Nissan Presents Team of Athletes for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games

RIO DE JANEIRO – At an event in Rio de Janeiro today, Nissan do Brasil presented 25 of the 30 members of "Team Nissan," an incentive program for athletes focused on the Rio 2016 Olympics and Paralympic Games™. "Team Nissan" was selected by a jury that included:

• François Dossa, Nissan Brazil's general director, administration and finance (and president of NBA beginning January 2013)
• Murilo Moreno, director of marketing
• Marcus Vinícius Freire, superintendent of sports of the Brazilian Olympic Committee
• Edílson da Rocha, technical director of the Brazilian Paralympic Committee
• Mentors Hortência Marcari and Clodoaldo Silva

 
They chose 24 Olympic athletes and six Paralympic athletes from over 300 applicants to form the "Team Nissan."

The official announcement of the team was held at the Lagoa Rowing Stadium, an official 2016 Olympic Venue, and attended by Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn and several Nissan executives. Sports officials, authorities, athletes and guests also attended. The names of five athletes not announced at the event will be confirmed after their contracts are signed; all of them were unable to sign it due to competitions and travels.

At the moment, athletes from 12 Olympic and five Paralympic sports (12 men and 13 women) from 11 different Brazilian states are part of "Team Nissan" (see list below).

"With this project, Nissan aims to contribute to the development of the sport and leave a legacy for Brazilian athletes," said Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn, who won from the athletes an autographed Brazilian flag.

Contributing to education "beyond the field" for "Team Nissan" members, Nissan will promote frequent workshops and seminars. At the meeting held two days before the official announcement, the athletes attended lectures on Olympic Spirit (with Olympic medalist Adriana Behar), press relations and social media. Other topics included career management, sports psychology and nutrition. Nissan has also planned activities with the athletes' coaches.

All team members will receive a Livina XGear, considered the top of the Livina family from Nissan. To meet the needs of the Paralympic athletes, the vehicles will be adapted.

"Our goal is to facilitate the mobility of the athletes, contributing to a better quality of life and also for better performance during training," said François Dossa.

The fencer Jovane Guissone, Paralympic champion during the Games in London, is a good example of this benefit. He used to spend four hours commuting to go to practice.

Hortencia Marcari, Brazilian basketball icon and Olympic medalist, and Clodoaldo Silva, one of the biggest Paralympic medalists of all time, will be the "mentors" of these young athletes, monitoring their preparation and sharing their personal and professional experiences until the start of the competitions in 2016.

Nissan Brazil is a sponsor of the Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games™ and will provide 4,500 vehicles focused on clean energy (ethanol, natural gas and electricity).

The members of "Team Nissan" are the following athletes (in alphabetical order):

• Adriana Araújo, boxing
• Alessandra Marchioro, swimming
• Ana Marcela de Jesus, swimming
• Evandro Gonçalves, beach volleyball
• Felipe Kitadai, judo
• Franck Caldeira, athletics
• Graciele Herrmann, swimming
• Guilherme Toldo, fencing
• Isabel Swan, sailing
• Isabela Ramona Macedo, basketball
• Leonardo de Deus, swimming
• Nivalter Santos, canoeing
• Raphaela Galacho, taekwondo
• Renata Decnop, sailing
• Renato Rezende, cycling
• Rosangela Santos, athletics
• Vitor Araújo, beach volleyball
• Yamaguchi Falcão Florentino, boxing
• Ygor Coelho, badminton
• Claudia Cícero dos Santos, rowing
• Dirceu Pinto, bocce
• Edência Garcia, swimming
• Jovane Guissone, fencing
• Michele Ferreira, judo
• Susana Scharnardof, swimming

About Nissan
Growing significantly in recent years, Nissan aims to reach 5% of market share by 2016. To achieve this goal, the company will introduce 8 new models in Brazil until 2016. Launched in 2011, Nissan Versa and Nissan March marked the company's entry in the two highest volume segments of the Brazilian market - compact hatches and compact sedans. Today Nissan do Brasil operates 157 stores across the country and has plans to increase this number to 239 by 2016. Producing in São José dos Pinhais, Parana, since 2002, Nissan announced in 2011 an investment of $ 2.6 billion to build a new factory in the country, in Resende, state of Rio de Janeiro, scheduled to begin operation in 2014 and capable of producing 200,000 cars a year.

Reinforcing its commitment to the country, Nissan will be the official sponsor of the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games™, and the Brazilian Olympic Committee in the category "Cars". This partnership includes the delivery of 4,500 vehicles of various types that will meet the needs of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games ™ and Team Brazil. This fleet will prioritize clean energy (ethanol or electricity), supporting the efforts of the Rio 2016™ to achieve the sustainability goals of the Games.

About Nissan North America
In North America, Nissan's operations include automotive styling, engineering, consumer and corporate financing, sales and marketing, distribution and manufacturing. Nissan is dedicated to improving the environment under the Nissan Green Program and has been recognized as an ENERGY STAR® Partner of the Year in 2010, 2011, and 2012 by the U.S Environmental Protection Agency. More information on Nissan in North America and the complete line of Nissan and Infiniti vehicles can be found online at www.NissanUSA.com and www.InfinitiUSA.com, or visit the Americas media sites NissanNews.com and InfinitiNews.com.

About Nissan
Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., Japan's second-largest automotive company, is headquartered in Yokohama, Japan, and is part of the Renault-Nissan Alliance. Operating with more than 248,000 employees globally, Nissan provided customers with more than 4.8 million vehicles in 2011, generating revenue of 9.4 trillion yen ($118.95 billion US). With a strong commitment to developing exciting and innovative products for all, Nissan delivers a comprehensive range of 64 models under the Nissan and Infiniti brands. A pioneer in zero-emission mobility, Nissan made history with the introduction of the Nissan LEAF, the first affordable, mass-market, pure-electric vehicle and winner of numerous international accolades, including the prestigious 2011-2012 Car of the Year Japan and 2011 World Car of the Year awards.

For more information on our products, services and commitment to sustainable mobility, visit our website at http://www.nissan-global.com/EN/.

                 
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