PLANO, Texas, March 4, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- As part of
Toyota's ongoing commitment to the Paralympic Movement, the company
is leveraging its U.S. racing arm – Toyota Racing Development
USA (TRD USA) – to lend engineering and technology
expertise to develop the first-ever Toyota Sit-Ski, a monoski
available for use by U.S. Paralympics Alpine Skiing. Seven-time
Paralympic medalist Laurie Stephens
and two-time Paralympic medalist Andrew
Kurka are the two Team USA
alpine skiers who are set to compete in the Toyota Sit-Ski at the
Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter
Games.
![Toyota Sit-Ski Set to Make Debut at Paralympic Winter Games Toyota Sit-Ski Set to Make Debut at Paralympic Winter Games](https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1759720/Toyota_Sit_Ski.jpg)
"In a quest to revolutionize mobility for the world and inspire
the next generation of Paralympic athletes, we've teamed up with an
all-star group at Toyota Racing Development USA for this special project," said
Lisa Materazzo, group vice
president, Toyota Marketing, Toyota Motor North America. "There is
no better global event than the Paralympics for Toyota to reinforce
our passionate belief that everyone has the right to freedom of
movement in an inclusive society and we can't wait to see the
athletes compete in the first-ever Toyota Sit-Ski."
In celebration of the rig's debut on the world's
biggest stage, Toyota is giving sports fans and racing
enthusiasts an exclusive, behind-the-scenes look at the development
of the Toyota Sit-Ski project. The new multi-episode video series,
created in partnership with Media.Monks, a global creative and
production partner of Toyota in the
United States, can be viewed at ToyotaSitSki.com.
"It's an exciting collaboration that Toyota, TRD USA and U.S. Paralympics Alpine Skiing have
had for a few years now," said David
Wilson, group vice president and president, Toyota Racing
Development USA. "It will be an
incredible moment when we see the Toyota Sit-Ski come down the hill
for the first time in Paralympic competition given the team's heart
and soul that has gone into this project."
By applying lessons learned from their success on the racetrack,
TRD USA has dedicated a diverse
team of engineers and technicians to design a sit-ski from the
bottom up. Development of the project has been ongoing with testing
having first started back in the winter of late 2019. Five-time
Paralympian Chris Devlin-Young lended his expertise to both TRD
USA and U.S. Paralympics Alpine
Skiing in testing out the sit-ski to provide feedback along the
way. Project focus areas include the suspension system, seating
position/fit, and mechanical changes based on the disciplines
within para alpine skiing.
Building off of their success at PyeongChang 2018, Kurka is
looking to defend his gold medal in downhill and best his silver
medal in super-G. Stephens is hoping to best her bronze medal
in downhill and make it to the podium in super combined and
super-G.
"There's a lot of pressure on me especially going into
Beijing to not only win but to
represent my country and to set myself up for the future," said
Kurka, who is also a Team Toyota athlete. "I'm a very particular
sit-skier because my life is on the line when I'm out there and I
want to make sure that not only am I safe, but I'm fast. Win, lose
or draw, the Toyota Sit-Ski is an awesome monoski."
Testing and actual World Cup competition in the Toyota Sit-Ski
has taken the rig all over the world: Winter Park, Colorado; Saas-Fee and Saint
Moritz, Switzerland; Mount Hood, Oregon; Panorama, Canada; Lillehammer, Norway; and Åre, Sweden.
"It's been fantastic to have Toyota and TRD USA in this partnership," said Tony McAllister, associate director para-alpine
high performance, United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee.
"The athletes are going to be using the technology and what they
feel underneath them is the most important thing. Toyota really
enables our athletes to be at their best and they have so much fun
skiing in the Toyota Sit-Ski."
Toyota and the Paralympic Movement
Toyota has been an
active supporter of Paralympic athletes and adaptive sports. In
2015, the company became the official worldwide mobility partner of
the Olympic and Paralympic Committees for the 2017-2024 period. In
addition, Toyota is a proud partner of Team USA and several Paralympic National Governing
Bodies (NGBs) and Paralympic national teams, including: the
National Wheelchair Basketball Association; U.S. Paralympics Alpine
Skiing; U.S. Paralympics Cycling; U.S. Paralympics Nordic Skiing;
U.S. Paralympics Snowboarding; U.S. Paralympics Swimming; U.S.
Paralympics Track & Field; USA
Curling and the USA Wheelchair
National Curling Team; USA Hockey
and the U.S. National Sled Team; and USA Triathlon and the Toyota U.S.
Paratriathlon National Team. Toyota also has long-standing
relationships with Adaptive Action Sports (AAS) and Challenged
Athletes Foundation® (CAF). In addition, Toyota has featured two
U.S. Paralympians in Big Game commercials (Amy Purdy – 2015, Jessica Long – 2021).
Last year, Toyota launched a first-of-its-kind program offering
up to $5 million in support and
sponsorship opportunities to all eligible U.S. Paralympic athletes
in an effort to further support Team USA's Paralympic athletes as they pursue their
sport dreams. Coming from the Toyota U.S. Paralympic Fund is a
one-time stipend that directly impacts the lives of eligible U.S.
Paralympic athletes aiming to compete at the Paralympic Winter
Games Beijing 2022 and those who competed at the Paralympic Games
Tokyo 2020. To date, more than 430 U.S. Paralympic athletes and
hopefuls have received direct support from the more than
$4.9 million raised for the Toyota
U.S. Paralympic Fund. Toyota is also offering sponsorship
opportunities to athletes named to the U.S. Paralympic Team for
both the Tokyo and Beijing Games.
About Toyota
Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part
of the cultural fabric in North
America for more than 60 years, and is committed to
advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota
and Lexus brands, plus our more than 1,800
dealerships.
Toyota directly employs more than 48,000 people in
North America who have contributed
to the design, engineering, and assembly of nearly 43 million cars
and trucks at our 13 manufacturing plants. By 2025, Toyota's
14th plant in North Carolina will begin to manufacture
automotive batteries for electrified vehicles. With the more
electrified vehicles on the road than any other automaker, more
than a quarter of the company's 2021 North American sales were
electrified.
Through the Start Your Impossible campaign, Toyota highlights
the way it partners with community, civic, academic and
governmental organizations to address our society's most pressing
mobility challenges. We believe that when people are free to move,
anything is possible. For more information about Toyota,
visit www.ToyotaNewsroom.com.
Media Contacts:
Marissa Borjon
Toyota Motor North America
469-292-6395
marissa.borjon@toyota.com
For customer inquiries, please call: 800-331-4331
View original content to download
multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/first-ever-toyota-sit-ski-set-to-make-debut-at-paralympic-winter-games-301495839.html
SOURCE Toyota Motor North America