Boost for Paralympics Ireland as Allianz Agrees Partnership

Allianz Ireland has announced that it is to become an official sponsor to Paralympics Ireland in a two year deal. The new partnership will become an integral part of Allianz SE's renewal of its global support for the Paralympic Movement. After five years as Gold Patron of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), Allianz SE has agreed a two year renewal which will see it upgraded to become the organisation's first "International Partner". The extensive deal incorporates Allianz partnership with the IPC and no less than eight National Paralympic Committees including Germany, Portugal, Australia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Switzerland, Turkey and Ireland.

Commenting on the sponsorship announcement, Liam Harbison, CEO of Paralympics Ireland said; "Allianz has been a huge partner to the Paralympic movement for a number of years. We are delighted that Allianz have decided to extend their support of Paralympic Sport to Paralympics Ireland and the Irish Paralympic Team along with seven other national Paralympic Committees around the world. We are very excited by Allianz's plans to promote the awareness of the elite sporting success of Irish Paralympians in the build up to the London 2012 Paralympic Games."

Brendan Murphy, CEO Allianz Ireland added; "Allianz support for Paralympics goes beyond a straight forward sponsorship. This will be a combined global effort to support the Paralympic Movement with a particular focus on the London 2012 games and the legacy for the sport that those games will bring.

Allianz has been a global partner for five years but this new opportunity is unique in that we can now activate on a national level to bring our resources to bear on the preparations of our Irish elite athletes as they get ready to compete on the biggest stage in world sport. The fact that the games will be in London only adds to the excitement as this will be the closest we get to a "home" games in most of our lifetimes and we're thrilled to be supporting such an inspiring and talented team of elite athletes at Paralympics Ireland."

In January 2011, Paralympics Ireland named a 70 strong elite panel of athletes across nine sports who would bid for places at the London 2012 Paralympic Games. The success of Irish Paralympic athletes worldwide has continued apace in 2011 with gold medals for Catherine O'Neill and Michael McKillop at the IPC World Athletic Championships, a medal for Catherine Walsh and Fran Meehan at the UCI Para-Cycling Track World Championships and Mark Rohan taking gold in the 2011 UCI Para-Cycling Road World Cup Series.