The sponsorship agreement aims to contribute to the success of the Paralympic team after they finished joint 50th on the medal table at Beijing 2008.

BP's support for the Turkish National Paralympic Committee includes main sponsorship of the team, support for selected individual athletes and providing fuels for the organisation's vehicles.

BP is already a Tier One sponsor of the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics.

The deal was officially signed at the five-star Çırağan Palace Hotel in the Turkish capital Istanbul in the presence of Turkish National Paralympic Committee President Yavuz Kocaömer, the country President of BP Turkey Djan Suphi and the fuels country manager of BP Turkey Richard Harding.

"The 2012 Paralympic Games will be held in London next year between August 29 and September 9," said Kocaömer.

"We will have the chance to participate with 40 athletes in London after participating with just one athlete in 2000, eight athletes in 2004 and 16 athletes in 2008.

"It is very exciting to see that a company of BP's stature and dedication to Turkey stands by our athletes, who work hard to represent our country in the best manner possible."

At the Beijing 2008 Paralympics, Turkey finished with two medals, including a gold which was won in archery by Gizem Girişmen (pictured).


The 30-year-old from Ankara was paralysed in a traffic accident in 1992 when she was just 11 but it was not until 2004 that she took up the sport of Para-archery.

She quickly became world number one before claiming victory in China in the individual recurve W1/W2 by defeating her Chinese rival Fu Hongzhi to pick up Turkey's second ever Paralympic gold following the gold won by shooter Muharrem Korhan Yamac at Athens 2004.

Girişmen, who went on to win gold at the 2009 Para-Archery World Championships in the Czech Republic, will be looking for her second Paralympic gold in London with the support of BP set to provide her and her teammates with a major boost.

BP Turkey provides services to its customers via approximately 600 fuel oil and 130 BP auto gas stations, as well as 70 stations under the trademarks of Petgaz and Ocakgaz.

Among the many priorities of BP Turkey are helping to improve the infrastructure conditions at fuel stations and creating safe and secure environments for its employees, dealers, and customers.

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