PLANO,
Texas, March 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Toyota
Motor North America (TMNA) announced today the addition of
USA Track & Field and U.S.
Paralympics Track & Field stars Gabby Thomas and Ezra Frech to its lineup of Team Toyota Olympic
and Paralympic athletes.
"The additions of Gabby Thomas and Ezra
Frech to our already impressive list of accomplished Team
Toyota athletes is something we're all very excited about as we
prepare for the Olympic and Paralympic Games Paris 2024," said
Lisa Materazzo, group vice
president, Toyota Marketing, Toyota Motor North America. "Everyone
at Toyota proudly supports all members of Team Toyota and these
additions to the family will continue to allow our message of
freedom of movement for all to resonate through various
disciplines."
Thomas is a two-time Olympic medalist, earning silver in the
4x100m relay and an individual bronze medal in the 200m event. The 26-year-old Northampton, Massachusetts, native qualified
for the USA Track & Field team
in the 200m by clocking a trials
record time of 21.61, which was the second fastest time in history
and broke the Olympic Trials record. Thomas was a part of the
4x200m U.S. relay team that took home gold in the 2019 world
relays. She also won the 300m event
at the 2022 New Balance Indoor Grand Prix as a three-time defending
champion. A 2019 graduate of Harvard
University, Thomas medaled multiple times in the NCAA Indoor
and Outdoor Track & Field Championships, including winning gold
and breaking the collegiate record in the 200m in 2018. She continuously embodies Toyota's
mantra of Kaizen (continuous improvement) as she is currently
pursuing a master's degree from the University
of Texas at Austin in Public Health with a focus in
epidemiology. With her hundreds of thousands of social media
followers, Thomas continues to inspire others with her posts and
sharing of her work on-and-off the track.
Thomas' work ethic through her college career has showcased her
sheer determination as she graduated with a neurobiology degree and
a secondary in global health and health policy. Thomas has also
been focused on giving back in her life with lofty goals of
transforming the healthcare industry with countless community
efforts focused on resources available for all those in need when
it comes to mental health issues.
"Toyota has continued to invest in the Olympic and Paralympic
movements, and I'm so honored to be able to join Team Toyota as I
prepare for the Paris Games," said
Thomas. "Team Toyota is filled with so many talented athletes and
I'm excited to have their support on-and-off the track."
Frech, born with congenital limb differences, has been a
disability advocate since the age of four. Frech was missing his
left knee and left fibula and fingers on his left hand. He received
his first prosthetic leg at 11 months old and had surgery at three
years old to remove the lower leg and transplant the big toe to his
hand. He received his first running leg at four years of age
and played a variety of sports throughout his
childhood. His passion was basketball and he was playing at
the club level prior to his shift to Paralympic Track &
Field. Frech competed in the Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020, finishing
fifth in the high jump and eighth in the long jump. He also
participated in the 2019 World Para Athletics Championships as a
14-year-old in 2019 with a top finish of seventh in the high
jump.
In an effort to ensure that everyone has access to sports, the
17-year-old Los Angeles,
California native co-founded Angel City Sports and the Angel
City Games, an annual, multi-sport competition with events in more
than 11 adaptive sports open to athletes across the nation. Angel
City Sports provides free year-round adaptive sports opportunities
for kids, adults and veterans with physical disabilities or visual
impairments.
"It's a great honor to be able to officially join Team Toyota,"
said Frech. "Toyota has truly become a mobility company and has
invested so much in the Paralympic movement with projects such as
the Toyota U.S. Paralympic Fund. I'm thrilled to be aligned with a
company that shares my values and my mission to ensure sports are
available to everyone."
Toyota continues to emphasize its vision of an ever-better
society through developing mobility products and solutions that
allow people to live life to the fullest. In partnering with Team
Toyota athletes, the company has been able to share in this
dedication and encourage others to do the same.
"Gabby and Ezra each bring a new, fresh motivational voice to
Toyota's mobility message," said Dedra
DeLilli, group manager, Sponsorship Marketing, Toyota Motor
North America. "By bringing these extraordinary individuals into
the Team Toyota family, we're not only able to support them
throughout their Olympic and Paralympic journeys, but we're also
able to amplify their stories and connect with people around the
world who have a shared passion for sport."
In 2015, Toyota became the Official Worldwide Mobility Partner
of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. In addition to its
relationship with the IOC and IPC, Toyota is a partner of Team
USA; US Speedskating; U.S. Figure
Skating; USA Hockey and the U.S.
National Sled Hockey Team; USA
Skateboarding; U.S. Ski & Snowboard; USA Swimming; USA Track & Field; U.S. Masters Swimming;
U.S. Paralympics Alpine Skiing; U.S. Paralympics Nordic Skiing;
U.S. Paralympics Snowboarding; U.S. Paralympics Cycling; U.S.
Paralympics Swimming; and U.S. Paralympics Track & Field.
About Toyota
Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part
of the cultural fabric in North
America for more than 65 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 45 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 more electrified vehicles on the road
than any other automaker, Toyota currently offers 22 electrified
options.
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:
Sam Mahoney
Toyota Motor North America
980-900-8573
Samuel.mahoney@toyota.com
Pam Jansen
Golin for Team Toyota O/P
386-631-2489
pjansen@golin.com
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SOURCE Toyota Motor North America