The manufacturer of Kinesio® Tex Tape™ donated several thousand rolls of kinesiology tape to athletes at the 2008 Summer Games. The high visibility of the colorful athletic tape on such athletes as beach volleyball gold medalist, Kerry Walsh, has created an enthusiastic following by athletes and trainers from around the world. Among those wearing the colorful therapeutic tape were:
♦ High Jumper, Germaine Mason – UK
♦ Long Jumper, Hrisopiyi Devetzi – Greece
♦ Tennis Player, Fernando Gonzalez – Chile
♦ Hurdler, Paulo Villar – Colombia
♦ Sprinter, Wallace Spearmon – USA
♦ Basketball Player, Alex Mumbru – Spain
♦ Wheelchair Basketball Teams, UK and S. Africa
♦ Women’s Field Hockey Team – China
♦ Water Polo Player, Fran Paskvalin – Croatia
More recently, Kinesio® has become an Official Medical Supplier for the U.S. Ski and Snowboarding Association (USSA®). This means that Kinesio® will provide the athletes on the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Teams with elastic therapeutic taping products as they train for and compete in the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver, Canada.
Kinesiology tape will become more and more important to the Winter Olympic athletes as the games approach because of its ability to accelerate the healing process for many injuries as athletes continue to train.