KT Tape Named Official Kinesiology Tape for USA Wrestling
FEBRUARY 23, 2016
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo - KT TAPE® and USA Wrestling today announced KT TAPE as the official kinesiology tape for USA Wrestling and the U.S National Team. The partnership extends through 2020.
Designed for muscle, ligament, and tendon pain relief, and support, KT TAPE products will be available to USA Wrestlings National Team Athletes, with the product also available to participants at select USA Wrestling national events.
USA Wrestling is extremely pleased to announce our partnership with KT TAPE. We know that KT TAPE has proven to be a force in helping elite athletes perform at consistently high levels and we believe it is a perfect addition to the wrestling family. Their slogan Train Longer. Finish Stronger. very much resonates with wrestlers at all levels. We are confident this relationship will make a difference for U.S. wrestlers and serve as a beginning of a mutually beneficial arrangement for both brands long into the future, said Rich Bender, USA Wrestling Executive Director.
KT TAPE was founded in 2008 following the Beijing Olympic Games to empower everyday athletes to relieve pain and provide muscle support. As the category leader, KT TAPE is the most widely distributed kinesiology tape brand in the United States and is also sold in more than 40 countries.
With such intense training in the sport of wrestling, KT TAPE is proud to support these athletes throughout their preparation, Olympic Trials and competition, said Greg Venner, chief executive officer of KT Health. Because KT TAPE provides pain relief and support without affecting an athletes mobility, Team USA wrestlers are able to compete and train for the Olympics with the utmost confidence and support from our products.
USA Wrestling has over 226,000 members, including 195,000 athlete members. It sanctions more than 2,100 events annually. It boasts more than 4,400 chartered clubs across the nation and has more than 29,000 active coaches. It also oversees the 2,600 officials who belong to the U.S. Wrestling Officials Association.
Wrestling is a sport which was featured in the ancient Olympic Games in Greece, and included in the first modern Olympic Games in Athens, Greece in 1896. It has been included in every modern Olympic Games except the 1900 Olympics.
There are 18 medal events in wrestling at the upcoming Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Wrestling will be held in Iowa City, Iowa, April 9-10.
USA Wrestling has won the fourth-most Olympic medals for Team USA among all Summer Olympic sports programs, with 129 medals, including 52 gold medals. American wrestlers who have won two Olympic gold medals include George Mehnert (1904, 1908), John Smith (1988, 1992) and Bruce Baumgartner (1984, 1992). The United States is a world power in all three Olympic disciplines at the World Championships, including World Team Titles in mens freestyle (1993, 1995), womens freestyle (1999) and Greco-Roman (2007).
About USA Wrestling
USA Wrestling is the National Governing Body for wrestling in the United States and, as such, is its representative to the United States Olympic Committee and United World Wrestling, the international wrestling federation. Simply, USA Wrestling is the central organization that coordinates amateur wrestling programs in the nation and works to create interest and participation in these programs. USA Wrestlings 226,000-plus membership is comprised of athletes of all ages, coaches, officials, parents and fans. On the elite level, USA Wrestling is responsible for the selection and training of teams to represent the U.S. in international competition, including the World Championships and Olympic Games. On the developmental level, USA Wrestling fosters grassroots expansion of the sport, through the sanctioning of age-group tournaments and the chartering of wrestling clubs. National and regional championships are held for wrestlers from nine years old through the Senior level. For more information, visit TheMat.com.
