FRANKLIN LAKES, N.J. and INDIANAPOLIS (Feb. 25, 2022) – USA Track & Field and BD, a leading global medical technology company, today announced the extension of BD’s sponsorship through 2022.

As the Official COVID-19 Testing Sponsor of USATF, BD will continue providing on-demand rapid testing solutions to help ensure the safety of all participants at USATF events. The sponsorship will also include advertising at events and on broadcast, as well as the presenting sponsorship of the 2022 USATF Indoor Track & Field Championships, set for February 26-27 in Spokane, Wash.

BD and USATF joined forces in 2021 to help professional athletes feel safer when returning to competition through the use of the BD Veritor™ Plus System, a portable, easy-to-use, point-of-care antigen test that detects SARS-CoV-2 with a simple, digital display. By providing results in just 15 minutes, this test will help to ensure the safety of our country's fastest and strongest track and field athletes, their coaches, event organizers and other personnel.

BD provided more than 8,000 tests for the 2021 Olympic Trials alone, helping to ensure athletes and participants were confident and healthy throughout the 2021 competitive season. While safely maintaining operations, USATF had a very successful year, highlighted by 11 Journey to Gold domestic events to prepare athletes for Tokyo and 26 Olympic medals.

“BD was a critical partner in 2021, providing testing and allowing us to safely operate our Journey to Gold meets and at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials,” said USATF CEO Max Siegel. “Our continued relationship emphasizes USATF’s priority of providing a safe, competitive environment at all times for our country’s top track and field athletes, coaches, event organizers and other personnel.”

Dave Hickey, president of Life Sciences for BD added, “BD partnering with USATF underscores our commitment to helping people return to their normal lives and pursue their passions. Ensuring people have a fast, timely and reliable way to test for COVID-19 is critical to keeping the disease in check while helping athletes, families, supporters and fans return with confidence to the activities they love.”

Delivering on its commitment to protect the welfare of its constituents, fans and stakeholders, USATF established a COVID-19 Working Group of medical, scientific and industry experts, which advises on matters related to COVID-19 and receives regular updates from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, World Health Organization, U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee and other U.S. professional sports leagues. Based on the information, the Working Group provides guidance and recommendations on health, wellness and safety matters, as well as competitive logistical matters. More information can be found at usatf.org/covid19.

Fans can follow along with #JourneyToGold and #USATF on Twitter, Instagram, Tik Tok and Facebook.  

About USA Track & Field

USA Track & Field (USATF) is the National Governing Body for track and field, long-distance running and race walking in the United States. USATF encompasses the world's oldest organized sports, some of the most-watched events of Olympic broadcasts, the country’s #1 high school and junior high school participatory sport and more than 30 million adult runners in the United States.  For more information on USATF, visit www.usatf.org.

About BD Veritor™ Plus System for Rapid Detection of SARS-CoV-2

The BD Veritor™ Plus System for Rapid Detection of SARS-CoV-2 Assay has not been cleared or approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The test has been authorized by FDA under an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for use by authorized laboratories. The test has been authorized only for the detection of proteins from SARS-CoV-2, not for any other viruses or pathogens; and the test is only authorized for the duration of the declaration that circumstances exist justifying the authorization of emergency use of in vitro diagnostics for detection and/or diagnosis of COVID-19 under Section 564(b)(1) of the Act, 21 U.S.C. § 360bbb-3(b)(1), unless the authorization is terminated or revoked sooner. For more information on the BD Veritor™ system, please visit bdveritor.com.

About BD

BD is one of the largest global medical technology companies in the world and is advancing the world of health by improving medical discovery, diagnostics and the delivery of care. The company supports the heroes on the frontlines of health care by developing innovative technology, services and solutions that help advance both clinical therapy for patients and clinical process for health care providers. BD and its 75,000 employees have a passion and commitment to help enhance the safety and efficiency of clinicians' care delivery process, enable laboratory scientists to accurately detect disease and advance researchers' capabilities to develop the next generation of diagnostics and therapeutics. BD has a presence in virtually every country and partners with organizations around the world to address some of the most challenging global health issues. By working in close collaboration with customers, BD can help enhance outcomes, lower costs, increase efficiencies, improve safety and expand access to health care. For more information on BD, please visit bd.com or connect with us on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/company/bd1/ and Twitter @BDandCo.

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