18 German athletes from Bayer sports clubs will compete in Rio

Nominated for the Olympics: 18 athletes from Bayer clubs will compete in Rio

Rio de Janeiro, 22-Jul-2016 — /EuropaWire/ — 18 German athletes from Bayer sports clubs have been nominated to compete. They will be there in Rio de Janeiro when the 2016 Olympic Games open in the legendary Maracanã Stadium on August 5. “We’ll be represented in five sports with our strong team,” said Jürgen Beckmann, Sports Coordinator at Bayer AG. Beckmann is optimistic that many athletes will be in top form in Rio, deliver personal-best performances and good results. “We have many athletes with a chance of winning medals – in track and field, judo, rowing, fencing and soccer,” he said.

The most well-known competitors are Lars Bender and Julian Brandt, who play for Bayer Leverkusen and the German national soccer team. In addition, fencers Maximilian Hartung and Matyas Szabo (both TSV Bayer Dormagen) and the judokas Miryam Roper-Yearwood and Karl-Richard Frey (both TSV Bayer 04 Leverkusen) – all athletes near the top in the world rankings – have good chances of finishing high up in the standings. Rower Felix Drahotta (RTHC Bayer Leverkusen) is also pulling for a victory. A member of the German eight crew now competing in his third Olympics, he is on course for gold in this thrilling boat class.

The German team’s physicians trust in Bayer products
Bayer’s support is not limited to athletes from its own clubs. Leverkusen-based Bayer Vital GmbH is providing medicines for the German team’s travel medicine kit, including Aspirin, Bepanthen, Canesten and Iberogast. Frank Schöning, Managing Director of Bayer Vital GmbH, explained there was never any question that the company would support the teams of athletes and doctors. “Bayer is very involved in sports, and we are happy to donate what we can to help safeguard the health of our athletes in Rio,” Schöning said.

2016 Paralympic Games
About two weeks after the conclusion of the Olympic Games, the Paralympic Games will take place at the same sports facilities. Approximately 4,300 athletes from more than 175 countries are taking part in the games, and TSV Bayer 04 Leverkusen will be represented by about 15 competitors. Bayer AG has been sponsoring disabled sports since 1950, and top athletes from the Leverkusen club have been competing in the Paralympics since 1984. With great success – TSV athletes have won a total of 66 medals at the Paralympics, 43 of them in track and field alone.

Big commitment to sports
Bayer – the namesake of 26 sports clubs near its sites – is among the biggest promoters and sponsors of sports in Germany. In addition to its commitment to professional and popular sports, as well as disabled sports, the company also supports youth sports. Bayer has concluded sponsoring contracts with individual athletes and teams, including the professional soccer players of Bayer 04 Leverkusen, promoters and sports associations, and also with the National Paralympic Committee Germany.

The Olympic competitors from Bayer sports clubs

Fencing
Szabo, Matyas	(sabre)	TSV Bayer Dormagen
Hartung, Maximilian	(sabre)	TSV Bayer Dormagen
Soccer
Bender, Lars	(midfielder)	Bayer 04 Leverkusen
Brandt, Julian	(midfielder)	Bayer 04 Leverkusen
Krahn, Annike	(defender)	Bayer 04 Leverkusen
Track and field
Camara, Alyn	(long jump)	TSV Bayer 04 Leverkusen
Dilla, Karsten	(pole vault)	TSV Bayer 04 Leverkusen
Menga, Aleixo-Platini	(sprint)	TSV Bayer 04 Leverkusen
Scherbart, Tobias	(pole vault)	TSV Bayer 04 Leverkusen
Przbylko, Mateusz	(high jump)	TSV Bayer 04 Leverkusen
Klosterhalfen, Konstanze	(1500 m)	TSV Bayer 04 Leverkusen
Koubaa, Sanaa	(3000 m steeplechase)	TSV Bayer 04 Leverkusen
Oeser, Jennifer	(heptathlon)	TSV Bayer 04 Leverkusen
Stahl, Linda	(javelin)	TSV Bayer 04 Leverkusen
Judo
Roper-Yearwood, Miryam	(57 kg weight class)	TSV Bayer 04 Leverkusen
Frey, Karl-Richard	(100 kg weight class)	TSV Bayer 04 Leverkusen
Rowing
Drahotta, Felix	(eights)	RTHC Bayer Leverkusen
Marchand, Kathrin	(women’s pairs)	RTHC Bayer Leverkusen

A few facts about Bayer sports:

• 23 “Bayer” sports clubs
• approximately 45,000 members
• 50 sports
• 64 Olympic medals
• 66 Paralympic medals
• over 200 World Championship medals
• over 100 European Championship titles
• over 800 German Championship titles

Bayer: Science For A Better Life

Bayer is a global enterprise with core competencies in the Life Science fields of health care and agriculture. Its products and services are designed to benefit people and improve their quality of life. At the same time, the Group aims to create value through innovation, growth and high earning power. Bayer is committed to the principles of sustainable development and to its social and ethical responsibilities as a corporate citizen. In fiscal 2015, the Group employed around 117,000 people and had sales of EUR 46.3 billion. Capital expenditures amounted to EUR 2.6 billion, R&D expenses to EUR 4.3 billion. These figures include those for the high-tech polymers business, which was floated on the stock market as an independent company named Covestro on October 6, 2015. For more information, go to www.bayer.com.

Forward-Looking Statements
This release may contain forward-looking statements based on current assumptions and forecasts made by Bayer management. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could lead to material differences between the actual future results, financial situation, development or performance of the company and the estimates given here. These factors include those discussed in Bayer’s public reports which are available on the Bayer website at www.bayer.com. The company assumes no liability whatsoever to update these forward-looking statements or to conform them to future events or developments.

PRESS CONTACT

Hans-Bernd Schmitz

Bayer AG, Germany
Media Relations
Bayer AG
51368 Leverkusen
Germany
Phone: +49 214 30-81341
Fax: +49 214 30-58567
hans-bernd.schmitz@bayer.com

SOURCE: Bayer AG