The team comprises the likes of Olympic gold medal winners Tim Brabants, Victoria Pendleton and Alain Bernard, and Paralympic gold medallists Ellie Simmonds, Laurent François and Liz Johnson.

Between them they have claimed 45 medals this year in their respective World and European championships, whilst 11 are world champions and 15 are either Olympic or Paralympic gold medallists.

Gareth Wynn, EDF's group director of its London 2012 programme, told insidethegames of the pride he felt at the team they had put together.

"They are all really good role models," he said.

"What is remarkable is how they react and respond to not doing as well as they would like, or reacting when someone maybe just performs better on the day.

"The behaviours – ambition, self discipline, hard work – the inspiration we draw [from that] is very inspiring."


EDF is conducting a project to replace the lighting on Tower Bridge with the City of London, the Greater London Authority (GLA) and fellow London 2012 partner GE, and Wynn says it is about connecting that side of their work with the spirit of the Games.

"Becoming a partner of London 2012 is a business decision, a serious investment," he said.

"Sport is very emotional, people take notice of it and connect with it.

"When you communicate off the back of the Olympic or Paralympic games for us the connection is about how we motivate people to think about the way that they use energy.

"For us as an official partner and electricity supplier, our focus is on low carbon electricity, and ways they use it more wisely – replacing the lighting on Tower Bridge for example, which will save a significant sum of their energy consumption."

Among the messages Wynn's company is putting out is that simple things, such as turning off your television rather than leaving it on standby, can make a real impact, most notably in your wallet – saving an individual on average £400 a year.

This work and EDF's newly unveiled team were praised at today's event by Coe, who said: "EDF were the first partner of the bid and one of our very first tier one partners.

"This team of athlete ambassadors is packed full of talent, it gives me great pleasure to see such commitment to the people that will really light up the Games.

"I am expecting to see quite a few of these athletes on the podiums next year."

EDF Energy chief executive Vincent de Rivaz added: "We are proud to be a tier one partner of the 2012 Games during which we will provide our expertise in low carbon electricity.

"Becoming a partner in London 2012 has given us the opportunity to internationalise Team EDF and we are thrilled to have such a first class line up of talent.

"Team EDF embodies the spirit and internationalism of the Olympics and Paralympics and plays an important role in supporting EDF's vision for a low carbon future well beyond 2012."

One of the most passionate supporters of EDF's efforts at London 2012 is Paralympic 100-metre SB6 breaststroke champion Liz Johnson, who told insidethegames: "It's a great honour to be one of 36 athletes selected out of how many who compete at the Games?

"EDF have put so much into the Games and they can make a difference to the way people think about energy consumption."

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


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