Williams links up with Olympic champion

11/01/2012

Williams has announced a new sponsorship agreement with Michael Johnson Performance Inc, the company founded by Olympic gold medallist and world record holder, Michael Johnson.

MJP focuses on training top level athletes in all sports, and the new partnership is aimed at enabling Williams to ensure every aspect of its performance is at the highest level, with particular regard to the team's pit crew.

During his illustrious athletics career Michael Johnson broke world records in the 200 metres, 400 metres and 4x400 metres relay, becoming known as the fastest man in the world when he completed the historic 200 and 400 metre Olympic double in 1996.

The MJP Center was opened in 2007 to train youth and professional athletes in all categories of sports. The centre's focus is on building athletes' speed, agility, strength and stamina in order to develop an improved athletic performance by following the same training philosophy and methods Michael Johnson used to win his four Olympic and nine World Championship gold medals.

The partnership with Williams will hopefully bring these world class expertise and training principles to areas of the team as it focuses on improving all aspects of its performance for the coming season.

The partnership will see the MJP logo displayed on the sleeves of driver and team overalls, personnel uniform and across the team. MJP will also provide an intensive training programme for the team's pit crew personnel as well as conducting an evaluation of the team's training regime.

"I had the privilege of first meeting Michael at the Belgian Grand Prix in the late 1990s," said Frank Williams. "I have always admired the dedication required to be an Olympic Champion. The attention to detail and the commitment required is what sets these extraordinary individuals apart from the rest of us. When Michael and I met again recently he explained how he had established a company that specialized in improving athletic performance. I was extremely keen to learn how he could help our team as there seemed to be a lot of areas of common interest. Michael's sporting achievements speak for themselves, and the principles he used to become the fastest man in the world are certainly transferable into our own hugely competitive field. Formula One is about all aspects of the race. We all know how crucial the brief time the car spends in the pits can be, and so it will be exciting to see how Michael and his team can help give us the edge in this respect. We're all really looking forward to working with them over the coming years."

"Everyone at Michael Johnson Performance is excited about our partnership with Williams." said Johnson. "Williams is known around the world as one of the most successful teams in the history of Formula One and has achieved great success over the years and we look forward to helping them continue that winning tradition. I have been a huge Formula One fan since I first attended the Grand Prix at Spa in 1990 where I had the great privilege of meeting Sir Frank Williams.

"I am confident that the experience and biomechanics expertise of the MJP staff that has benefited numerous American football athletes, Premier League football teams, and Olympic federations, can also benefit the Williams F1 Team pit crew in their goal to cut hundredths and even tenths of a second from their pit stop times."