Arena Supports Team Arena Member Eric Shanteau Sponsoring "Swim For Your Life" Benefiting LIVESTRONG

Sept. 14, 2010 - PRLog -- Arena, one of the leading companies at the world-wide level in the sports water-wear category, showed their support of Elite Team Arena member Eric Shanteau by becoming an official sponsor of Shanteau’s Swim For You Life benefitting LiveSTRONG. U.S. Olympic Swimmer Eric Shanteau will be hosting his first open water weekend event September 18th and 19th at Lake Lanier Island Resorts near Atlanta, Ga.

Shanteau, who overcame cancer that was diagnosed just days before the 2008 Olympic trials, is now a strong voice in the LiveSTRONG Community. He was recently featured on the cover of the LiveSTRONG Quarterly along with founder Lance Armstrong.

“Eric’s courage extends far beyond his accomplishments in the water and we are proud to have the opportunity to support him in this worthy cause,” Bryan Smeltzer, vice president of marketing, Arena USA. “Eric’s passion and efforts to support the world's fight against cancer are infectious and we are 100% behind him and the ‘Swim for Your Life’ event.”

Benefitting LIVESTRONG, the weekend kicks off Saturday morning with an open water clinic hosted by Shanteau and fellow Olympians Aaron Peirsol and Amanda Weir followed by an autograph and picture session. A 500 yard Junior Swim will follow the clinic in which children ages 12 and under along with their parents will get an introduction to open water swimming. Saturday night will end with a Welcome Party and Dinner highlighted with Eric Shanteau's LIVESTRONG speech.

Sunday, September 19th will consist of both a 1K and a 5K open water race followed by an awards ceremony followed by festival/entertainment. The event costs $100 per adult participant and $55 per youth participant and includes a full weekend of events as well as a race goodie bag.

Visit http://www.ShanteauOpenWater.com to register for the event. Olympians will be on hand all weekend to teach, dine, and race with participants as all are invited to join together to "Swim For Your Life."

About Arena
Since 1973, Arena creates and markets waterwear products for competitive swimmers and swim-fans and it is recognised as one of the premium brands for high quality swimwear and equipment. Over the last 36 years, the Company has developed a strong expertise in developing best in class products with particular focus on the Pool segment, while also gradually expanding into the Leisure/Beach segment.

Nowadays, Arena operates with commercial subsidiaries in Italy, France and Germany and through a network of worldwide distributors and licensees. The Arena brand is present in 80 countries worldwide, out of which 70 are directly managed by the Arena Group (6 through commercial subsidiaries and 64 through distributors and licensees), while in the Far East (10 countries) the brand is owned and managed by the Descente Group.

The genuine liaison of Arena to the world of sport and in particular to swimming competitions is enhanced by sponsoring activities at different levels, including governing bodies, national federations, athletes and clubs.

About Eric Shanteau
On his way to the 2008 Olympics, Eric has ridden a rollercoaster that included being diagnosed with testicular cancer, swimming the fastest 50m breaststroke split in the history of the 200 IM and having his father diagnosed with lung cancer. Despite the turmoil, Eric made the 2008 US Olympic Team in the 200m Breaststroke and after competition returned home to receive treatment. Now cancer free, Eric continues to train and improve daily on his way to the 2012 Olympics and has also become involved in Lance Armstrong's LIVESTRONG foundation. He graced the cover of  LIVESTRONG Quarterly recently alongside Armstrong and participates in cancer related charity work as often as he can.

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Open Water Planet (OWP) owns and operates several major open water events including, Aaron Peirsol's Race for the Oceans™, and Eric Shanteau's Swim For Your Life.