The chosen athletes, selected by BMW as part of its role as the Official Mobility Partner of the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) will receive financial support in addition to access to BMW resources and technologies in the build up to the Games.

The unveiling of the athletes has been timed to coincide with the 100 day countdown to the Olympics, where the United States team will be hoping to improve upon their 37 medals, and third place on the medals table, at Vancouver 2010.

Among the athletes chosen are Elana Meyers and Curtis Tomasevicz, two bobsleigh competitors who won medals at Vancouver.

Meyers won a bronze in the two women's event while Tomasevicz claimed gold in the four man category and has since won three World Championship titles.

Steve Langton, a two-time world champion in the two and four man bob  is also among those supported.

BMW have been particularly involved in bobsleigh and, in particular, is aiming to help the US team win its first Olympic gold medal in the two-man event since Garmisch-Partenkirchen 1936.

They have completely reconstructed the bobsled system from the ground up, working to minimise the turbulence associated with the speed and force of driving the sled and BMW engineers will continue to be closely involved in the lead up to Sochi 2014.

Their involvement has also extended to other sports, including helping speed skater Heather Richardson, the reigning world sprint champion.

Speedskater Heather Richardson, in action at the Winter Olympics in 2010, is another to be supported by BMW


The Paralympic disciplines are also a key dimension of the support.

Among those receiving support are the two-time gold medalist in alpine skiing in Alana Nichols as well as the eight-time World Cup winning snowboarder Evan Strong.

Trudy Hardy, vice-president of marketing, BMW of North America, explained how seriously their partnership with the athletes extends. 

"We now have relationships with athletes who perform on land, water, snow and ice and the one thing that remains consistent across each of them is their inspiring commitment to performance," she said.

"Their passion for sport is what drives us to find new ways to support their journey to gold.

"We're proud to be among their supporters."