Athlete Experience
The USOPC’s commitment to Team USA athletes prioritizes athlete experience on and off the field of play, with efforts spanning well-being and safety, marketing and career development. Through collaboration with National Governing Bodies (NGBs), Athlete Ombuds, the Team USA Athletes’ Commission (Team USA AC) and other constituent partners, we advance care for alumni, current and future Team USA athletes so they can show up their best both in and out of competition.
Well-Being and Safety
Whether athletes are competing on the world’s stage or preparing for their next performance, maintaining peak health is critical. The USOPC empowers athletes with a variety of resources to help them do just that.
Resources and Programming
In the lead up to the Pan American and Parapan American Games Santiago 2023, we launched Agora, a new, fully integrated digital platform where Team USA athletes can access well-being benefits and resources. As a centralized hub, Agora significantly reduces the time and effort for athletes to find answers about programming, resources and their support system. The platform also acts as a two-way channel of communication, personalizing the athlete experience throughout their journey with Team USA and beyond. During its debut, 335 athletes joined the Agora platform, and the remainder of Team USA athletes will be onboarded in 2024.
The USOPC continued providing several other key resources in 2023, including our Elite Athlete Health Insurance coverage, through which we cover 100% of athletes’ insurance premiums, and Medical and Mental Health Assistance Funds that pay outstanding costs from medically necessary or sport-related healthcare.
“In a world where information is abundant, Agora […] stands out by centralizing everything an athlete needs. It’s designed with the athlete in mind, making accessing resources simpler and more efficient – especially on the go!”
– Alina Urs, Canoe/Kayak
We also rolled out a new Electronic Medical Records platform. The platform equips the USOPC with anonymized information to render a fuller understanding of athlete injuries and illnesses than ever before, prompting early intervention and prevention of future health issues.
In 2023, the USOPC worked to better ensure our healthcare teams reflect the diversity of our athlete community by increasing the diversity of providers and services. We also began working with NGBs to evolve guidelines and best practices for making healthcare more equitable and inclusive for all.
Athlete Services by the Numbers
1,200+
athletes engaged in programs/resources
60
NGBs impacted
40
programs/events
University of Florida Health
In 2023, the USOPC expanded our U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Medical Network to include the University of Florida Health. The University of Florida Health will provide care to Team USA athletes as they prepare for international competition, including the Olympic and Paralympic Games Paris 2024, coupled with research and professional collaboration with the USOPC and other providers.
“As a healthcare leader in the southeast United States and home to many Team USA athletes over the years, we’re thrilled to welcome UF Health as the newest member of this established group of premier medical providers who care for the unique needs of Team USA athletes.”
– Dr. Jonathan Finnoff, USOPC Chief Medical Officer
Mental Health and Mental Performance
The USOPC’s industry-leading psychological services program underscores the importance of mental well-being, offering Team USA athletes one central touchpoint for mental health and sport psychology support. Over the past year, we continued to grow and diversify our services and provider network to ensure athletes can choose a provider who meets their needs.
The Rieschel Family Foundation
We were pleased to announce the Rieschel Family Foundation’s historic commitment of $10 million to fund Team USA’s mental health program, the largest standalone gift in Foundation history. This generous donation ignited the first of three phases which will culminate at the LA 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
- Phase 1: Starting in 2023, we built upon existing programming to expand resources so every Team USA athlete has access to a licensed mental health provider who can address their needs.
- Phase 2: We will scale up existing services and develop new programming for further athlete advocacy.
- Phase 3: We will focus on sustaining and elevating the USOPC’s mental health programming, including sharing best practices with the world.
We expanded our Mental Health and Mental Performance Registries to include more than 300 providers who have experience working with elite athletes. Additionally, we trained 800 coaches, staff, athletes and other stakeholders in Mental Health First Aid to extend support systems on and off the field of play.
As we grew our services, we worked to increase awareness, resulting in service requests from 1,100 unique athletes and 82 teams. Our providers kept 75% of requests in-house and the remainder received care from outside professionals through Elite Athlete Health Insurance and the Mental Health Assistance Fund. We also had six providers on-the-ground at the 2023 Pan American and Parapan American Games to help athletes in real time across 166 engagements.
Mental Health Awareness Month
Mental Health Awareness Month was another opportunity to amplify athletes’ stories around mental health, including Para Track and Field athlete, Femita Ayanbeku. Femita shared her childhood was “the hardest part of her journey,” facing bullying for wearing a prosthesis on her right leg. Femita has become an outspoken advocate for body positivity, frequently presenting at schools, corporate events and on social media to tell her story of self-acceptance and self-love.
“I wanted to make sure I was in the right place mentally, emotionally and of course, physically, while competing at the Parapan American Games. I had to prioritize competing with a clear mind after previously struggling with mental health and only going one for three during my time in Dubai at the 2023 World Para Powerlifting Championships. In Santiago, the preparation with nutrition and meeting with the USOPC Mental Health [team] was absolutely needed – I was able to prepare myself adequately and not only win gold but set the new Parapan Am record for my event.”
– Bobby Body, Para Powerlifting
Sharing Learnings Globally
As a leader across medical disciplines, the USOPC works with and convenes providers and peers from a grassroots-level up to the International Olympic Committee and International Paralympic Committee. We consistently strive to elevate how we care for Team USA. The USOPC hosted our third-annual USOPC-NGB Medical Conference at the Colorado Springs Olympic & Paralympic Training Center, bringing the sport medical community together to network, share best practices, engage in hands-on training and discuss the USOPC’s medical resources.
2023 marked year one of the four-year grant renewal in which the United States Coalition for the Prevention of Illness & Injury in Sport – comprised of the USOPC, the Steadman Philippon Research Institute and the University of Utah – served as one of 11 designated International Olympic Committee (IOC) Research Centers. In order to continue learning and providing the best care for Team USA, we worked with the Texas Children’s Hospital to fund an associate research scientist position. This new role expanded the breadth and depth of our research agenda on topics related to pediatric athlete health, women's health and Paralympic athlete health. Additionally, the USOPC published 15 peer-reviewed journal articles focused on injury and illness prevention for athletes. Notable research, clinical initiatives and resources include a focus on:
- Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (REDs)
- Sleep hygiene
- Air quality intervention
We also continued investing in women’s health. As part of this, the USOPC Women’s Health Taskforce continued to support the Female Athlete Voice Project, a collaboration with Stanford University, Boston Children’s Hospital, Harvard University and the University of Washington. Co-constructed with Team USA elite female athletes, the study identified 14 critical topics to help us improve the health and well-being of Team USA female athletes, including:
- Recovery
- Birth control
- Mental health
- Nutrition and the menstrual cycle
Athlete Listening & Sentiment
Team USA athletes are at the core of all that we do. Empowering the competitive excellence and well-being of Team USA athletes begins with athletes feeling safe, supported, valued and heard. As part of this, we worked with the Team USA AC and a new independent research firm that specializes in athlete listening to issue our annual Athlete Listening Survey. In our 2023 survey, we heard from 475 athletes representing 51 NGBs and 7 internally managed sports. We were pleased to see an increased response rate of 24% across 100 sport disciplines, compared with 3.9% in 2022, though we recognize the work still needed to reach a majority of the athlete population. Based on survey feedback, we found 84% reported a level of satisfaction with the USOPC and 80% expressed a level of contentedness with their experience as a Team USA athlete. We are working to identify opportunities for improvement, including ensuring trusted support, improving awareness of resources and developing impactful programs.
Athlete Development and Engagement Services
Athlete support doesn’t stop after an athlete’s athletic career concludes. The USOPC remains focused on finding new ways to champion athletes, not just as competitors, but at every stage of their journeys.
Athlete Marketing
As athletes navigate sponsorship and marketing opportunities and the evolving Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) landscape, the USOPC has leveled up how we can be a resource for Team USA athletes. Over the course of 2023, we grew our partnership with leading NIL platform, Opendorse, to expand our digital marketplace – Athlete Marketing Platform (AMP), making it larger and more diverse than ever before. We had more than 400 new athletes join AMP in 2023, bringing total participation to nearly 1,500 athletes.
The USOPC also introduced 17 new public NIL marketplaces, including TUSA, the largest non-collegiate marketplace in the industry with 529 athletes engaged. Additionally, the USOPC expanded our staff support of athlete marketing and education, piloting new athlete brand building webinars and our in-person Athlete Marketing Locker Room experience at select events, where athletes receive personalized lockers full of content creation tools, information about marketing resources and custom merchandise that fans can purchase, with athletes receiving a portion of the revenue.
2023 Athlete Marketing Platform
418
athletes joined
62
NGBs
108
athlete deals
$101k+
total athlete earnings
52%
of deals to Para athletes
Transition Out of Sport
With the goal of helping athletes achieve success on and off the field of play, the USOPC helps provide Team USA scholarships for continued education as well as career coaching, financial and transition services and career pipeline opportunities within NGBs and the USOPC.
We awarded more than $1.3 million in tuition grants in 2023, which athletes put toward career advancement including college tuition, certificate programs and professional development and training courses.
The William E. Simon Olympic Endowment for the Support of Athletes is a $70,000 grant – awarded in $5,000 increments to 14 high-performing athletes who demonstrate financial need – that offsets travel and training expenses. This year we had a record 288 applications, representing 52 NGBs.
2023 Athlete Development and Engagement Services Grants
- $1.8M in grants, including tuition grants, Simon Grant, Devry, Tuck Next Steps and others
- 444 athletes served
48 NGBs served
2023 Athlete Development and Engagement Services Programs
- 40 programs and events delivered (career coaching, financial coaching, personal branding and more)
- 541 athletes participated
- 52 NGBs served
Alumni Community
After retirement, maintaining athlete relationships and assisting career growth remains a priority. As part of the mission of the United States Olympians and Paralympians Association (USOPA), it is our responsibility to "develop camaraderie among those who have shared the unique experience of representing their nation at the Olympic and Paralympic Games."
In 2023, we expanded our alumni relations team, laying the groundwork for greater alumni engagement and support in the future. The USOPC also hosted a USOPA reunion in Colorado Springs to bring alumni together through a series of community building events.
The USOPC worked with an external research firm to conduct the Alumni Attitude Study to identify opportunities for the USOPA to better serve the athlete alumni population. Over 500 alumni ranging in age from 19 to 102 participated in the study. Based on the results, the USOPA developed a 2024-2028 strategic plan focused on more effective engagement and better serving alumni through greater connectivity to Team USA, including mentorship opportunities between alumni and Team USA.
“The best part about being an Olympian is seeing people in my community get excited about the Games – especially when kids declare that they want to try rowing after meeting me or seeing me row on TV. The most important thing alumni can do is inspire the next generation.”
– Caryn Davies, Rowing
