Orca has announced that 2013 ITU Triathlon World Champion Non Stanford is the newest member of the Team Orca roster of sponsored athletes.
As noted by the wetsuit and apparel firm, Non Stanford will become the newest member of ‘the Orca Team of World Champions’. The signing of a long term deal (through to 2016) with Orca allows both parties to focus on achieving their long term goals.
Non will be joining fellow U23 World Champion Matt Sharp, 2 x Ironman 70.3 World Champion Sebastian Kienle, Ironman Bike Record holder Andrew Starykowicz, 2 x Ironman Kona winner Chris ‘Macca’ McCormack, 2 x IM winner Åsa Lundström, 2x Olympian Courtney Atkinson and runner-up at Ironman 70.3 Pas D´Aix Albert Moreno.
Non will also become an integral part of ‘The Iron Minds’ documentary project that Orca launched last year. The Iron Minds project presents inspiring points of view on the mental strengths of triathletes worldwide.
The strap line for the marketing campaign reads… ‘Not even the best physical preparation can compete against an Iron Mind, the strongest muscle.’
Non is excited to work with a company that has such a strong history in triathlon. “I’m really looking forward to becoming part of such a great team, and hope that I can add to their already impressive list of accolades,” she said.
Orca Global Marketing Manager Raúl Casañas noted that Non Stanford represents all the values Orca stands for. “It is for us in the short term representative in the same way as Sebastian Kienle represents the long term; a young and smart athlete who is determined to grow,” he said.
Ian Clarke, Orca UK Brand Manager added, “Non’s signing represents another step for Orca in the UK to establish a base of world class athletes who have the support of a global brand to deliver long term goals.”
Orca is inspired by the open sea and its natural spirit of freedom. Founded in New Zealand but possessing a global outlook, Orca was created in 1992 because former triathlon champion Scott Unsworth was ‘passionate about creating better, faster wetsuits than those on the market at the time.’
That relentless desire to use cutting edge innovation to fuel the best performance remains with the company today. The Orca name ‘evokes the instinct and prowess of the powerful ruler of the oceans.’ Like the Orca whale, the brand’s designs have always been ‘organic, streamlined and in tune with nature.’
Orca notes that it is one of the original triathlon brands… ‘And because we have always been a brand that is by triathletes, and for triathletes, we know triathlon better than anyone else. It’s one of the reasons behind our international success and why we continue to be used by so many top triathletes.’
Orca is part of the Orbea family – with Orbea and Orca reaching an agreement in 2011 for Spanish Orbea to acquire Orca’s operation rights in the triathlon and compression area. Orbea in turn is part of the Mondragón Cooperative Corporation and is Spain’s largest bicycle operator.
