Image Credit: Inpho.ieToyota has deepened its engagement with Irish sport and added European Cross Country champion Fionnuala Britton to its roster of sporting ambassadors.
Last week the car giant announced that it was becoming the official vehicle partner of Cricket Ireland and investing money into grassroots as well as elite sport.
It would seem the money is being freed up by a likely ending of the eight year deal that Toyota has enjoyed with Munster Rugby, worth an estimated €1 million a year in cask and kind.
Britton joins Katie Taylor and Paul O’Connell as brand ambassadors and has chosen a new Toyota Auris as her car of choice.
“I am delighted to become an ambassador for Toyota here in Ireland,” said Britton. “Training mostly from Dublin and with the typical inclement weather it is fantastic to have reliable wheels to take me to and from training.”
Britton was one of the stars at the Woodies DIY Senior Indoor Championships at Athlone Institute of Technology‘s new international standard arena last weekend and is in training for the World Cross Crountry Championships at Bydgoszcz in Poland on March 24th.
Britton goes into that race as the reigning double European champions and has a burgeoning reputation abroad as well as at home.
“When it comes to athlete sponsorship, our aim is to partner with people that show exceptionally high standards and dedication to their craft,” said Ian Corbett, marketing operations manager for Toyota Ireland. “Fionnuala has been the outstanding performer in Irish athletics in recent years and we look forward to supporting her through the World Cross Country Championships and beyond in her quest for qualification to the 2016 Olympics in Rio.”