USANA Athletes: ‘Desert Storm’ in Ring, Rivera on Screen, and More!

We always like hearing about athletes who trust their health to USANA. Recently, you might have read about two amateur boxers in the UK just introduced to the products, or about Thomas Kenney, who is part of Sunday’s Long Beach Fight Night Main Event. And of course the accomplishments of ultra-marathon canoe racer Phil Bowden have been well chronicled (more on that to come).

But every once in a while I’ll combine snippets of information — either sent to me directly or funneled through our awesome athletes coordinator Andie Chen — designed to let everyone know about these athletes’ incredible accomplishments.

Here is the latest roundup…

Timothy, the undefeated World Boxing Organization junior welterweight champion and USANA-sponsored athlete, takes on welterweight champion Luis Carlos Abregu on Saturday, July 17 (that’s tomorrow!) at 9:45 p.m. ET, in a bout that will be televised on HBO’s Boxing After Dark.

Check out what Desert Storm had to say about the fight. We wish him the best!

UPDATE: Congratulations!

Jose Antonio Rivera on the Silver Screen
Three-time world boxing champion and USANA-sponsored athlete Jose Antonio Rivera will appear in The Fighter, a film starring Mark Wahlberg and Christian Bale. It’s set to be released December 10, 2010, according to Ken Capurso Productions.

The film chronicles the life of Massachusetts boxing champ “Irish” Micky Ward (Wahlberg) and his half-brother Dickie Eklund (Bale), a boxer-turned-trainer who rebounded after nearly being destroyed by drugs and crime.

Keep an eye out for it!

Top Finish for Newcomer
Swimmer George Bovell, one of USANA’s newest sponsored athletes, recently finished tied for fifth in the 50-meter freestyle at the Paris Open, a gathering of many of the world’s top swimmers. He is scheduled to compete in the Central American and Caribbean Games in Puerto Rico July 18-24.

Congrats to Ryan Dodd…
Water skier Ryan Dodd took second in ski jumping at the Global Invitational at Placid Waters in Allendale, Michigan, on June 26. His next event is the H2O Jump Rodeo in Olds, Alberta, Canada, on July 24-25.

…And to Breanne Wagner Dodd
Breanne Wagner Dodd, an elite water skier who also happens to be Ryan Dodd’s wife, recently joined Team USANA. Welcome aboard! Here’s what she had to say about the partnership:

“The demands of being an elite athlete have led me to become very health conscious. I am very proud to be on team USANA, and lucky to be able to use the best nutritional products in the world. Due to my busy lifestyle and constant travel all over the world, USANA has become an essential part of my health and performance. The HealthPaks are awesome! I love how convenient they are.”

Olympic Speedskater Joins Walk of Fame
Clara Hughes, of USANA-sponsored Speed Skating Canada, received the honor of carrying her country’s flag at the recent Winter Games in Vancouver. Now, Clara will be honored with a place on Canada’s Walk of Fame. She will be inducted on October 16 at Toronto’s Canon Theatre. Congratulations!

Great News from the UK
As you might know, USANA is the official nutritional supplement provider to the AFC Bournemouth soccer team. Now, the team has named USANA as the new sponsor of the Steve Fletcher Stand for the 2010-11 season. Here’s what Steve said in a team news release:

“It is such a great honor to have the stand named after me and for USANA to sponsor it is fantastic. USANA has had such an impact on me and all the players since they came to the club and has supported everyone so well. I can speak for all the lads when I say that their program of nutritional supplements has had a great effect on all of us and I have never felt fitter. I’m glad it’s USANA up there now and not just my ugly mug, so people have something else to look at!”

Catching Up With Jennifer Azzi
As you know, USANA Ruby Director Jennifer Azzi is the new head coach for the University of San Francisco women’s basketball team. This is awesome news! Here’s a piece that ran in the San Francisco Chronicle a few weeks ago.

Also, be sure to regularly visit Jennifer’s blog at http://azziblog.blogspot.com. She’s writing about all the neat events she’s participating in this summer.

Kickin’ It With Nick Gatto
Perhaps you saw this on Facebook, but congratulations again to Nick Gatto, a USANA Associate and kicker for the Bossier-Shreveport Battlewings of the Arena Football League. He and his team were featured on the NFL Network as the AFL Game of the Week!

Nick is in his 10th season in the AFL and has been taking USANA products for three years. “As a professional athlete I am grateful for our products,” says Nick, who became an Associate last August. “My teammates are taking a liking to Rev3. I am telling others in our league about it as well.”

A Final Note
Congratulations to all the competitors at the recently completed Wimbledon Championships! It was an outstanding two weeks for the elite athletes of the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour

Be sure to keep up with all of the USANA athlete happenings by becoming a fan of USANA Athletes on Facebook. And don’t forget about Twitter.

The mentioned athletes are either distributors or dedicated users who have received compensation for their partnership and/or complimentary USANA products.