Atos Origin Becomes Worldwide Partner of the International Paralympic Committee

Atos Origin today signed an agreement with the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) in Beijing to become its Worldwide IT Partner. Concurrently, Atos Origin signed an agreement with the National Paralympic Committee of China (NPCC) to sponsor Li Duan and Bian Jianxin, two Chinese Paralympic athletes, in defending their titles at the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games.


The two agreements signed today at the Sports Training Center for Disabled Chinese Athletes in Shunyi, Beijing, fully demonstrate Atos Origin’s commitment to the Olympic as well as the Paralympic Movement and the sport community at large. Following the previous agreement Atos Origin signed directly with the Beijing 2008 Organizing Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games (BOCOG), the agreement with the IPC enables Atos Origin to expand its Paralympic marketing rights worldwide. The sponsorship of Li Duan and Bian Jianxin makes Atos Origin the first Worldwide Olympic Partner to partner with NPCC to support Chinese Paralympic athletes, further manifesting its long-term commitment of growing and developing in China.


Under the agreement between Atos Origin and the IPC, Atos Origin will contribute to the development of the Paralympic Movement through the creation of a system which is designed to manage the athlete’s data, including results, biographical and classification specific information.

Sir Philip Craven, President of IPC, Mr. Wang Xinxian, President of NPCC and Vice Chairman of China Disabled Persons’ Federation, Mr. Lu Shiming, Executive Vice President of China Disabled Persons’ Federation, Patrick Adiba, Executive Vice President, Olympics and Major Events of Atos Origin and Herbert Leung, Chief Executive Officer of Atos Origin Asia, attended the signing ceremony.

“We heartily welcome Atos Origin to become the Worldwide Partner of the IPC. The Paralympic Games provide a stage for all athletes with a disability to demonstrate their strong spirit of meeting challenges as well as inspire and excite the world with their performances. We hope the Paralympic Games can further promote such a spirit and attract more companies like Atos Origin and individuals to support the Paralympic Movement.” said Sir Philip Craven, President of IPC. He also added that “the solution to be provided by Atos Origin shall help the IPC grow and offer better services to its members, National Paralympic Committees, athletes and competition organizers.”

Mr. Wang Xinxian, President of NPCC and Vice Chairman of China Disabled Persons’ Federation, said, “We highly appreciate Atos Origin’s continuous efforts to support the Chinese Paralympic athletes after it became the Partner of the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games. With the offer to Li Duan and Bian Jianxin, Atos Origin is the first company to invite Chinese Paralympic athletes to become its brand ambassadors. The invitation is of special significance to the cause of sports for the disabled in China. It reflects the recognition of the spirit, values and dignity of the disabled athletes and the Paralympic movement by companies and all walks of life. It also demonstrates the attention to and supports for the cause of disabled in China.”


Mr. Wang Wei, Executive Vice President of BOCOG, congratulated Atos Origin on becoming the Worldwide IT Partner of the IPC on top of its status as Partner of the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games. “With Atos Origin’s strong expertise in information technology, excellent track record and rich experience in previous Games, we believe Atos Origin is the best partner for the IPC. The support provided by Atos Origin will undoubtedly contribute to the success of the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games and towards the goal of ‘Two Games, Same Excellence’”, said Wang.


“We are honored and proud to become the Worldwide IT Partner of the IPC. It marks a milestone in Atos Origin’s history of supporting both the Olympic and Paralympic Games, at a global level. It demonstrates that Atos Origin attaches the same level of importance to both the Olympic and the Paralympic Movements,” said Patrick Adiba, Executive Vice President, Olympics and Major Events of Atos Origin. “Atos Origin has been a strong believer in these international movements empowering people and helping them achieve goals they might not have otherwise believed they could attain.”


”We have been integrating our sponsorship of sports into our overall corporate social responsibility scheme, so as to fulfill our responsibilities of giving back to communities as a corporate citizen.” said Herbert Leung, CEO of Atos Origin Asia. “We are very pleased to provide support for Li Duan and Bian Jianxin in their quest in achieving glory against all odds. We wish them all the best at the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games.”


The two Atos Origin sponsored Paralympic athletes are Mr. Li Duan, Paralympic Champion of Men’s F11 Long Jump and Men’s Triple Jump at the Athens 2004 Paralympic Games and Ms. Bian Jianxin, Paralympic Champion of Women’s 48- kg Powerlifting at the Athens 2004 Paralympic Games. “I am very happy to work with Atos Origin, a long term Partner of the Olympic and the Paralympic Games.” said Li Duan. “I hope that with my efforts, China’s national flag will be raised and the Chinese national anthem will be sung during the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games. The support provided by Atos Origin will add fuel to my training and motivate me to realize my dream.”


As the champion at both the Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004 Paralympic Games and being China’s first female Paralympic athlete winning gold medals in Powerlifting, Bian Jianxin also shared Li Duan’s aspirations. “I believe Chinese athletes with a disability can win gold medals at the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games and will keep their names on the book of world records. I really appreciate the support provided by Atos Origin to the development of sports of the handicapped in China. Their support and love will motivate us to strive to make best performance, achieve best results and gain more honor for China.”


The Atos Origin contract with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is the largest sports-related IT contract covering: Salt Lake City in 2002 (operating as SchlumbergerSema); Athens in 2004; Torino in 2006; Beijing in 2008; Vancouver in 2010; and London in 2012. Atos Origin has primary responsibility for Information Technology, relating to IT consulting, systems integration, operations management, information security and software applications development for the Olympic Games.
Atos Origin has also been the IT Partner of the 2002, 2004, 2006 Paralympic Games and is currently working on the 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing. It has started the preparation for 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver and will soon start the first steps for 2012 in London.