The Beijing Olympics 2008

In 2007 DSM launched the Innovation is our Sport^™ campaign. It serves as the umbrella of DSM’s activities in the field of sports, linking sports, technology and innovation. An important element is our partnership with the Dutch Olympic Committee (NOC*NSF). Together with the athletes we take great pride in performing beyond expectations.

Innovation is one of the main spearheads of DSM's strategic course. Innovation is equally important in the world of sports, where innovative developments and improvements based on nutrition and materials can support sportsmen and sportswomen in their daily practice and in competition, and can mean the difference between victory and defeat. There are many commonalities between sports and the marketplace in which DSM is operating.

DSM and the Dutch Olympic Committee have been Partners in Sport since 2001. DSM is developing new products in nutrition and materials together with the athletes and coaches of the Dutch Olympic team. During the Athens 2004 Olympics, PeptoPro^®, heat-regulating garments and a revolutionary rowing helmet were introduced; in Turin DSM came up with innovations in bobsleighs. Here we present a number of highlights of our innovations that will be used during the Olympic Games of 2008.

In August 2007, DSM started the pre-olympic year with two innovations in sports nutrition: PeptoPro^® powder and a special grade of Lafti^® for sportspeople. The Lafti^® grade has been developed in cooperation with the Dutch athletes. Further closing in on the Beijing Olympics, DSM launched a comfort cooling system at the end of 2007.

The Lafti^® drink contains probiotics: living bacteria that have a beneficial effect on the intestinal tract. The Lafti^® range combines several lactic acid bacterial strains whose probiotic properties have been scientifically proven. This innovation should help the Olympic athletes to boost their natural resistance and maintain a well-balanced intestinal flora. Top athletes are often prone to develop intestinal complaints and a weakened immune system, particularly in weather conditions such as in China during the summer.

PeptoPro^® powder is the latest form of PeptoPro^®, a casein hydrolysate – a protein cut into fragments – that ensures a quick recovery after intense training. Following the successful launch of PeptoPro^® drink during the Athens Olympics in 2004, DSM has worked hard to further improve the product. This has resulted in the present powder form that has a strongly improved stability and a better taste.

Athletes can use the PeptoPro^® powder to prepare the sports drink at the place and time at which they need it. Many of them had expressed this wish. The Dutch Olympic Committee and the Olympic Committees of several other countries have recommended the use of PeptoPro^® to their athletes preparing for the Olympics 2008 in Beijing.

The heat and high humidity that are characteristic of Chinese summers have a large impact on the human body. Effectively cooling the body under such conditions can greatly enhance an athlete’s ability to deliver a top-level performance and to recover quickly from this performance. As part of its Olympic Innovation Program, DSM has developed an all-round cooling concept.

During the previous Summer Games in Athens in 2004 the Dutch Olympic rowers already used special cooling products. In the run-up to Beijing 2008, DSM and the Dutch Olympic Committee in close consultation with athletes and their coaches have looked at possibilities for improvement and have developed and tested various new prototypes. This has resulted in the 'mobile' and fully modular comfort cooling system that was presented in December 2007 in the Olympic Stadium in Amsterdam.

The Unlimited Sports Team brings DSM and sports closer together. The company is sponsoring ambitious sportsmen and women that compete in Olympic sports disciplines.

The Unlimited Sports Team currently consists of Sharon Walraven (wheelchair tennis, Netherlands), Rens Blom (pole vault, Netherlands), the Netherlands volleyball team, two Netherlands sailing teams (470 class) and the Swiss fencing team (men and women).

Sharon Walraven started to play wheelchair tennis in 1994 and has won many tournaments around the world. She won Silver at the Paralympics in Sydney 2000 and at the end of 2007 held the third place in the world ranking.

The Dutch national men’s volleyball team won the Olympic gold medal at the Atlanta 1996 games.Both the Dutch men's and women's volleyball teams achieved good results in the last decennia.

The Dutch men’s and women’s 470 class sailing teams are both medal contenders for the 2008 Olympics. The brothers Sven and Kalle Coster are multiple Dutch champions. Lobke Berkhout and Marcelien de Koning won their third consecutive world title in 2007.

The Swiss fencing team will be a major medal contender at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The team is led by Marcel Fischer, who won the Olympic gold medal in Athens in 2004.