Below is the audio recording and transcript from the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee’s leadership press briefing on Thursday, Dec. 7, following the board meeting via teleconference.

AUDIO

TRANSCRIPT

Operator:

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by, and welcome to today's USOPC Board Briefing call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. Later you will have an opportunity to ask questions during the question and answer session. You may register to ask a question at any time by pressing the star and one keys on your telephone keypad. Please note this call is being recorded, and that I will be standing by should you need any assistance. It's now my pleasure to turn today's program over to Kate Hartman.

Kate Hartman:

Thank you Chelsea, and good afternoon everybody, it's so nice to have you all on. Apologies that we're running a few minutes late, so we're going to jump right into things. I'm joined with both Gene Sykes, our chair and president of the board, and Sarah Hirshland, our CEO. Before I turn things over to Gene, just a couple of housekeeping reminders. We will open the call to questions after Sarah's remarks, but we ask that you limit your turn to one question, and we will try to get back to you as soon as we can if time allows. So with that, I'm going to turn things over to Gene.

Gene Sykes:

Great, thanks Kate. Good evening, and thank you all for joining us this afternoon. It was great to be here together in person for our final board meeting of 2023. We're here in Stanford Connecticut, which is the home of NBC Sports and NBC Olympics. I want to extend our sincere thanks to NBC first for hosting us here, but more importantly for their continued support of Team USA and the Olympic and Paralympic movements. We were together with the sister company of NBC, Universal Studios in Los Angeles two weeks ago for the Paris pre-Games promotional support shoot. It was truly remarkable to see firsthand what they've conceived for the 2024 Games in Paris. The athletes had a terrific experience, and that excitement will extend to the fans when they see the work as it rolls out. Nobody globally takes as much care in highlighting the magic of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, and we're thrilled to call NBC partners and friends as we reach the end of 2023 and look ahead to 2024 and beyond, it's a huge comfort to be marching forward together with NBC.

I'll start things off today by providing you with an overview of what we discussed in the board meeting, and then I'll ask CEO Sarah Hirshland to give an update. With that, onto the business of the board. One of the major work streams of 2023 has been our continued effort with the Salt Lake City Utah committee team working to return the winter Games to Utah and to the United States. The group has taken great care to engage the local community in Utah, local leaders, and elected officials and the athlete community, all in an effort to land it on a vision that can make every Utahan proud. Similarly, their engagement with the IOC's Future Host Commission has been a model of attention to detail and efficiency. We were thrilled that just last week the IOC invited the group into a targeted dialogue phase, the only city invited for 2034, which truly sets in motion the planning for a forthcoming and official Games award.

This is tremendous news for winter sport in the US and around the world. As we know Utah will be a great host. We now look forward to the final steps of this process, including possibly welcoming the IOC future host commission for a visit this coming spring, and the official endorsement of the IOC, culminating in an election to host the 2034 Games at the IOC session, which will take place in Paris before the Games next summer. Our gratitude goes out to the great partners in Utah. Their passion for this project cannot be overstated.

This week I participated in the Olympic Summit in Lausanne, where Russia and Belorussian athlete participation was a primary topic of conversation. Now, we've talked about this over the past year, and there have been no substantive changes to the IOC position on this topic since the last time we had a meeting, but the IOC did hear from the Summer Sports Federations and from the NOCs.

They continue to be supportive of the inclusion of neutral independent athletes based on successful events throughout this past season that have been sponsored in international sports by the International Sports Federations. Additionally, the chair of the IOC Athletes Commission expressed appreciation for this request by the IFC and the NOCs. She informed the summit that globally, the view of the vast majority of athletes is that independent, neutral athletes should not be punished for the actions of their governments.

So as no new decisions were made, we don't anticipate any decision will be made until sometime early next year, but we don't expect it's going to be a long time. Principles that continue to guide this work remain in place, but now the NOCs of Russia and Belarus are not invited to the Games. Teams that represent those nations are not eligible to participate. Athletes with a direct connection to the military in either of those countries are also not eligible, or athletes who have shown support for the actions of Russia in Ukraine are also not eligible. Importantly, the USOPC, as many of the other countries in the Olympic movement, stand in solidarity with the people and the athletes of Ukraine. We want Ukrainian athletes to feel welcome and supported in Paris, and we continue to do what we can to help them. We're proud to be a small part of the international support offered to the Ukrainian Olympic committee, and the athletes of Ukraine are training and preparing for the Games even today.

I was honored also last week to represent, or maybe two weeks ago now, to represent the USOPC at the United Nations General Assembly when the Olympic truce was endorsed and ratified. Tony Estanguet, who is the President of Paris 2024, and IOC President Thomas Bach both spoke to the unity that the Games represent, and the global impact the Games can have on our collective efforts toward fostering peace among athletes and our broader communities. It was powerful to see nations come together in celebration of the Olympic ideals, and an uplifting reminder as we come to the end of 2023 and look ahead to the Great Promise of 2024. With that, I'll wish you all a happy holiday season, and all the best for a healthy and happy new year, and I'm pleased to pass the line over to Sarah Hirshland to give you a further update.

Sarah Hirshland:

Wonderful. Thank you Gene, and good evening everyone. It's hard to believe that we've reached the end of 2023, and are just weeks away from turning the calendar over to '24, heading into an Olympic and Paralympic Games year. As we went through the impacted Games in Tokyo and Beijing, the promise of 2024 felt awfully far away. It was an exciting promise then nonetheless, and now that we are staring at that transition and looking at just a few months away, I can tell you that the excitement and anticipation for the Paris Games, from the sport teams to the broad culture of our country, and certainly the handoff that we know is coming to LA28 on the back end, it's incredibly high, and we're excited.

The organization, as you can imagine, is fully focused on providing the best possible support for our partner NGBs and the athletes as we look forward to Paris. But as we reflect back on 2023, safe to say we are still basking in the glow of a very successful Pan American and Parapan American Games held this fall in Santiago, Chile. These Games are important continental competitions that bring our region together in both competition and also in solidarity. They really offer a unique experience of a multi-sport event for American athletes who may have been to a Games previously, or are traveling as a member of a Team USA delegation for the first time. And as many of you know, they're a very important qualification pathway to the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

So looking back on a month of competition, just a few highlights to share. Over 17 days of competition at the Pan Am Games, Team USA athletes earned a total of 286 medals, an astounding performance, and exciting on a day-by-day basis. 12 US athletes earned direct qualification to Paris, three teams also qualified for Paris, and we secured seven critical Olympic quota spots in the sports of archery, equestrian, sailing, and shooting. A good outcome for sure.

As we look at the Parapan American Games highlights, we sent 240 athletes, tallying 165 total medals. 159 Americans stood on the Parapan podium, including 51 multi-medalists team. USA had a strong performance, 4 athletes in the sports of table tennis and wheelchair tennis earned direct qualifications, we had 4 teams punch their tickets to Paris as well. So we're incredibly thrilled with the outcomes from those two Games, and our appreciation really goes out to the organizers in Santiago, the country of Chile, and our partners at Pan Am Sports and the America's Paralympic Committee for an outstanding experience for all. Let me also send my thanks out to the USOPC team and our NGB partners who really did what we do best and had an extraordinary performance lifting up all of the athletes that came with us as part of that delegation.

Jumping ahead with Santiago behind us, the focus of the whole organization, as I said, is on Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. We have the great privilege of taking a large delegation of athletes for both Games, and the responsibility of helping them achieve their sporting dreams next summer. So as we count down to the Games, our staff is ensuring that everything's in place for our athletes. From sports science and sports medicine to nutrition and mental health, the teams are collaborating closely with each NGB to create personalized plans and resources for each individual athlete. Every detail around taking team USA to Paris is being accounted and planned for, and next summer will be the culmination of years of work.

On the sports side, Team USA is taking shape. You heard me speak of the confirmed spots earned in Santiago, but that's just one of the many ways athletes qualify for the Games. A big part of making Team USA come through our Olympic and Paralympic team trials. Well-known for being a direct pathway in many sports, but also widely regarded as some of the toughest competitions anywhere in the world. In certain instances, earning the right to represent Team USA at the Games is harder than the competition at the Games. That speaks to the depth of our elite athlete pool, and to the incredible drive and preparation that athletes put into these trials.

Boxing is currently holding trials in Lafayette, Louisiana, and that's part of a run of Olympic and Paralympic trials events held across the country that will run through the spring and into the summer, culminating with gymnastics trials in Minneapolis, swimming trials in Indianapolis, and track and field trials in Eugene. I plan to be at as many of these as possible to celebrate and honor the athletes as they earn their spot on Team USA, and I sincerely hope you'll join us and invite you; I promise you won't regret it.

Gene already commented on some wonderful winter sport news, but I want to make note of another exciting prospect and another example of the US truly leading in the global winter sports space. Just this week, the New York State Olympic Regional Development Authority submitted a proposal to host the sliding events for the Milan-Cortina Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2026. The organizers of Milan-Cortina are actively seeking solutions to support the sliding sport competition at the 2026 Games, and I'm proud to say that the New York Olympic authority has stepped up, and that we're fully supportive of their efforts to welcome the world in 2026 for this important element of the competition.

Some quick background on the Olympic authority. It was established following the 1980 Olympic Winter Games, and they've shown its commitment to managing, maintaining, and providing top-notch facilities for training and competitions at all their venues. Their expertise and dedication have really made them an ideal candidate to host the sliding sports of bobsled, skeleton and luge. Many of our athletes spend quite a bit of time training on these very venues each year.

Lake Placid is home to the United States Paralympic Training Center, and USA Luge holds a special place for Team USA. In addition to the 1980 Games, it also has the distinction of hosting the first ever Olympic Winter Games in the United States back in 1932. Many of you will remember this community. It's vibrant winter sports communities combined with New York's Italian heritage and the synergy between Lake Placid, New York City and Milan-Cortina makes this kind of an unforgettable and culturally rich location for sliding sports. The USRPC stands firmly behind this bid effort, and believes that their proposal presents a compelling solution to host an extraordinary Olympic and Paralympic experience. We look forward to the opportunity to collaborate and support the effort to bring these prestigious events to the United States, and are eager to understand the outcome of the decision by Milan-Cortina.

And finally, before we close, and as I have ended these updates on too many occasions now, I want to again express our support for the skating athletes still impacted by the events that led to the medals for the team event in Beijing 2022. As you know, resolution has not yet been achieved, and it's incredibly frustrating. The case was back in front of cast last month after the hearing in September was adjourned, pending additional information. They adjourned without resolution in November, and we now understand that there could be a decision rendered in January, very near the two-year anniversary of the Beijing competition. We remain hopeful that these athletes will get the closure they deserve, and be awarded the medals that they've certainly earned. And while we don't know what the coming days will bring, we stand with those athletes, with our partners at US Figure Skating, and with all those who believe in clean and fair competition.

I want to thank you again for your coverage of Team USA athletes in 2023, and we look forward to what no doubt will be a tremendous 2024. I was reminded in Santiago yet again about the incredible commitment and drive of Team USA athletes. They come from every corner of this country, from wildly different backgrounds, and they compete in very different sports, but they come together as one Team USA, and they really do represent the best of us. What a privilege it is to work on their behalf, and also to cheer loudly as we watch them compete. I want to wish you and yours a very happy holidays and all the best in the new year. We hope to see you in Paris. With that, let me turn it back to Kate.

Kate Hartman:

Thank you, Sarah. Thank you Gene. Chelsea, you can open the line for questions now.

Operator:

At this time, if you would like to ask a question, please press the star and one keys on your telephone keypad. As a reminder, we ask that you please limit yourself to one question. You may remove yourself from the queue at any time by pressing star two. Our first question will come from David Wharton with the Los Angeles Times.

David Wharton:

Thanks very much for doing this. This is a question for Gene or Sarah, whoever wants to take it. It involves the Haudenosaunee lacrosse team, and obviously there has been continuing support for them to receive some sort of exemption to compete in LA, but it also seems that there may be considerable challenges in terms of the Olympic Charter and IOC precedent. So I was just interested in your thoughts on the challenges, and what the USOPC's position is on this.

Sarah Hirshland:

Thanks, David. This is Sarah, let me take that first. I think it's a really fun and unique circumstance to be able to honor the Haudenosaunee Confederacy in their history and legacy and the heritage of the sport, and we're really looking forward to collaborating both with the IOC and with LA28 to honor and figure out how to do that in a really important way.

As it relates to the participation, there, as you can imagine, is a qualification pathway that has to be constructed and built by the International Federation, and they'll do that in partnership with the various national federations of all of the NRCs around the world who participate in the sport. And that process will help dictate what those pathways might be for participation by the members of the Haudenosaunee group. It is likely that that process will begin to be crafted in 2025, as the IOC has made clear to all of us that for all of the sports added in 2028, the beginning of 2025 is the point at which they become sort of members of the International Olympic Committee, the charter will then dictate processes and procedures, and the qualification pathway will begin to be set. So our role in that is to participate in that process to ensure that we properly honor the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, and at the same time try to find creative ways to ensure that we respect and find the legacy of that sport can be celebrated properly in LA. But it would be premature to comment any further than that.

Operator:

Thank you. Our next question comes from Lisa Roche with the Deseret News.

Lisa Roche:

Hi Sarah and Gene, this is for either one of you. I'm just wondering if you can talk more about what still needs to happen with Salt Lake City's bid for 2034. I believe Gene, you mentioned a site visit. And what the USOPC's goal is in these things that still need to be done, the contract negotiations, the submission, the site visit, etc. Thank you both.

Gene Sykes:

Okay. It's Gene on this one. So a site visit as you suggest is one of the things that will happen, but I must say there's a lot that's already happened. They've done a tremendous amount of work already to frame out exactly how they anticipate to have their Games plan work, the venue use agreements, the guarantees, local guarantees, state guarantees are well in hand. So a lot of that has been presented to the IOC, so the IOC will really be in a position to confirm that.

So at this stage, it's a matter of making sure that the IOC goes through its process to understand exactly what they will anticipate from Salt Lake City over a sustained period of time. They'll be making, if you will, a dual award, 2030 and 2034 at the same time, just as they did several years ago for 2024 and 2028. So they want to be prepared for that and make sure they understand who is going to be responsible, and that requires collaboration between the USOPC and the Salt Lake City Utah team. Fortunately, we've been collaborating with them for some time, we have an excellent relationship, and I'm very, very confident that that's all going to go in a very straightforward fashion.

Operator:

Thank you. Our next question comes from Eddie Pels with Associated Press.

Eddie Pels:

Thanks Gene. I wanted to dig into the Russia thing a little bit more. I know that you signed the memorandum where you put your name to that IOC memorandum. There was one little note in there about testing numbers in Russia, and I was just wondering how deep you dug into those numbers. How do you know what they represent? And I guess the bigger question is, when we just figure out what Russian and Belarusian athletes are going to be allowed to compete at the Olympics, how confident are you that those athletes will have undergone the testing rigor that is often wanted for the Olympic sports?

Gene Sykes:

Thank you for the question. So both WADA and the ITA, the International Testing Authority, were both at the Olympic Summit, and so they spoke very directly about exactly what they know about testing of all Russian athletes, how many tests have been conducted, and where the tests are, where the samples are collected, and then how many of those samples are actually analyzed outside of Russia. So what the process is, what the chain of custody is between the time the test is taken, the time the test is analyzed and the report is made. So I think that report was very thorough.

We actually, and I personally had quite a bit of direct discussion with the leaders of both WADA and ITA about exactly this question so that we can be confident that any athletes who would potentially qualify to compete in Paris, and are supported by their international sports federations to do so, actually have complied, really fully complied with WADA procedures to the satisfaction of the international sporting community. In order to do that, the objective would be to pursue what's called an athlete biological passport. That's a concept that's well understood and requires more work, more evidence. So in order to get to that point, once the athletes are identified, then there needs to be a lot of work done to make the entire system confident that the athletes are fully compliant.

Operator:

Thank you. Our next question will come from Robert Woollard with AFP.

Robert Wollard:

Hi Sarah and Gene, thanks so much for doing this today. I did have a question about, since the Hamas attack on Israel in October, there is global security agencies, including the FBI, have said that terror threats are now an unprecedented level. With that in mind, and given that there have been some concerns raised in France about the preparations for the opening ceremony of athletes floating down the Seine on barges and boats next year, I just wanted to know if the USOPC has raised any kind of concerns with French authorities about preparations for the opening ceremony, and if so, what are the nature of those concerns? Thank you.

Sarah Hirshland:

Thank you for the question. And as you can imagine, the safety and security of Team USA athletes, and frankly our whole delegation is priority number one. So we are in very close contact with French officials, our embassy, both the French embassy in the United States as well as the US Embassy in France. Our governments are aligned, we have a pretty robust security effort underway, and we'll continue to have that in place. And I will tell you at this point that while I think everybody is extraordinarily conscious of the environment in which we are all living and operating today, we have confidence that those conversations are satisfactory, and that the plans are in place that need to be in place.

Operator:

Thank you. Our next question will come from Robert Livingstone with GamesBids.com.

Robert Livingstone:

Hi there, thanks for your time. I just wondering if you can clarify your comments on the bid. You mentioned earlier about New York to potentially stage sliding events for Italy. Because I know Italy is trying their best to hold onto this really tightly, and so what's the nature of this bid? Are there discussions underway, and what might your involvement, USOPC's involvement in this be?

Sarah Hirshland:

We were invited to submit a proposal by the organizing committee of Milan-Cortina 2026, and we asked all of the various organizations in our country in particular, as you know, we have two sliding facilities both used regularly for World Cup and elite level competitions. The organization in New York was excited about the prospect. Salt Lake and the track was very focused on 2034, as you might imagine, rightly so, but the New York Authority is really excited about the prospect of supporting the 2026 Games.

Our role is to help support that and to endorse their proposal, which we have done. Should they be engaged in that conversation and push forward with the concept of hosting, then we will play a role in facilitating, as we would do with a lot of international competitions. But at this stage our role is simply to help them present a proposal, and to endorse that proposal and ensure that we have the broad support required from the municipalities, as well as from the athlete and NGB community. As you can imagine, USA Bobsled Skeleton and USA Luge are very excited about it, as are the athletes who are quite familiar with the venue.

Operator:

Thank you. Our next question will come from Julie Jag with Salt Lake Tribune. Julie, please make sure that you're unmuted.

Julie Jag:

Can you hear me?

Kate Hartman:

We can, Julie, go ahead.

Julie Jag:

Okay. Yeah, I appreciate you guys being here, having these media calls. I think this is for Gene, but if you want to jump in, Sarah, that'd be great. I just wanted to talk about the... So the IOC has set out air quality guidelines for its host sites, and last week you could almost eat the air in Salt Lake City. So I was wondering what plans, I guess actually how much of a concern is this for the USOPC? And especially as Salt Lake goes toward July and hopefully getting that final nod to host the 2034 Games. And then also, what influence can the USOPC have in making sure that the legislature and that the city step up to clean the air?

Gene Sykes:

Well, maybe I'll take a crack at that. First of all, we have a great relationship with the Salt Lake City Utah team, and both Sarah and I have been to the state legislature, and observed just how strong the enthusiasm is for this project, which is very appreciated by the IOC. It is one of the reasons we're at this stage, so we have a lot of confidence that working together with the Salt Lake City team that we will move this through the next several months, and have a conclusion that makes targeted dialogue the precursor to an actual award.

Operator:

Thank you. Our next question will come from Sarah Lorge Butler with Runners World.

Sarah Lorge Butler:

Hi, thanks for taking my question. The Olympic Marathon trials that are coming up in February have been beset by problems, dispute about the start time in Orlando, the USATF posted a team selection document and then had to take it down because it wasn't accurate, and so on. My understanding is that the Olympic Marathon trials are a USOPC property. The USOPC pays the USATF essentially a management fee for running the event, but none of that fee makes it to the city hosting the trials. Are you happy with the job USATF is doing in managing your property? And is it the USOPC's intention that none of the money makes it to the city running the event? Is this what's best for the athletes and the USOPC? Thanks.

Sarah Hirshland:

Let me clarify. The Olympic Marathon trials, as with many of the Olympic trials, are partnerships between the USOPC and respective NGBs, in this case, USA Track and Field. And there are aspects to that partnership that the USOPC takes a more direct responsibility for, and aspects that USATF takes more direct responsibility for.

We have had some challenges, in particular, the start time is one in which we made a determination, announced a start time, got really powerful and important feedback from the athlete community, and engaged with the organizing community, USA Track and Field and the athletes, and adjusted the timeline, and I think we feel pretty good about the outcome of that. So it's an ongoing partnership. As issues arise, we navigate them in partnership with both the host city and USATF, and I think we feel confident that it's going to be a great trial.

Operator:

Our last question will come from Matt Trout with Sports Travel Magazine.

Matt Trout:

Thanks. And following up on the bobsled issue, Sarah, what was the timeline exactly? When did you get invited to propose something like this for Lake Placid when it comes to potentially having sliding events in 2026? How long ago did you hear from the Milan-Cortina organizers, and what was the process in that?

Sarah Hirshland:

Yeah, thank you for the question, and I will not have the exact date that we received the written request for proposal, but I do recall that they were due December 1st. And I will tell you it was probably about, I'm going to say roughly 30 days or so in advance of that when we got the initial letter.

Operator:

Thank you. We have hit the allotted Q&A time, so I would now like to turn the floor back over to Kate Hartman.

Kate Hartman:

Thank you, Chelsea, and thank you everyone for joining us today. As always, the recording and transcript from this call will be available on teamusa.org/media as soon as we have it available, like late tomorrow. And before we sign off, I just want to remind everyone to please save the date. Our 2024 Team USA Media Summit will be held in New York City, April 14th through 17th. A formal save the date actually went out just yesterday, including information on our hotel block, but if you didn't receive that, please reach out to me or John Mason at the USOPC. We wish all of you a very happy holidays, and thank you for all of your interests this year, and for cheering on Team USA.

Operator:

Thank you ladies and gentlemen. This concludes today's call, and we appreciate your participation. You may disconnect at any time.

Audio & Transcript: December 2023 USOPC Leadership Press Briefing

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