Toronto, July 11 - Visa, a proud sponsor of the Olympic Games for 25 years, announced today that it will continue its long term sponsorship of Olympians Nicole Forrester (athletics/high jump), Brent Hayden (swimming), Karen Furneaux (kayaking), Emilie Heymans (Diving), and Paralympians Benoit Huot (swimming) and Richard Peter (wheelchair basketball), on their journeys to the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The Canadian athletes join an elite global group of Visa-sponsored athletes that include Olympic gold medalists such as Michael Phelps (swimming), Yelena Isinbaeva (athletics/pole vault) and Allyson Felix (athletics).

Visa-sponsored athletes and their inspiring stories will be featured prominently throughout Visa's Olympic-themed marketing campaign – Go World - to connect with cardholders and help drive preference for and usage of Visa products worldwide.

For 25 years, Visa has sponsored the Olympic Games and provides valuable marketing exposure and financial support to Olympic and Paralympic athletes as they pursue their dreams of competing at the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Leading up to the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, Visa will support more than 50 individual athletes and national teams from more than 20 countries, including the United States, Canada, Brazil, United Kingdom, China, South Africa and Russia.

"The Olympic and Paralympic Games begin and end with the athletes, and we’re excited to continue our long-term sponsorship of Nicole Forrester, Brent Hayden, Karen Furneaux, Emilie Heymans, Benoit Huot and Richard Peter as part of our roster of Visa-sponsored Olympic athletes," said Brenda Woods, Head of Marketing, Visa Canada. "Building off our legacy of athlete support since 1986, we remain committed to helping Olympic and Paralympic hopefuls achieve their lifelong goals as they embark on the greatest athletic challenges of their lives."

Visa’s athlete selection process is based on a variety of criteria including their personal journey to the Olympic and Paralympics Games, athletic achievements, dedication to developing their sports, and active community involvement.

Editors Note
For additional information, please visit www.visa.com/olympicmediakit.

About Visa
Visa is a global payments technology company that connects consumers, businesses, financial institutions and governments in more than 200 countries and territories to fast, secure and reliable digital currency. Underpinning digital currency is one of the world’s most advanced processing networks—VisaNet—that is capable of handling more than 10,000 transactions a second, with fraud protection for consumers and guaranteed payment for merchants. Visa is not a bank and does not issue cards, extend credit or set rates and fees for consumers. Visa’s innovations, however, enable its financial institution customers to offer consumers more choices: pay now with debit, ahead of time with prepaid or later with credit products. For more information, visit www.corporate.visa.com

Media Contacts
Carla Hindman
Visa Canada
416.860.8869
chindman@visa.com

Nancy Panter
Visa Inc
650.432.1454
npanter@visa.com

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