encouraged to 'Chase Your Dream' in the lead up to the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 and beyond.
- Bridgestone Athletics Centre provides ideal environment for talent development.
ADELAIDE, South Australia (24 May , 2021) — A group of rising athletics stars have had the rare chance to train under the guidance of an Australian Olympic legend at the recently opened Bridgestone Athletics Centre in Adelaide, as part of Bridgestone's community activations in the lead up to the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020.
Bridgestone, a Worldwide Olympic and Paralympic Partner, aims to encourage and inspire emerging athletes to 'Chase Your Dream', through its Team Bridgestone Australia ambassadors, including Olympic Gold Medallist Cathy Freeman, through a series of activations across Australia.
As the Australian Olympic Team prepares for the Olympic Games in Bridgestone Corporation's home city, Cathy Freeman spent the day at the brand new, state-of-the-art Bridgestone Athletics Centre with a group of 40 aspiring athletes ranging from six to 14 years old, outlining her journey to winning her Gold Medal at the Olympic Games Sydney 2000 and sharing advice for their own athletics ambitions.
The Team Bridgestone ambassador believes that facilities like the Bridgestone Athletics Centre will be integral in encouraging Australians to get involved, as well as fostering tomorrow's stars.
"It's exciting to come to a facility like the Bridgestone Athletics Centre and share experiences with the next generation of athletes, and provide them with opportunities to learn and grow and work towards their dreams," Cathy Freeman said.
"Bridgestone Athletics Centre will play a huge role in developing future athletes in the area, but being so accessible, will allow the entire community to benefit. It's inclusive and meaningful projects like this that make me proud to be a Team Bridgestone Australia athlete, and be able to play a role in inspiring these rising athletes to chase their dreams."
The Bridgestone Athletics Centre sits on the former site of Bridgestone Australia's manufacturing site, now called Bridgestone Reserve. The realisation of the Bridgestone Athletics Centre was brought to life by the perfect alignment of values between the City of Salisbury and Bridgestone, a global leader providing sustainable mobility and advanced solutions. The project is underpinned by the common goals of inspiring the next generation through providing access to facilities, built with sustainability as a priority.
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.
"Providing the community with access to inspirational Olympic icons like Cathy Freeman at state-of-the-art facilities such as the Bridgestone Athletics Centre is an incredible way to bring our Olympic and Paralympic partnership to life and make a meaningful contribution to society. We're incredibly proud to be able to provide such an opportunity to inspire the next generation to chase their dreams and highlight that Bridgestone is more than tyres through activity like this," said Bridgestone Australia & New Zealand Managing Director, Stephen Roche.
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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.
