James Cracknell Launches Siemens Stroke for Stroke Week

Tom White, chief executive, Siemens plc, and James Cracknell OBE, double Olympic gold medallist, today launched 'Siemens Stroke for Stroke Week' in partnership with The Stroke Association.

The campaign aims to highlight the positive benefits of regular exercise and to raise funds for The Stroke Association, by encouraging the business community to sign up to rowing 10k in the gym, between 3rd-9th December 2007. Siemens, the High Performance Partner of GB Rowing, hopes the campaign will see participants covering the entire distance around the world (40,076km), raising thousands of pounds for The Stroke Association to fund vital research.

Tom White, chief executive, Siemens, said:

"Stroke is often associated with older people, however it can affect anyone at any age. 25% of strokes occur in people under 65 and the impact of a busy, stressful working lifestyle can increase the risk of suffering a stroke. We wanted to highlight this important issue and help to raise vital funds for The Stroke Association. I’d encourage everyone to sign up to Stroke for Stroke Week and row their 10k!"

Rowing has been identified as an ideal form of exercise for busy, stressed executives, providing an effective cardiovascular workout, without putting stress on the joints. Stroke for Stroke Week will give participants the chance to discover the benefits of regular exercise by completing a sponsored 10k row over the course of the week.

James Cracknell commented,

"I am delighted to be supporting Siemens Stroke for Stroke Week. Rowing is a great choice of exercise for busy executives and completing a 10k row over the course of the week will be a perfect starting point for people to realise the health benefits rowing can bring. Today we are kick-starting the campaign by rowing the first 10k along our epic journey around the world and I hope many others will follow!"

Siemens Stroke for Stroke Week (3-9th December 2007), will be open to everyone across the UK with access to a rowing machine. Participants now have six weeks to sign-up to the campaign at www.siemens.co.uk/s4s and encourage colleagues, friends and family to sponsor them and raise vital funds for The Stroke Association.

Laura Funnell, Deputy Director of Communications, The Stroke Association commented,

"Stroke for Stroke Week will not only help The Stroke Association to raise vital funds for research into the prevention and treatment of stroke and better methods of rehabilitation for stroke suffers, it will also encourage more people to take up exercise to reduce their risk of stroke. We are asking people to row 10K which people maybe surprised to learn is less than 50 minutes of exercise spread out over a week for an average person."

Siemens will be organising a range of activities across the country in the build up to the Stroke for Stroke Week to encourage individuals and businesses across the country to sign up and pledge to row their 10k of the challenging campaign route around the world. Members of the GB Rowing team will also be supporting the campaign, offering tips and advice to participants on how to train for the week. Updates on this activity will be posted on the campaign website: http://www.strokeforstroke.co.uk