USOPC Leadership Not Concerned over Salt Lake Host Contract Clause

PARIS — The elation of having the Olympic Winter Games return in 2034 to Salt Lake City and the United States on Wednesday was tempered by a dispute involving doping that led to an unusual clause put into the Host City Contract, one that the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee tried to downplay on Thursday.

Before Salt Lake City was confirmed as future host of the 2034 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, multiple IOC members took the opportunity to lambast the United States Anti-Doping Agency in a show of support for the World Anti-Doping Agency, which has come under heavy criticism from U.S. lawmakers in the wake of reports of Chinese swimmers competing at the Tokyo Games in 2021 even after testing positive for doping.

The IOC even put in a note in the host city contract that it can terminate the agreement “in cases where the supreme authority of the World Anti-Doping Agency … is not fully respected or if the application of the world anti-doping code is hindered or undermined.”

USOPC Board Chair Gene Sykes said “we, obviously together with Salt Lake City, agreed to sign the host city contract with the amendment. I have very high confidence that amendment will never be enacted.”

The 2034 Games will be the first Winter Games in the United States since Salt Lake City hosted in 2002 and will give the U.S. another Olympic hosting experience six years after the 2028 Summer Games are in Los Angeles.

“We’re ready and excited both about what’s to come in the next three weeks, but we’ve also got a 10-year horizon on our minds now as of yesterday’s announcement,” USOPC Chief Executive Officer Sarah Hirshland said.

High Performance Center Praised

USOPC Chef de Mission Rocky Harris has spent hours each day at the USOPC High Performance Center at Athletica in Paris, where many Team USA teams and individual athletes are training at daily.

The HPC is almost a full transportable landscape for the USOPC’s own HPC in Colorado Springs where many athletes train year-round. The USOPC started working with Athletica six years ago, Harris said, with an eye on its facilities being Team USA’s home away from home.

“The amenities and facilities there are world-class,” Harris said. “This is by far our best High-Performance Center. It is everything we could have asked for. … They’ve exceeded our expectations in every way.”

SafeSport Sends First Delegation to Games

U.S. Center for SafeSport Chief Executive Officer Ju’Riese Colón, members of the leadership team as well as Board Chair and Paralympic Gold Medalist April Holmes are heading to Paris for the first time.

The Center developed resources specifically for the Games to enhance athlete safety, including an informational tool to assist those who need help while competing at the Games. While in Paris, the SafeSport team will observe the athlete experience in various settings with the goal of identifying risks and developing proactive measures and resources for future Games.

U.S. Represented in IOC Membership

Sykes was elected to membership to the International Olympic Committee as one of eight new members who took oaths during Session this week. Before his election as Board Chair at the USOPC, Sykes was chief executive officer for the winning LA28 Olympic bid.

Anita DeFrantz was also re-elected to another eight-year term as an IOC member. DeFrantz is a legend within U.S. Olympic circles, having competed at the 1976 Montreal Games. She was a member of the IOC Executive Board from 1992 through 2001 and again from 2013 through 2017, plus serving two four-year stints as IOC Vice President from 1997 through 2001 and 2017 through 2021 among many other IOC positions.

USA Swimming Elevates Key Executives

USA Swimming has promoted Shana Ferguson to chief operating officer and Jake Grosser to managing director, marketing and communications.

After serving as chief commercial officer for over five years, Ferguson’s new role accounts for her already expanded leadership over operations, events and competitions, strategic planning and business development.

“Shana recently led a cast of thousands through the 2024 U.S. Olympic Team Trials, a showcase of sport bigger than any other in modern Olympic times,” said USA Swimming President and Chief Executive Officer Tim Hinchey III. “She is a natural leader on the pool deck and behind the scenes, who prides herself on advocating for all members of USA Swimming and on digging into problem-solve with our staff.”

Grosser’s promotion elevates him to a position on the executive team after launching enhanced digital platforms like the USA Swimming Network and the organization’s alliance with Yahoo Sports.

News and Notes

• Chief Security & Athlete Services Officer Nicole Deal called the Paris 2024 security footprint “impressive. I have never seen a security footprint like this before at any other Games,” ahead of Friday’s Opening Ceremony, at which Deal said the U.S. will have 350 athletes participating in the parade down the Seine.
• USOPC Chief Medical Officer Jonathan Finnoff praised Paris organizers for work in testing water quality on the Seine frequently with an eye toward having the open-water swimming and swim leg of triathlon in the famous river, polluted for decades but the focus of an intense cleanup. “The Paris organizing committee has put into place some incredible mitigation measures and invested in things that need to be done to keep the water quality at an adequate level. … When our athletes are ready to swim, it’ll be in an environment that meets all health standards.”
• Harris pointed out ahead of the Opening Ceremony that while Paris has extolled being the most gender equitable Games in history, the USOPC has had more women than men in its past four Summer Games teams. He also noted that of this year’s U.S. flag bearers, LeBron James and Coco Gauff, that James’ first Olympic experience was the 2004 Games in Athens … just a few months after Gauff was born.