The cash to make a splash (From Wiltshire Business Online)

The cash to make a splash

11:33am Wednesday 5th March 2008

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ACCOUNTANTS Morris Owen have teamed up with Swindon triathlete Emma-Kate Lidbury in a partnership which is hoped will bring Olympic success.

The Devizes Road-based firm of chartered accountants, tax and financial advisers have pledged their support to 27-year-old Emma-Kate, a former Advertiser reporter who is now focusing on the sport of swimming, cycling and running.

Emma-Kate, who is from Cricklade, sees a medal at the London Olympics in 2012 as her ultimate goal, and says the sponsorship deal with Morris Owen is the first step in enabling her to achieve this ambition.

She said: "I'm delighted to have secured this sponsorship from Morris Owen. I'm hugely grateful to them for backing me and I'm sure it will prove to be a beneficial partnership for us all.

"Triathlon is a rapidly expanding sport and is one of the fastest growing sports in the UK, so more and more businesses are keen to become associated with it.

"Thanks to the support of Morris Owen, I will now be able to train, race and recover in a way that should really yield some top results.

"Balancing a full-time career with high volumes of physical training had previously really limited my potential as a triathlete."

This isn't the first time Morris Owen have become involved with local athletes. They also support speedway star Leigh Adams and actively seek to forge links in the community, sponsoring charities and organisations in the Swindon area.

Morris Owen partner Rob Beale said: "While 2012 seems a long time in the future, Emma-Kate is determined to work towards her goal and we are proud to play a part in helping her achieve it."

Emma-Kate made the decision to focus more seriously on triathlon after winning a bronze medal at the World Triathlon Championships in Hamburg, Germany, last September.

She finished the season ranked among the world's top 10 female amateur triathletes and decided to escape the British winter to train in Noosa, Australia, from October until Christmas.

She said: "I was able to train full-time in Australia in glorious sunshine and was training alongside some of the sport's most famous professionals, so I had a great insight into what it takes to make it at the very top of the sport."

Emma-Kate has also secured sponsorship from Savills Oxford and Wiggle.co.uk, the UK's top online bike and triathlon retailer.

Wiggle has launched a triathlon team this year, for whom Emma-Kate will be racing this season, and they are providing her with training and race bikes, sports nutrition, kit and equipment.

Emma-Kate's key races this year will be the World Championships in Vancouver, Canada, in June, and the European Championships in Lisbon, Portugal, in May.

She will also be racing at a number of UK races, including the world's largest triathlon, the London Triathlon, in August.

She currently races Olympic distance triathlons, which involve a 1500m swim, a 40km cycle and a 10km run, with her best time for this distance being just over two hours, but she will soon be looking to compete in Half Ironman races (1.9km swim, 80km bike, 21km run).

She trains between 15 and 20 hours a week, swimming 12-15km in the pool, clocking up 120-150 miles on the bike and running upwards of 30 miles, as well as weights sessions in the gym.

• Any other businesses keen to find out about sponsorship opportunities with Emma-Kate can e-mail her at eklidbury@hotmail.com.

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