The Finnish sports clothing and footwear brand Karhu has decided to support the Euro Roma 2024 Foundation as official supplier for the technical material of the European Athletics Championships, scheduled for next year from 7 to 12 June. A shared commitment to promote the values of athletics, celebrate its history and enhance the image of a major international event. The agreement extends beyond commercial purposes and ties together the threads with a glorious past, thanks to the full involvement of a prestigious figure in Italian athletics such as Franco Arese, who has led the Karhu company for ten years. Former athlete, gold medal in the 1,500 meters race at the European Championships in Helsinki in 1971, later entrepreneur and sports politician, Arese was president of the Italian Athletics Federation from 2005 to 2012 and has now enthusiastically seized the opportunity to participate to the project of the European Championships in Rome 2024, which will bring Italy and the capital back to the center of the international athletics scene.
“Karhu was the sponsor of the European Championships in Helsinki 1971 and will return to Rome more than 50 years later. A perfect link between the most important success of my career as an athlete, the gold in the 1500 meters in Helsinki, and Italy, my country. Now there is this new challenge as an entrepreneur alongside my children and our collaborators, a story that continues and gives me great energy and enthusiasm” explains Franco Arese, Chairman of Karhu.
Karhu will take care of the production and supply of clothing for the match officials, members of the organizing committee and volunteers who will contribute to the success of the European Athletics Championships in Rome 2024. Furthermore, the Finnish company will create the material for the official merchandising of the event, which will be put on sale starting in the next few months and will also be available in the stores of the Commercial Village set up outside the Olympic Stadium during the sporting event. “As soon as we met, I saw in the intentions and eyes of the Karhu managers, first of all Franco Arese, the desire to approach this challenge in a special way. Karhu will provide us with a beautiful collection of clothing, which will contribute to making the experience of the competition judges and all the staff who will participate in the organization of the European Athletics Championships exceptional” declared Paolo Carito, general director of the EuroRoma 2024 Foundation.
Karhu, “bear” in Finnish, is a leading brand in the running sector which, for a century, has been creating and supplying technical clothing for running and the outdoors. The company has a long history linked to athletics which represents a precious legacy to keep up with the times, and has a deep connection with outdoor activity and the natural environment. In fact, Karhu follows the Finnish principles of simplicity of design and purity of ride. Karhu shoes have been worn by the greatest Finnish athletes, including champion Paavo Nurmi, 12 Olympic medalists, 9 of them gold, as well as by five winners of the Boston Marathon. Karhu shoes and apparel are sold worldwide at specialty running and lifestyle retailers.
Source-www.adnkronos.com