US health and fitness group, 24 Hour Fitness, has announced its official sponsorship of the US Olympic team.

This is the first ever by a national fitness operator and the agreement designates the company the exclusive official fitness centre of the US Olympic Team through the 2008 Beijing games.

All eligible US athletes training for the Olympic Games and Olympic Winter Games will be granted automatic membership of 24 Hour Fitness and the company will also upgrade the Olympic Training Centres in Colorado Springs, Lake Placid and Chula Vista with the same state of the art equipment available in all of its locations.

The company will additionally provide athletic training equipment at High Performance Centres for the US teams at the Athens and Beijing Olympic Games in 2004 and 2008 respectively, and the Winter Olympics at Torino in 2006. It will also work with the US Olympic Committee’s (USOC) Sports Science and Sports Medicine divisions to create specialised programmes to support the training of US Olympic hopefuls.

Mark Mastrov, chair and chief executive officer of 24 Hour Fitness, said: "We are thrilled to be part of the US Olympic movement and with our goal being that this USOC partnership will enhance our ability to inspire people to make fitness a way of life."

24 Hour Fitness operates over 300 clubs across 16 US states. Details: www.24HourFitness.com