Following the 2012 London Olympic Games, ABEO, a designer, manufacturer and distributor of sports and leisure equipment, successfully rolled out all of its equipment at this year's Rio Olympic Games. The Group was selected to supply the gymnastics equipment, basketball backstops and competition stages.

Rio 2016 Olympic Games: another technical and logistical success for ABEO

The Olympic Games provide ABEO with a unique opportunity to demonstrate its technical expertise and logistical know-how. The Group spent over two years fine-tuning the equipment to be supplied to athletes, matching the high standards of their sporting performances. Launched in August 2014, the production phase was completed at the beginning of this year. Transported in 46 containers, all 200 items of equipment arrived in Brazil last April and were put to the test during the Test Event. In total, ABEO supplied the equivalent of seven complete sets of equipment for the gymnastics trials (apparatus, mats, beams, bars, floors and vaults), and sent a team of twenty technicians to ensure the proper installation and maintenance of the equipment.

The ABEO Group's professionalism was specifically recognised in a thank you letter sent by Bruno Grandi, President of the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG): “I would like to congratulate ABEO for their excellent work behind the scenes throughout the two-week Olympic programme. Nothing is more valuable during events like these than being able to count on reliable partners, who supply athletes with high-quality equipment that meets the exacting standards of the Olympics.” 

Olivier Estèves, ABEO's Chief Executive Officer, made the following comment: “We are particularly proud to have contributed to the smooth running of this event, and I would like to thank all those who helped to ensure the success of this major project. The boost to our image has been phenomenal: the Olympic Games certainly are one of the most effective marketing platforms in the world, reaching billions of people in more than 200 countries. I would also like to congratulate American gymnast Simone Biles, partner of our Spieth America brand, for her outstanding performance: she clinched five medals during the Games, four of them gold.”

Aiming to Tokyo 2020

Promising meetings have been held with the Olympic Games Organising Committee for Tokyo 2020, with ABEO aiming to become one of the equipment suppliers.

Early August, the Committee also announced that sport climbing is to become a new Olympic sport. Two medals will be awarded for this new discipline: one for women and one for men. Forty climbers, comprising an equal number of men and women, will battle it out in speed, lead and bouldering tests over four days, resulting in a combined score for the three disciplines.

Backed by its subsidiary Entre-Prises, the world's leading climbing wall manufacturer, its partnership with the International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) and its Olympic Games experience, ABEO is well placed for selection as the equipment supplier for the next Olympic Games in Tokyo. Founded in 1985 in Saint-Vincent-de-Mercuze, France, Entre-Prises invented the modular artificial climbing wall and is the worldwide leading manufacturer of climbing walls.

Further information on www.groupe-abeo.fr

Contacts

For any questions relating to this press release or the ABEO Group, please contact:

ACTUS finance & communication

Press relations – Serena Boni presse@beo.fr Tel: +33 (0)1 53 67 36 39