The first day of the Team USA Media Summit in New York City featured eight different panels of press conferences, with roundtable discussions available after each session.
The first session was a great discussion with the leadership of the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee to talk about the arrival of Paris in the coming months. The panel included Sarah Hirshland - USOPC CEO, Rocky Harris – chief of sport and athlete services, Nicole Deal – chief of security and athlete services, Dr. Jonathan Finnoff – chief medical officer.
"You can feel the energy and excitement building," Hirshland said. "We're excited to bring the whole country along on this journey." Harris noted he was excited about the athletes being able to perform in front of their friends and families after two Olympics with no families. Deal said she was excited to see the backdrop of Paris for the Olympics and Finnoff was excited about the decade ahead for the United States, with Los Angeles hosting in 2028 and Salt Lake City a likely host for 2034.
"Olympics weren’t the biggest things on our mind last two Olympic," Hirshland said, referencing COVID. "We haven’t had a lot of that lately, it’s about being there and about what can happen back home and take an escape into Olympic sport."
"Only 15 percent of team has been named," Harris said. "This is go time for us. The focus is every athlete reaching their personal best. Every story is important, we want to highlight all the athletes."
"The number one priority is security and wellbeing of Team USA athletes," Deal said, noting she has been working with French security, state department and more. "The three things we're focusing on are collaboration, communication, information sharing."
Finnoff noted it was an intricate medical plan in place (that includes Dr. Tamara Lovelace of Alton) with more than 200 medical professionals on the ground in Paris.
There was also talk about the recent announcement that gold medalists in track and field would earn prize money, with everyone on the panel agreeing that the more resources that can be put in the hands of the athletes, the better.
The next panel was highlighting the new Team USA marketing strategy, One For All. The panel included Jess Park (USOPC chief of brand and fan engagement), Brandon Henderson (chief creative officer, Wieden+Kennedy), Alex Shibutani (ice skate), Grace Norman (paratriathlon), Jordan Larson (volleyball).
"It’s about shining light on athletes," Park said. "In the past we focused in on athletic performances, we will continue to celebrate performance, but with One For All we explore the intersection of where personality meets performance. It's a chance to celebrate the communities around our athletes as they pursue their ambitions. We want to give all our fans opportunity to find their ones.
"The big unlock was bringing the fans into it," Henderson said. "I love the bigger story of Team USA. The highlights will be there, you can find them, but there’s more to it. We want to make these athletes feel more like people, so you’re rooting for a person, not an untouchable other worldly being."
"I've seen the perspective as athlete, it was an incredible opportunity to be able to photograph my teammates as they focus on this journey," Shibutani said. "It's special to be able to meet these athletes, support them in ways I could and bring a different perspective to it. The Olympic movement has the power to connect people from all different backgrounds."
"I never expected to be on the big screen, to see finished product, I’m kind of fan-girling over myself a little bit," said Norman. "The process was so unique, cool how they captured so many athletes and so many personalities."
It was an unbelievable experience, as an athlete, being able to show our personalities was great," said Larson. "It was fun to be a part of."
The third panel of the day was entitled Fight For Gold and involved athletes in combat sports, which included, uniquely enough, field hockey. The panel included Morelle McCane (boxing), CJ Nickolas (taekwondo), Evan Medell (para taekwondo), Liana Mutia (para judo), Abby Tamer (field hockey), Kelsey Bing (field hockey).
Judo, boxing and taekwondo athletes all spoke of the hard work and the dedication it took to reach their goals, while the field hockey women were excited to be back in the Olympics after missing the field in Tokyo three years ago.
The quote of the panel came from Mutia. "Everybody needs a work-life balance," she said. "Happiness over everything. I'm not addicted to the grind, I'm addicted to the unwind."
The soccer panel was up next, featuring female athletes Rose Lavelle, Crystal Dunn and Emily Sonnett and male athlete John Tolkin.
"The culture has been laid down well before we joined the team, we’re responsible for passing it on to next generation," Dunn said. "We have to lead by example."
Sonnett pointed to the influx of younger talent coming on to the scene as many of the legends of US women's soccer start to step aside. "Young players are very talented, seeing how we can all fit that together," she said.
Lavelle admitted to being a huge March Madness fan and is hopeful that the momentum from the recent women's tournament can carry over to this summer. "We want to keep building the momentum and the excitement," she said.
"It’s a dream come true, honestly," Tolkin said of his bid to get to his first Olympics. "It's been a wild ride so far. Sometimes it’s a lot to process, but I'm grateful to be here."
The gymnastics panel was up next, hosted by the most biased journalist in the history of Olympic sports, Hoda Kotb. The panel included Evita Griskenas, Kayla DiCello, Suni Lee, Yul Moldauer and Brody Malone.
One of their chief discussion was the use of social media and how it impacts them and their life. Four of the five basically said they stay off social media, either completely or around times of competition or hand off the responsibilities to their managers for periods of time. The lone dissenter was Moldauer, who noted he knows he has more supporters than doubters and he doesn't care what the haters think but also admitted you have to have a good balance.
The Paris 2024 panel included a lot of updates for media heading to the Olympics or Paralympics, presented by Lucia Montanarella (IOC) and Craig Spence (IPC).
Montonarella said that Paris has embraced the New Norm and is putting together a wonderful project with the background of a great city.
Spence noted that this could be the most important four years in Paralympic history for the United States, with Los Angeles on the docket in four years. He noted that the 2012 London Games led to a cultural shift in how disability is viewed in England and all the ingredients are there for the same thing to happen in the United States leading up to 2028.
Next up was the Evolution of Paralympic Movement panel, featuring six athletes with aspirations of being in Paris later this summer. It included Beatrice De Lavalette (para equestrian), Calahan Young (goalball), Jamal Hill (para swimming), Steve Serio (wheelchair basketball), Ezra Frech (para track and field), Justin Phongsavanh (para track and field).
Frech and Serio both spoke of the impact the English media had on how disability is viewed in England prior to the London Games and urged the US media to do the same thing in the United States. All the panelists also credited NBC for the work that they have done in promoting the Paralympics and are excited to see what Paris has to offer. They also all offered advice to those who aspire to get to the Paralympics, with working hard being the chief advice.
The Road to Paris panel was next, featuring Jordyn Poulter (volleyball), Alise Willoughby (cycling), Minna Stess (skateboarding), Brooke Raboutou (climbing), Jesse Grupper (climbing), Bobby Body (para powerlifting).
"Through the adversity you go through, you try to find the silver linings and control what you can," Poulter said as she battles back from injury. "I'm grateful for where I am right now going toward the Olympics."
"I can’t believe we come that far," said Willoughby of heading toward her fourth Olympics. "BMX was kind of the gateway to the new action sports that are part of the Olympics now. Choosing to show up every single day, I have a broad understanding and respect and more gratitude of how lucky we are to be able to do this and continue to do this."
"The USOPC mental health people helped me believe in myself," Body said. "When I got to the (Para Pan-American) games, I said wanted to attempt 500 pounds. I said that not only do I believe I can, I know I can."
"I never thought I’d be here talking about going to the Olympics," Stess said. "I can’t imagine my life without skateboarding."
"I’ve been climbing since a really young age, falling is part of the game," Raboutou said. "You learn to control your falls."
"With a climb, you have to figure out best way point A to point B and mechanical engineering is very similar," Grupper said of his job as a mechanical engineer. "I'm drawn to the creativity of problem solving of both."
The final panel focused on mental health with Jess Bartley (Senior Director of Psychological Services USOPC), Perry Baker (rugby), Nicky Nieves (sitting volleyball), Jaleen Roberts (para track and field), Nevin Harrison (canoe), Ilona Maher (rugby).
"I am 1,000 percent where I am today because of the support I had around me, Nieves said. "I was told it’s OK to not have OK days and a lot of children don’t have that."
"After the (Tokyo) Olympics, I had the post-Olympic blues, I had a hard year or two after just feeling lost," Harrison said. "Who am I outside of sport, do I like who I am outside of sport? Sometimes you need to take time off."
"A support system is everything," Baker said. "You battle a lot of adversity and mental issues about who you are. Attitude is everything."
"I had the pre-Paralympic blues, when they were postponed, I fell into a super deep depression," Roberts said. "I had been training for this one thing for years and it was stripped from me. And I was trying to take on challenges of that all alone. It’s OK to struggle, it’s brave and courageous to get help when you need it."
"It's been enlightening trying to break down barriers about what athletes are," Maher said. "Athletes are human. I can tackle hard and run hard and still feel beautiful doing it, you don’t have to sacrifice that."
Bartley noted that it was the athletes' voices that drove the mental health program at the USOPC and they recently integrated sports psychology into the mental health program and they now view it with a holistic approach.
All in all, it was great to hear from so many athletes and officials on such a broad variety of subjects, all focused around the Olympics.
The soccer panel at the Team USA Media Summit on Monday included John Tolkin, Rose Lavelle, Crystal Dunn and Emily Sonnett.
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