The White House Welcomes Team USA Olympians/Paralympians of Milano Cortina

Frequently, since March, I wondered: When will Team USA Olympians and Paralympians of Milano Cortina enjoy the traditional visit to The White House?

Following periodic queries to the USOPC press team, and some weeks receiving/reviewing The White House press corps schedule emails following their instruction to subscribe, the answer finally arrived after bedtime 5 Aug, with fewer than 20 hours' advance notice. 

DAILY GUIDANCE AND PRESS SCHEDULE FOR AUG. 6

7:00 PM -- THE PRESIDENT participates in a Team USA Reception

Since this wasn't my first rodeo requesting media access to the Executive Mansion, before dozing I deployed overnight follow-up queries to the USOPC and the Office of Communications at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. By 9 a.m. Aug. 6, there was confirmation this was, in fact, Team USA of Milano Cortina, and by 9:20 a.m., with thanks to a responsive White House press assistant, access was confirmed with instructions to arrive at the security gate around 6 p.m. 

You know, the gate by the row of TV feed cameras, aka the one Charles Grodin drove through in "Dave" and at which the special courier arrived with a stack of hot off the press Washington Posts in "All the President's Men." 

By 10 a.m., with hotel and transit confirmed thanks to banked frequent flyer miles, I was off to ATL airport for an early D.C. touchdown around 3:40 p.m. 

I simply love the approach to DCA, and this visit provided jackpot views of the monuments and Patomac. Then, following an easy Metro ride to the city center, by 4:30 there was time for a quick bite and hotel check-in, then the short hike at 5:30 for the event. 

During the walk, there was time to reflect on past Team USA visits to The White House, some of which are summarized in an official backgrounder. 

My first was in 2016 with President Obama welcoming the Rio team to the East Room, then following the PyeongChang Games of 2018, President Trump was the host for a North Portico ceremony. 

But I had been watching reports of Team USA or Olympic Torch Relay visits as far back as 1984, though the tradition dates back even earlier, in various formal or informal formats.

This blogger's visits three and four took place on the South Lawn with President Biden in 2022 (combining athletes from the pandemic Games of Tokyo and Beijing) and in 2024 after Paris (oops, forgot to write about that one, so no matching link), respectively. 

While the logistics and time of day varied for each Olympiad, I've grown to count on time to appreciate the James Brady Press Room and selfie spots along the walk up from the security gate. Any visit to The White House is special.

And after receiving on-site instructions to hold up in the Press Briefing Room until our escorts arrived, it was a short hurry-up-and-wait before the White House Press Corps. trekked through the Palm Room doors, through the ground-floor corridor and up a carpeted staircase to the East Room in which Team USA athletes were walking accompanied by "Tonight" from "West Side Story" played by the U.S. Marine Band. Our press risers were along the long, west wall of the ballroom, with rows of seated VIPs and cameras facing the athletes on risers between large portraits of George and Martha Washington. 

Minutes later, the music changed to "Hail To The Chief" and the President took the podium.

"It's a real honor to be with stars," said President Trump. "I like being with stars!" 

And for about 15 minutes, the Commander in Chief mostly stayed on script with remarks I suspect were a mashup of talking points from the USOPC and White House speechwriting team. After welcoming and introducing the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury as well as the USOPC's leaders Gene Sykes and Sarah Hirshland, Trump took time to introduce each gold medalist by name, starting with Danny O'Shea, occasionally pausing and stepping to shake hands with each Olympic and Paralympic champion depending on their proximity to the podium.

"Strong legs! How do I get legs like that?" the president said of Jordan Stolz. 

Observing the presentation, more than once I thought to myself, this is actually pretty good. Most of my friends and family are aware of my POVs on the administrations 45 and 47, but the event seemed to break from some norms that usually get under my skin. 

Even after the event, a grizzled Press Corp. veteran near me commented to colleagues, "That was about the best Trump event of this term," in that his warmth for Team USA seemed heartfelt. 

Anyone can draw their own conclusions with the full video provided by The White House:

Two other observations stood out from the experience. 

First, while every Olympian is worthy of brand name status, noticeably many of Team USA's most recognized champions -- think Alysa Liu, Mikaela Shiffrin, Erin Jackson, Elana Meyers Taylor or Lindsey Vonn -- were absent, which was partially explained through on background remarks: "Those [athletes] unable to attend are already back training for the 2030 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, reinforcing the continuous pursuit of excellence that defines Team USA."

Of Team USA's total 232 Olympians and 72 Paralympians for Milano Cortina, approximately 120 to "nearly half" (sources varied) attended the evening and the day's Athlete Summit organized by the USOPC. The men's hockey team visited The People's House in February, so their roster of athletes did not return, and two of the women's hockey champions -- Abbey Murphy and Joy Dunne, attended in place of the full roster. 

Second, in one of the brief instances when the president did veer off script (minutes 10 to 13 of the video), his remarks about "saving women's and college sports" drew a curious mix of athlete eyerolls or raised eyebrows or glares toward their feet, juxtaposed with a few fellow Olympians expressing nods of approval or brief applause. I was unable to see the reaction of Olympic champion Donna de Varona, seated with Sykes with their backs to the press tribune, given her leadership role with Women's Sports Policy Working Group. 

A shorter Trump improvisation I nicknamed "the FIFA nod" followed around minute 14, earning some confused looks, but soon thereafter there was a return to robust applause as the president delivered apt shout-outs to Utah 2034 and LA28 as upcoming home-turf opportunities for Team USA to shine. 

Then following a presentation of a team jacket and custom shoes delivered by six-time Paralympic skier Laurie Stephens and bobsled's Frank Del Duca, the president invited the athletes to follow him to the Oval Office for photo opps and to receive a special White House coin minted in their honor. 

Patiently waiting for the all-clear to exit the East Room, I chatted up some of the Olympic sponsor reps in the room, eventually trading a few five-ringed Calgary '88 Jeep pins for Milano Cortina skate pins from Deloitte, a sweet new palm tree LA28 pin from Cisco, and the most coveted jewel of the experience: Team USA's 2026 White House Visit pin, this time a 1.5-inch blue square (it was only later I noticed the designer's likely AI-enabled flaws including too many ground level arches and too few doors illustrating the mansion's south face). 

And maybe 10 minutes later, back in the Press Briefing Room, they called "lid" -- the lingo for the president's official appearances du jour coming to a close. With a brief thunderstorm raging outside, several reporters stayed for the showers to clear, thankful the East Room ceremony was a fun and dry success, moved at the last minute from the newly paved Rose Garden. 

Who could resist another pose at the podium?

The walk back to the hotel included a nice surprise. Waiting to cross H Street after exiting Lafayette Square, Team USA came into view again at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce headquarters, site for an afterglow gathering of VIP athletes and Team USA sponsors. 

Walking toward the main entry, the first bus of athletes simultaneously arrived, a jackpot of conversations and more pin exchanges, and peeks at the White House coins (unfortunately, my camera did not capture one, but a view is available here via skeleton athlete Austin Florian's Instagram). It was fun to briefly chat again with speedskaters Sarah Warren and Stolz, who seemed to recall our Olympic Village conversations and pin swaps of February (Sarah also encourages fans to attend the upcoming Long Track World Cup qualifying competitions at Pettit Center in Milwaukee and elsewhere, as listed by U.S. Speedskating). 

I also enjoyed a slightly longer post-event conversation with bobsledder Sophia Kirkby, the athlete who made her own ceramic pins as traders and gifts at the Cortina Olympic Village. She seemed genuinely pleased to receive a ceramic Olympic item my sister and I created last Christmas, and Kirkby was generous in gifting us two of her newest designs before answering some questions about July 4 travels for USA 250, her recent "engagement" and other dating adventures as celebrated on her Instagram, and the extent to which grief is a powerful force in life. 

My sincere wish is she'll be open to an extended interview about these and other topics on her journey to Alpes 2030.  

Image credits: Still from "All The President's Men" via Warner Bros.; all other photos by Nicholas Wolaver may not be used or reposted/reprinted without written permission. 

Beijing Welcomes Few

In a few hours, the XXIV Winter Olympic Games officially open in Beijing. 

I hope it is a great success, and suspect it will be on several fronts, though its high points will likely be drowned out by an array of tethered topics in the news.

One perplexing topic is Russia's president attending the Opening Ceremony at which his nation's athletes may only compete under the Olympic Committee (ROC) banner. 

Maybe if viewers look closely enough they'll see the testicles or spines of various IOC members (opting not to enforce doping-related bans nor acknowledge human rights issues during host nation selection) in the back pockets or VIP gift bags of Vladimir Putin and PRC President Xi Jinping. 

Of the two cities that presented final bids to the IOC, my vote was for Almaty. How cool it would have been -- very nice! -- to visit a new corner of the world, Kazakhstan. I'd like to think some of the recent protests in that nation preventable had the city been on its home stretch in Games preparation. 

I was also passionate about Munich's potential bid -- converted briefly from their failed 2018 quest -- regrettably withdrawn after close municipal votes showed lack of Bavarian public support due to soaring costs of hosting. 

Boo, Bavarians!

Even on the July 2015 day with Beijing secured the Games, my thought was, "Meh, potentially one Games to skip." Working and residing in China for a month in 2008 was enough for this lifetime, it then seemed.

But I started warming up to the 2022 Games after seeing some of the new venues, notably The Ice Ribbon speed skating oval (left) and the ski jump complex. It's also good to see the iconic Bird's Nest and Water Cube (now Ice Cube) getting more use as both structures are spectacular. The mascot Bing Dwen Dwen makes me smile, as did the abbreviated Olympic Torch Relay underway for just three days. 

It also made me grin to receive a Beijing Olympic media accreditation last month. Unfortunately, limited and over-priced seats on the small batches of international charter flights to China -- combined with my current client responsibilities and the nebulous complexities of the COVID clearances to get inside the Olympic bubble -- led me to stay put in Atlanta. Kudos and best wishes to the team from Keep The Flame Alive podcast for successfully navigating the system and making it to China!

Breathing easy without the stresses of travel, designing a new blog pin (at right) for this Olympiad proved relaxing and fun. 

And it's exciting to see several athletes getting their shot at Olympic glory. After her successful gold mining in PyeongChang, I enjoyed an opportunity to ask Mikaela Shiffrin her goals on her journey to Beijing. Can hardly wait to see her successes at her third Games. 

It will be fun to see what other surprises emerge from Beijing. Predictions: Sarah Brightman performs at the Opening or Closing (as in 2008); the final torchbearer will be a child (or group of kids) or a robot; and we'll all learn some new sports-centric vocabulary akin to "the twisties" of Tokyo. 

We can also look forward and continue counting the days to Milano-Cortina 2026!

Image credits: Beijing 2022's Instagram; AFP and EPA from this site.

Mikaela Shiffrin Achieves PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Dream Under A Fire Rainbow

On a sunny Thursday afternoon at Yongpyong Alpine Center, one of Mikaela Shiffrin's 2018 Olympic dreams came true beneath a fire and ice rainbow.

Though spectators at ground level enjoyed noticeably mild winter temperatures, the frosty air above the finish line occasionally created circumhorizontal arcs under which Shiffrin found her five-ringed pot of gold. 

Crossing the second run finish line in 1:09.20, Shiffrin secured first place (with her first run time of 1:10.82 for total 2:20.02) as the penultimate skier of her round. 

Norway's Ragnhild Mowinckel earned silver just .39 points behind, with a surprise bronze for Italy's Federica Brignone .46 slower than the top time.

I was standing the the mixed zone with a gaggle of U.S. reporters, assorted Team USA officials or hangers-on, and a cadre of international media all clamoring for Q&A time with Shiffrin. 

She shared some great answers in the snow outside and later in a jam-packed press conference in the venue media center. 

"Today I was trying really hard but I was feeling the hill, I was feeling the moutain and I was feeling my skis, and I was really letting it go as much as I could in that second run," said Shiffrin. "To win a gold medal skiing like that is really special."

Shiffrin added that calculated risks factored heavily in her victory. 

"The Olympics is not about protecting the lead, it's about putting your best on the line and you can see what happens," said Shiffrin. "It was incredible to take so much risk in that second run but it's something I'm trying to do more and more with the World Cup racing."

Shiffrin's gold mining continues with two other downhill events that are now set for consecutive days, thanks in part to bad weather earlier this week. I asked her how she plans to spend time now through the next race.

"[Tonight] I'm going to try to get some rest and some food, and then there's the medal ceremony, so it's going to be a full day but I know my mentality today was really good and it's the same mentality I'll bring to tomorrow."

Shiffrin will collect her gold medal to be presented by IOC member HSH Princess Nora of Liechtenstein.

During the hour long wait between Shiffrin's victory and her eventual visit to media row, I had time to chat briefly with several other ladies' giant slalom competitors, congratulating each of them on their achievement as Olympians. 

One young competitor stood out: Mialitiana Clerc of Madagascar. 

The 16 year old skier, who ranked 48th out of 58 finishers, told me she got started skiing in France after her adoption parents introduced her to the sport near Chamonix. 

Whatever works when your birth nation is a tropical African island!

According to Clerc's online bio in the PyeongChang media database, she lists Shiffrin as her idol and inspiration to compete -- and win medals for Africa -- at Beijing 2022. 

May she find her Olympic pot of gold in China in just four years. 

Photos by Nicholas Wolaver

 

Wintry Mix At Team USA Media Summit

It's fun to be back in Utah for the first time in four years. 

As in 2013, the U.S. Olympic Committee organized its Team USA Media Summit -- now underway through Wednesday in Park City -- to introduce reporters to more than 100 Olympians and Olympic hopefuls looking ahead to the 2018 Winter Games at PyeongChang. 

Flying into SLC International Airport brought back five-ringed anticipation for a some fun days of networking and gathering story ideas. Driving into the mountains brought a rush of memories from my first visit here in 1997 and, of course, 10 days here during the 2002 Salt Lake Winter Olympics. 

It's always fun to pull off Interstate 80 and spot the ski jumps, then pull into downtown Park City, the village that in some ways remains as decked out for the Games as it was 15 years ago.

The biggest surprise so far: SNOW in September! 

A few miles up the slopes from Salt Lake City, a blizzard welcomed my rental Toyota, and most of the evergreens in and around the city have a great coating of fresh powder. 

Only two weeks ago I was taking sun at Sandy Hook's beaches in New Jersey, juxtaposed with a snow and fog gondola ride up one of the Rocky Mountain's greatest ski resorts.

Day one's press conferences and athlete or official interview opportunities included (as of early Monday afternoon) the U.S.O.C.'s top brass and announcements, a briefing by the PyeongChang committee's media operations team, a star-filled stage featuring top U.S. female ski and snowboard champions, and roundtables with athletes from biathlon, bobsled, speedskating and Para nordic disciplines. 

Enjoyed getting reacquainted briefly with Elana Meyers Taylor, a fellow Georgian and Olympic silver and bronze medalist who got married since her trip to Sochi. She also provided the welcoming remarks at a Sunday evening mountainside party to kick off the Media Summit. 

Also enjoyed a follow up conversation with Mikaela Shiffrin, first interviewed at the last Winter Olympic Media Summit before she went on to win gold in Sochi. We talked briefly about how her P.R. savvy and ability to speak "on message" evolved in recent years. 

I'll post more specifics from these and other athlete interviews in the days and weeks ahead on the road to PyeongChang. For now, it's time for some USA Hockey and USA Luge Q&A.

Photos by Nicholas Wolaver

One Year To Find Passion. Connected.

A few of my Olympic buddies and I seem to be in similar boats with regards to the upcoming Winter Olympiad.

One year from now the world will gather in PyeongChang for the 2018 opening ceremony, and some of us are not yet sure we'll be there. 

Rio 2016 really did a number on me, an unexpected, unwelcome and unprecedented turn for my Olympic fandom of three decades. I know the passion is still in there, but for some reason the Brazil Games experience left that passion girding its loins, reluctant to return.

Fortunately, some online updates and a recent U.S. Olympic Committee media call, and a holiday peek at some Korean maps, proved there's still a five-ringed pulse in this blogger. 

Just after Christmas, at a destination bookstore in Oklahoma City, I spent some time studying Korea in the travel section. Driving in Asia seems daunting at first glance, but then since navigating the Italian alleys around Torino in 2006, a trek from Seoul to South Korea's eastern coast seems doable.

During the call with Olympians Mikaela Shiffrin, Elana Meyers Taylor and the 2018 Team USA Chief of Sports Performance Alan Ashley held Monday, it was good to hear the athletes' determination and passion as they described their personal journeys to PyeongChang in progress. Ashley described his recent visit to the Olympic host region and positive observations of the Korean staff and volunteers working hard to welcome visitors. 

On the call I asked the status of USA House planning, which remains in progress, and the extent to which the athletes on the call valued access to past house venues. Meyers Taylor's answer and talking about her experiences in the Sochi USA House with family members got me interested in the prospect of a future visit in Korea.

"It's huge to have a home away from home, a place to relax," said Meyers Taylor. "My father and husband had a great time there [in Sochi]." 

The scene with Meyers Taylor and her family rang a bell. She was kind enough to pose for a photo during the Russia Games experience three years ago. 

Today I glanced at several sections of the PyeongChang website and YouTube Channel for the first time in several months. The schedule is helpful. Some of the venues intrigue me -- I have yet to experience an Olympic biathlon finish line, and checking out Olympic ski jumping (as in 2014) could be fun. 

The "Coastal Cluster" in Gangneung looks like it may be in close proximity to some interesting waterfront architecture.

The theme of the host organizers -- "Passion. Connected." (with periods for emphasis) -- got me to thinking about connect the dots to revive my love of the Games. 

Only time will tell how and when I'll come around and commit to the Korean Olympic experience. Anyone else considering options? What's inspiring you, or holding you back? Please share. Additional connectedness for 2018 is certainly welcome. 

Top images via PyeongChang 2018 website and SI.com, respectively. 

The Word of the Street

Olympic champion Picabo Street may exude fearlessness.

After all, she built her successful downhill ski career by careening as fast as possible down the slopes.

During yesterday's special appearance at the suburban Atlanta corporate office for U.S. Olympic partner Citi, Street did talk about fear and how she tackles it through lessons learned from family, friends and coaches.

"Replace your fears with the task at hand," said Street.

The three-time Olympian said pausing to assess one's frightening situation only makes it more difficult, likened to standing on a high-dive -- the longer one waits or taking time to look down, the harder it gets to just take the plunge.

Street is heading to Sochi with Citi as an ambassador in the company's five-ringed Every Step of the Way initiative through which Olympic fans may help channel donated funds to one of 10 designated Team USA affiliate nonprofits. With just a few clicks online, anyone may elect to support Street's charity of choice, ski and snowboard safety organization Stay On the Slopes. (Disclosure: The P.R. firm for Citi Every Step, MATTER, is an agency for which I will freelance in Sochi.)

Does Street have fear about heading to Russia? Probably yes.

"[Please] pray for us all, for our safety," Street said to about 100 Citi employees in attendance.

To overcome her apparent concerns about personal security in Sochi, Street's selected tasks at hand include her Citi project and an on-air gig with Michelle Kwan as the duo will appear as Fox Sports One correspondents. With a smile and nervous chuckle, Street mentioned the network's plans to activate the pair of Olympians as hard news anchors if the need arises.

But the prospect of frightening Sochi scenarios was only a brief portion of Street's 45 minute, mostly unscripted, very animated and often hilarious chat with Citi team members. Observing Picabo's great storytelling techniques and "keeping it real" demeanor reminded me of great scenes portrayed by Melissa McCarthy.

 

With one of her sons joining the event for "mom's take the kids to work day" Street shared many stories of her own upbringing as a tomboy coming of age in Idaho.

Street explained that some of her earliest memories of skiing went back to a day when her older brother and father left her home to hit the slopes. Upon their return, Street made a strong case for future inclusion, donning her brother's oversized-for-Picabo boots and other gear.

When she finally did get to join the family ski experience, she was all about getting to the bottom of the hill with haste.

Street said she was more afraid of getting pushed off the chair lift than speeding down the mountainside with as few turns as possible.

"I tried turning but it only slowed me down," Street said.

At age 10, Street started telling family and friends of her Olympic aspirations. After many unheeded conversations, her dad finally turned the tables on the young female skier.

"He said, 'O.K., we're going to put all of the family apples into [Picabo's Olympic dream] basket, so it might get heavy -- don't drop it!'" said Street.

No pressure!

Of her many years among the world's best skiers, Street cited a point of pride was rallying her U.S. teammates to dominate. She also cherishes the friendships made with Team USA and European peers.

On those who inspired her most, Street said fellow Lillehammer '94 Olympian Dan Jansen was the biggest impact and that he "epitomized perseverance."

Perseverance came into play when Street later crashed, breaking both the biggest and smallest bones in her body, her jaw and many other body parts. When I asked her one-on-one how she tackled the frustration of being cooped up for a long recovery, Street was frank about the wrath the experience brought her.

"I was angry!" she said. "I was angry and everyone knew it."

She said she channeled that anger into finding other ways to keep her body in shape for an eventual return to the slopes. Street added that being holed up in the hospital made her achingly anxious to pounce.

"It was like being a hungry tiger pacing back and forth in a cage," Street said. "It's like [a tiger who] can smell blood outside and wants to, can't hardly wait, to attack!"

She said she thinks Olympic champion Lindsey Vonn may be in this place mentally during her own recovery from injury.

When a Citi audience member inquired about getting from greatness level to Olympian level technique in sport and in life, Street said she learned to put the lion's share of focus on improving weakness, and that hard work will help overcome flaws while naturally refining one's areas of strength. She said 2014 Team USA members Mikaela Shiffrin and Patrick Meek each remind her of Street's own drive, speed and hard work.

"All choices have consequences," said Street. "My wish [to get to the Olympics] became a daily choice. It was my wish on everything: birthdays, on the clock at 11:11, anything.

"I used to write the Olympic rings in the frost of the windows on the bus," Street added.

Funny, I used to do that on the bus in Oklahoma. And on the windows of my Volvo last week during Indiana's blizzard.

Further keeping it real, Street said during her Sochi TV project she will make it a point to ask Olympians and celebrities to talk about their "crappiest job" for which Street has her worst: Cleaning toilets. As a youth, Street used to help her mom with house cleaning assignments, perhaps another motivator to hit the slopes with dad and brother.

Photos by Nicholas Wolaver

Mikaela Shiffrin = Crazy Good

Catching up on some New York Times articles this evening, it was fun to read about rising U.S. Ski Team star Mikaela Shiffrin. Bill Pennington's report introducing readers to Shiffrin filled almost two full pages of all the news that's fit to print.

This high school student spent the last few weeks racking up three World Cup victories, earning her, among other accolades, the status of "crazy good" from Olympic Champion Ted Ligety in this post later quoted in the huge Times story.

Scanning Shiffrin's results online, the U.S. Ski Team site includes good video of the recent wins via Universal Sports. It will be fun to see another Mikaela excel on the lead-in to Sochi 2014 -- let's just hope Shiffrin can do it sans "not impressed" distractions of other athletes by the same first name.

Photo via this link by AFP/Samuel Kubani