Bridgestone Americas has announced its support for five United States athletes ©Bridgestone

Bridgestone Americas has announced its support for five United States athletes on the road to the Pyeongchang 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.

Figure skaters Nathan Chen and Ashley Wagner, bobsleigh athlete Elana Meyers Taylor and Para snowboarders Amy Purdy and Evan Strong will all receive support.

"Team Bridgestone" athletes are selected based on criteria related to the company’s "core values, their personal stories, performance attributes and community involvement".

Each athlete will receive financial support and access to Bridgestone products and technologies.

As brand ambassadors, they also will participate in community, customer and employee activities leading up to and during next year’s Games.

“These athletes embody what it means to be Bridgestone,” said Gordon Knapp, chief executive and President of Bridgestone Americas.

“They have a drive to be the best and a commitment to performance at the highest level.

"On top of that, they’re incredible people with stories of passion, determination and ingenuity.

"They inspire us to keep chasing the impossible, and we are extremely proud to help them chase their dreams.”

Chen became the first person to land five clean quadruple jumps at the 2017 US Figure Skating Championships in January as he won his maiden national title.

He did it again a month later to claim the International Skating Union Four Continents title at the Olympic test event in South Korea. 

Sochi 2014 silver medallist Elana Meyers Taylor is one of the five athletes ©Getty Images
Sochi 2014 silver medallist Elana Meyers Taylor is one of the five athletes ©Getty Images

Wagner has won three US national championship titles and a bronze medal in the team event at Sochi 2014.

She also claimed silver at the 2016 World Championships, becoming the first American woman in a decade to medal at the event.

Meyers Taylor won bronze at Vancouver 2010 as a brake woman and then silver at Sochi 2014 as a driver, becoming the first female bobsleigh athlete to win a medal in both positions. 

Purdy claimed Paralympic bronze at Sochi 2014 while Strong has won multiple World Cup titles, a Winter X Games gold medal and a Paralympic gold at Sochi 2014.

Last year, Bridgestone Americas signed an eight-year sponsorship deal with US Paralympics.

The deal maintained the organisation's strong relationship with the Olympic and Paralympic Movement as the company, founded in Fukuoka in Japan in 1931, became part of The Olympic Partner scheme in 2014.

They also recently joined up with Tokyo 2020 as a Paralympic Gold Partner and were announced as the first founding partner of the Olympic Channel back in August 2016.