Henkel Sponsors Extreme Athletes in 2013
Snowboard & Snowmobile Athletes Rely on Strength of Loctite® Adhesives at X Games Aspen
Rocky Hill, Conn. - On January 24 through 27 at X Games Aspen 2013, Henkel Corporation will sponsor four extreme athletes and help them compete in the games by using Loctite® brand adhesives and sealants to keep their equipment in top performance shape. Athletes on the Team Loctite® roster include pro snocross racer and freestyle rider Levi LaVallee, pro snocross racer Kyle Pallin, pro adaptive snowmobiler Mike Schultz and pro snowboarder Sage Kotsenburg.
"All Loctite® sponsored athletes excel in extreme sports that push their equipment to the limits," explains Mike Shannahan, Henkel's director of marketing for the North American general industry business. "Loctite® adhesives, threadlockers and sealants are known around the world for their excellent performance under adverse conditions. Loctite® products allow our sponsored athletes' boards, sleds and prosthetic devices to resist the most powerful forces of man and nature."
Levi LaVallee, a seven-time Winter X Games medalist, competes on a high performance snowmobile enhanced with Loctite® adhesives and sealants. In his successful 2012 world record distance jump of 412 feet, LaVallee relied on Loctite® products to help his sled complete the jump and survive extreme impact on landing. The sled pulled away intact and running soundly. At X Games Aspen 2013, Levi will compete in the Snowmobile Freestyle event on Thursday, January 24, at 7:00 p.m MST; the Speed & Style event on Saturday, January 26, at 2:45 p.m. MST; the Snocross competition on Sunday, January 27, at 2:00 p.m. MST; and the Best Trick competition on Sunday, January 27, at 7:00 p.m. MST. Recently chosen by ESPN as one of the top 50 influencers in Action Sports, Levi is excited to compete again this year.
Pro rider Kyle Pallin joined the Team LaVallee roster for the 2012-2013 snocross season. At 21, the Ironwood, Mich., resident is now in his second season as a pro rider. He competed in his first Winter X Games during 2011, placing 4th in the Snocross event as a semipro racer. Pallin began racing at the age of 12.
"Monster" Mike Schultz, four-time X Games medalist who lost his left leg in a racing accident in 2008, will compete in the Adaptive Snocross event on Sunday, January 27, at 1:15 p.m. MST. Schultz uses Loctite® products on all his equipment, and swears by them to "keep all of my foot and knee bolts tight" on his prosthetic leg. Mike, who participated in an adaptive Snowboarding demonstration at the 2012 Winter Games, will be back to defend his adaptive Snocross Gold Medal from the 2011 Winter X Games.
Sage Kotsenburg returns for his third X Games Aspen, where he will compete in the Snowboard Slopestyle events on Thursday, January 24, at 1:00 p.m. and Saturday, January 26, at noon MST. At just 19 years old, Kotsenburg earned a silver medal in the Winter X 2012 Slopestyle event. During 2011, he landed the first-ever Cab double cork 1440 at Air & Style in Innsbruck, earned a bronze medal in the Winter X Snowboard Big Air competition, took third at the Arctic Challenge and was named to the U.S. Snowboarding Slopestyle Pro Team. Kotsenburg also scored silver in the Slopestyle event at WXG Europe 2010.
ESPN will present X Games Aspen 2013 at Colorado's Buttermilk Mountain for the 11th consecutive year. Celebrating 17 years of the winter version of X Games, this year's competition will feature more than 150 athletes competing for medals and prize money in skiing, snowboarding and snowmobiling. X Games Aspen will be covered live on ESPN's family of networks as well as on XGames.com and X Games social media platforms.
At X Games Aspen 2013, Loctite® will again sponsor a tent in the X Fest with product samples and demonstrations, X Games memorabilia, athlete posters, and autograph sessions with Loctite® sponsored competitors. For autograph dates/times, daily updates and additional information during the event, and to see the latest sticky situation that Levi LaVallee and Loctite® Larry have gotten into, follow Loctite via social media: www.twitter.com/Loctite_Xtreme, www.facebook.com/loctite, and www.youtube.com/loctite. At the Team Loctite® X Games tab on Facebook, visitors can find behind the scenes photos, videos, trivia questions and more.
For more information on Henkel's sponsorships, visit http://www.henkelna.com/xgames.
Henkel operates worldwide with leading brands and technologies in three business areas: Laundry & Home Care, Beauty Care and Adhesive Technologies. Founded in 1876, Henkel holds globally leading market positions both in the consumer and industrial businesses with well-known brands such as Persil, Schwarzkopf and Loctite. Henkel employs about 47,000 people and reported sales of $21.7 billion and adjusted operating profit of $2.8 billion in fiscal 2011. Henkel's preferred shares are listed in the German stock index DAX.
Contact
Paula Zakrzewski Shepard
Image Ink Public Relations
Tel: 860-228-8056
imageinkpr@aol.com
Henkel Corporation
Engineering Adhesives
One Henkel Way
Rocky Hill, CT 06067
Tel: 1-800-LOCTITE (562-8483)
Tel: 860-571-5100
www.henkelna.com/industrial
