POSTED: Thursday January 21st 2010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

THREE FINALISTS REVEALED IN THE CONTEST TO DESIGN LINDSEY VONN'S HELMET FOR THE VANCOUVER OLYMPIC WINTER GAMES

Vote Now on NBCOlympics.com For The Design You Think Lindsey Should Choose

Winning Helmet Design to be Announced on Jan. 28

    NEW YORK - Jan. 20, 2010 - Lindsey Vonn, one of the most successful Alpine skiers in U.S. history, challenged fans, in a contest on NBCOlmypics.com, to convince her that their artwork is what she should feature on her helmet while soaring down the slopes during the upcoming 2010 Vancouver Olympic Winter Games.  Now it’s down to the final three designs.

NBCOlympics.com invites fans to join in the Countdown to Vancouver and participate in the final voting in the “Design Lindsey’s Helmet” contest.  The final three designs, as chosen by a team of judges including Vonn and her husband Thomas a former U.S. Olympic Ski Team member, are available for viewing now at NBCOlympics.com/lindseys-helmet/.

The winning design will be announced and the helmet will be revealed on Thursday, Jan. 28 at the SnowSports Industries America ("SIA") annual industry trade show, in Denver.  The announcement will run simultaneously at NBCOlympics.com/lindseys-helmet/.

The grand prize winner for the “Design Lindsey’s Helmet” contest is awarded a trip for two to Vail, Colo., one of the world’s top ski resorts. Second place receives a pair of Head skis and bindings and the third place designer wins a Uvex helmet and goggles.

Helmet artist Chris Wood of Airtrix, a Santa Barbara, Calif., based helmet design company, will paint the winning helmet.

THE FINALISTS ARE:
Carolyn McHale, Boulder, CO
Creative director and owner of Boldface Design Group, Inc.

ON WHY SHE ENTERED: “I thought it would be a fun challenge. How often do you get to design a ski helmet for an Olympic athlete? Throw in the mix that it’s for the best female alpine skier in the world, and that makes it a honor if I win.”

ON HER DESIGN: “Snowflakes and the American flag inspired me. I wanted something clearly American, yet feminine. I wanted the helmet to emerge from the snow, so the colored design comes out from a white background. I thought that would look pretty cool on camera against the snow.”

ON LINDSEY VONN: “Lindsey’s great! Living in Colorado, you can’t help but know who she is. I have a lot of respect for fierce female competitors in hard, scary or fast sports, and downhill racing is all three.  She’s feminine without being overt about it, and she is as talented as she is tenacious.”

Laddie Lee Whitworth, Pocatello, ID
Retired machinist.  Spent 37 years with a cement manufacturer.

ON WHY HE ENTERED: “I am an amateur artist and cartoonist and thought it would be fun to see if I could get a design upon a Olympian skier.”

ON HIS DESIGN: “Flames are related to the Olympic Torch and when an object moves at a very high speed it has flames created by the friction with the atmosphere.”

ON LINDSEY VONN: “I think Lindsey has a very good chance to medal in the Olympics and watching her hang it all out at World Cup events is so, so, exciting.  I am looking forward to following her in Vancouver.”

Robert Chester, St. Louis, MO
Art director for Nestle Purina

ON WHY HE ENTERED: “Being a designer, I'm am always intrigued by anything having to do with design and I'm an avid Olympic fan, be it Winter or Summer, and I thought wouldn't it be cool if Lindsey Vonn wore a helmet that I designed.”

ON HIS DESIGN: “I thought it should have a feminine tone, contemporary and stylish. Lindsey's long flowing hair was the inspiration for the overall design."

DOES HE SKI? “I do not ski, but I'm willing to learn…any chance Lindsey can teach me?”

    Members of the media can get more information about NBC Universal and its programming on the NBC Universal Media Village Web site at http://www.nbcumv.com.

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Keywords · NBC · Lindsey Vonn

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Name: Adam M Freifeld
Organization: NBC Universal
Email:
Phone: 212-664-6772
URL: http://www.nbcumv.com

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