The Unlimited Sports Team

Sharon started to play wheelchair tennis in 1994. Since then she has won many tournaments around the world, and currently holds second position in the world ranking. Winning Silver at the Paralympics in Sydney 2000 was her ultimate personal triumph and greatest achievement so far. Now Sharon is focusing on the Paralympic Games of Beijing 2008 to win another Olympic medal! To learn more about Sharon’s road to Beijing, please check Sharon’s personal website.

Sharon’s remarkable and inspiring story of adversity, perseverance and personal triumph has been written down in a book by a former member of Parliament and sports ambassador Jan Rijpstra. This book, entitled “Terugslaan bij Tegenslag” was presented on November 22, 2007. More information and how to order (available only in Dutch) can be also be found on her website.

In August 2005, Dutch pole vault athlete Rens Blom reached the highlight of his career during the World Championships in Helsinki. Rens was the first Dutch athlete ever to win a Gold medal at a World Athletics Championship, and holds a personal and Dutch national record of 5.81 meters. After competing in two previous Summer Games in Sydney (2000) and Athens (2004), his focus is now on Beijing 2008, where he hopes to win an Olympic medal. Follow his Road to Beijing on his website.

Rens’ passion for his sport is illustrated by the fact that,in addition to his active career as a world class athlete, he also founded the Rens Blom Foundation, aimed at supporting the development of young talent for instance by providing training facilities and organizing clinics for young and talented pole vault jumpers.

The Olympic Gold Medal in Atlanta 1996 established volleyball as one of the most popular sports in the Netherlands. Under the inspirational leadership of Joop Alberda, the team, featuring star players such as current national coach Peter Blangé and Ron Zwerver, seized the highest price in sports in a memorable match against Italy, which was later proclaimed the greatest Dutch sports moment of the century. Now, both the men’s and women’s national team are again looking to qualify for the next Summer Olympics in Beijing. Team work and a constant drive for technical perfection are core values that fit perfectly well with the Unlimited.DSM brand. For more information, please go to the official website of the National Teams of Dutch Volleyball Federation (Nederlandse Volleybal Bond, Nevobo).

The most recent members of the Unlimited Sports Team are the Dutch men’s and women’s 470 class sailing teams. DSM is proud to be an innovation partner of these two world class teams both of which are medal contenders for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. We look forward to supporting these top athletes in achieving their Olympic dream on the waters off the coast of Qingdao!

The brothers Sven and Kalle Coster of Team Coster are multiple Dutch champions, were runners up in the recent World Championship in Cascais, Portugal, and went on to win the Open Dutch Championships in Medemblik in October 2007. Beijing will be their second Olympic Games after what was already a successful first appearance in Athens 2004.

Lobke Berkhout and Marcelien de Koning are reigning World Champions in the women’s 470 class and won their third consecutive title in Cascais earlier this year. Thanks to these extraordinary performances, Lobke and Marcelien were knighted in the Order of Oranje Nassau in October 2007. Their mission for Olympic Gold in Beijing can be followed on their webpages.

With their performance during the World Championships in Melbourne, de Koning and Berkhout delivered yet another qualifiying result for the Olympic Games in China. The Coster brothers showed a sustainable performance by finishing among the top twelve countries. This has made qualification for both teams a certainty.

We proudly announce the partnership with the Swiss Fencing Federation, which was signed in Kaiseraugst on December 12th, 2007. The world class fencing team, with 2004 Olympic Champion Épée Marcel Fischer, will compete in the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing and represents the first non-Dutch athletes joining DSM’s Unlimited Sports Team. Swiss Fencing's core values of accuracy, speed, elegance and concentration perfectly complement DSM's ambitions in the fields of sustainability and innovation.

On March 12, 2008, DSM and the Tianjin Sports Bureau announced an agreement involving the sponsorship of top female Chinese judokas who will be competing in the Olympic Games of Beijing in August. The two year agreement, covering not only the Olympic year but continuing into 2009, further underlines DSM’s involvement with sports and our presence in China.

Judo is a traditional oriental sports dating back to the second half of the 19th century. It is an Olympic discipline for men since the games of Tokyo in 1964. For women, judo saw its Olympic debut in Barcelona 1992. It is a tactical sport involving skill, intelligence and strategy. Chinese judo is highly competitive, especially in the women's competitions. Two of the top athletes representing the Tianjin Sports Bureau are Shi Junjie, current World Champion in the < 52 kg category, and Tong Wen, triple world champion and team World Champion in 2007 (+78 kg).

The agreement was signed in Tianjin in the presence of high-ranking officials of the General Administration of Chinese Sports, the Chinese Judo Association of Tianjin, the Vice Mayor of Tianjin, and Weiming Jiang on behalf of DSM.

On 1 May 2008 DSM and USA Volleyball announced a sponsorship agreement of the US national men’s and women’s indoor and beach volleyball teams that will participate in the Olympic Games this summer in Beijing. 

Volleyball is the second largest participation sport in the world, with more than 800 million participants worldwide. Introduced as an Olympic sport in 1964, with beach volleyball added in 1996, volleyball’s popularity has grown rapidly in the past decade. This rapid growth and innovative spirit mirror the growth and innovation of DSM, making USA Volleyball and DSM perfect partners in the promotion of volleyball and healthy living. “USA Volleyball is pleased to announce our new partnership agreement with DSM,” said USA Volleyball Secretary General Kerry Klostermann. “DSM is a world leader in creating innovative products that enrich the lives of people worldwide. We are proud to be involved with DSM.”

For DSM, the agreement marks another important milestone in the development of the Innovation is our Sport™ program. “DSM is very proud to be a partner of USA Volleyball. It is an important first step in DSM’s active involvement with sports in the United States,” said Bob Hartmayer, Business Group Director of DSM Pharmaceutical Products in Parsippany, NJ. “ As a sport, volleyball has seen many changes over the past few decades. The introduction of beach volleyball has revolutionized the sport and created a new lifestyle concept. This mindset fits very well with the strategic importance of innovation in our company, and we look forward to bringing our experience and achievements in sports innovation to our new partners.”