Panasonic Renews Sponsorship Deal with Brazilian Athlete Daniel Dias until 2020

Athlete has a record-breaking 24 Paralympic medals

Sao Paulo, Brazil - Panasonic do Brasil Limitada (Panasonic Brazil) renewed its sponsorship deal with swimmer Daniel de Faria Dias until the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. In the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games, he earned nine medals, more than any other athlete, and finished with four gold, three silver and two bronze medals. To date, Daniel Dias has become the male swimmer with the largest number of medals in the Paralympic Games, with 24 in all.

The company has been supporting Dias since 2015, when it assessed the swimmer's history, path, and goals, and found that his principles matched Panasonic's core values and the Seven Principles in Panasonic's Business Philosophy: Contribution to Society, Fairness and Honesty, Cooperation and Team Spirit, Untiring Effort for Improvement, Courtesy and Humility, Adaptability, and Gratitude.

Panasonic is the Official Worldwide Partner for both the Olympic and the Paralympic Movement. An Olympic Sponsor since 1988, Panasonic's contract with the International Olympic Committee runs through 2024. In 2014, Panasonic signed an agreement with the International Paralympic Committee to be the Official Worldwide Partner for the Paralympic Games through to the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. For the company, "investing in sports and athletes is one way to remain faithful to the principle of 'Contribution to Society'," said Renata Assis, General Communication Manager at Panasonic Brazil.

In 2009, Daniel Dias received the Laureus World Sports Award, recognizing the most remarkable men and women in the world of sport each year, as the best Paralympic athlete of 2008. He was first nominated after earning nine medals in the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games. Until then, only three other Brazilians had received this award: Pelé (Soccer) for Lifetime Achievement in 2000, Bob Burnquist (Skateboarding) for Alternative Sportsperson of the Year in 2002, and Ronaldo Fenômeno (Soccer) for Comeback of the Year in 2003. Dias went on to receive the Laureus World Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability award twice more, in both 2013 and 2016.

Panasonic and the Paralympic Games:

• [Press Release] Panasonic Signs Official Worldwide Paralympic Partnership Agreement (October 15, 2014)
• [Press Release] Panasonic Becomes Gold Partner of the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games (August 25, 2016) (PDF: 45 KB)