Colorado Springs is home to the United States Olympic Committee and also the Olympic Training Center. We figured it would be interesting but it turned out to be a real treat, far better than we had even expected.
The tour begins with a movie featuring clips of American athletes in both the Olympic and Paralympic Games. I don’t know about you, but I am an absolute sucker for emotional video montages of the thrilling victorious moments. The games are one of the few reasons I see fit to still own a television set. I cry with every medal ceremony, and I cried during the tour video.
The tour begins with a movie featuring clips of American athletes in both the Olympic and Paralympic Games. I don’t know about you, but I am an absolute sucker for emotional video montages of the thrilling victorious moments. The games are one of the few reasons I see fit to still own a television set. I cry with every medal ceremony, and I cried during the tour video.
Table tennis, anyone?
Our tour was led by Jay (not sure I spelled her name right), who is a weight lifter. If storing random sports facts were an Olympic sport, Jay would be a gold medal favorite. She had plenty of information as we toured each venue and was still able to answer every question we threw at her, from the type of ammo used by the shooters to the voting procedure to remove or add a new sport to the games.
The center is home to mainly summer sports training facilities, although figure skaters come to the area frequently. While winter athletes have to train elsewhere, they are still able to utilize the sports medicine clinic.
The center is home to mainly summer sports training facilities, although figure skaters come to the area frequently. While winter athletes have to train elsewhere, they are still able to utilize the sports medicine clinic.
World record long jump distance: 29 feet, 2 1/2 inches. Name the athlete (without googling it).
In all, we saw facilities for shooting, aquatics, gymnastics, wrestling, weight lifting, and boxing. The visitor center has a gift shop (USA Curling t-shirts!), a Hall of Fame, torches from the last three games hosted by the US, and a sculpture garden. About two-thirds of the tour is outdoors so if you go, plan to do so on a day with decent weather. The tour is free.
The center does a great job of showcasing the Paralympics, but until we create the sort of audience that will cause the networks to show more coverage, I think we are still failing these brave athletes.
Figure skating is good for all kinds of fun.
Gold medal photo bomb. And we had to reshoot it because the first take was a little off. So does that count as photo bomb doping?
Race to the podium
Whaddup, McKayla?