Team USA Media Summit - Day Two

The second day of the Team USA Media Summit at the Marriott Marquis in New York City was much the same as the first, with plenty of inspirational stories and looks ahead to the Paris Olympics this summer.

The opening panel of the day was a wrestling panel, which was done partially virtually, as the wrestlers are preparing for the Olympic Trials at Penn State University. Women's coach Terry Steiner appeared in person while wrestlers Sarah Hildebrandt, David Taylor and Alan Vera all appeared via Zoom to answer questions.

Steiner is excited about Team USA's chances at the upcoming Olympics, noting that the team has quotas in all six weight classes, making things a little more relaxed heading into the trials. 

"This is a big week for our women’s team. If you win this week, you're on the US Olympic Team," he said. "It's important for the US to have a full team. We feel we have a team that can compete with anyone and that’s exactly what we want to do. We feel Team USA can rise to the top."

Hildebrandt said that after her bronze medal in Tokyo, managing her energy is key, as her energy is definitely through the roof. She's focused on becoming more intuitive and trusting herself and believing what her body is telling her.

Vera admitted that he wasn't ready for the last Olympic Trials and didn't know what exactly they meant, but this time he feels more confident and has been working hard the last three years to make it work.

For Taylor, the reigning Olympic champion, he says that his goal is to always be the best and to do that, he has to continue to improve. Without the competition, nobody would get better, he also pointed out.

The athlete service panel was next, where it was announced that the USOPC is partnering with Guild to help transition athletes from competition to life after competition. The panel included Gene Derkack (VP for USOP Foundation), Carrie White (USOPC VP Athlete Development and Engagement), Daniella Ramirez (artistic swimming), Rebecca Beistman (chief marketing officer at Guild) and Meghan O’Leary (Olympian, US Olympic and Paralympic Properties).

"We want to support the holistic athlete, on and off the field," Derkack said. "We want to make sure we’re providing all the resources they need during their athletic career and as they transfer."

"We're serving both current and former athletes with Guild’s platform, with over 250 learning opportunities," Beistman said. "We're offering career coaching and career services to help them figure out what their options are after the Games. We’re excited about this partnership and the difference we can make."

White said the platform went live on April 3 and already more than 145 athletes have filled out the profile and more than 30 have already finished an application to a program.

"We think about the whole athlete and make sure their best positioned for whatever comes next for them," White said. "The only thing that all Olympians and Paralympians have in common, they all will retire at some point."

"I'm excited athletes can pursue their dream and pursue an opportunity for when they have to hang up the shoes, they’re going to be set up after," O'Leary said. "What makes (retirement) it especially hard is it’s not a reality until it is."

"I’ve struggled with finding time to put my education first. It shouldn’t be a choice, you should be able to put both on the front burner," Ramirez said. "To put it on your own schedule, it’s going to put us in a better place. It’s a game changer."

The indoor water panel was next, featuring Maggie Steffens (water polo), Megumi Field (artistic swimming), Ben Hallock (water polo), Andrew Capobianco (diving), Ashleigh Johnson (water polo) and Bill May (artistic swimming).

Field noted it was a surreal moment for her when the US qualified for the Olympics in artistic swimming, something the team had not done since 2008. For May, it was even a longer wait, as he has been waiting 35 years to get the chance to compete. Paris is the first time that men will be allowed to compete in the discipline in the Olympics.

"It's an awesome opportunity, it's such a dream that I feel like I'm going to make up," May said.

Hallock said that after Tokyo, he is excited to have his family and friends in attendance in Paris and also said he is looking forward to Los Angeles in 2028, to be able to compete in his home state.

The US women's water polo team is the defending Olympic champions and both Steffens and Johnson are excited to be able to defend that crown.

"I'm excited for the world to see the hard work that we have put in," Johnson said. "Our team mindset and the reason we’ve been successful is we’re not paying attention to how the other team feels. How they’re feeling can’t affect us."

"I still get nervous, still get the butterflies," Steffens said. "When you have a passion for the sport, for the Olympic movement, that dream continues. It doesn’t matter if you’ve done it in the past."

The Don't Call it a Comeback panel was next, talking with athletes who have battled back from injury as they prepare for Paris. The panel included Sam Bosco (para cycling), Brian Bell (wheelchair basketball), Beiwen Zhang (badminton), McKenzie Coan (para swimming) and Jourdan Delacruz (weightlifting).

"It would be dishonest to say that I wasn’t discouraged," said Bosco, who was named to the roster for Tokyo 2020 but suffered a head injury in a train crash and had to vacate her spot. "There were a lot of days where I was discouraged. I relied heavily on my family, had a lot of people to lean on. I am stronger because of the adversity. Helps me be more motivated."

Bell noted that his motivation to return to the Olympics is the chance to make history and win the third gold medal in a row for wheelchair basketball and noted he was fortunate enough to find wheelchair basketball after being injured as a kid.

Zhang suffered an injury during competition in Tokyo and returned to the court four months later. She admits that she doesn't put any pressure on herself and if she did, she couldn't play on the level she needs to. After struggling in Tokyo, Delacruz said that experience has really pushed her and she's excited to see more and more women competing in a male-dominated sport.

Coan is coming back from a Bells Palsy diagnosis but notes she is used to dealing with adversity. However, what finally helped get her on track was when she was able to step back and look at herself as a human being.

The female driven panel was up next, featuring Courtney Ryan (wheelchair basketball), Oksana Masters (para cycling), Sunny Choi (breaking), Gabby Thomas (track and field), Lee Kiefer (fencing) and Kate Douglass (swimming).

Choi left a job in the private sector to chase an Olympic dream that she long ago abandoned in favor of going the responsible route and is excited to be back on the Olympic track as breaking makes its first appearance in the Olympics.

Ryan relayed her story as an All-American in soccer in college after receiving a scholarship to play. She pointed out that her first steps and her last steps ever were both on soccer fields and when she was injured she originally thought being an athlete was going to be taken away from her and said the support of her family was key.

Thomas, a two-time medalist in Tokyo, was excited about the recent announcement that gold medal winners would receive 50,000 dollars from World Athletics.

"This is amazing, we've been talking about paying athletes for their hard work for a while," she said. "Support is so important. Any time you can have any type of support it’s great. This is often done with hope, dreams and effort."

Douglass pointed out how important it was to have a team behind her, as she does in college. And once Team USA teams are chosen, no matter where the athlete comes from, they all come together as teammates and all support each other.

Masters, who is heading toward her seventh Paralympic experience, as she competes in both the Winter and Summer Games, said she never even knew the Paralympics were a thing.

"I had no idea, when I figured out what it was, this is where I belong," she said. "I want to represent something bigger than myself."

Kiefer said she always appreciated that she had people like her to look up to throughout her career and there was never in any doubt in her mind that she could do it because she'd seen other people do it and is excited to be that person for young people.

The Sprint to Paris panel, featuring track and field athletes, was up next, featuring Fiona O'Keeffe, Noelle Malkamaki, Jaydin Blackwell, Tara Davis-Woodhall, Kenny Bednarek and Keira D’Amato.

Malkamaki and Blackwell, both of whom hold Para world record both stated they were thrilled to get the chance to perform on the world stage and they've been competing like they have for so long that it feels natural after everything that has happened.

O'Keeffe, who won the Olympic Trials marathon and set a new Olympic Trials record in her first-ever marathon, came in with a goal of just making the team and knew that it would take a strong effort in order to do that, but she was just focused on competing and getting everything out of herself. D'Amato, who is also a distance runner, said that her focus at the start of the race she's open-minded and then about 75 percent in she focuses in. And after leaving running for a while, is excited to go after the unfinished business.

Davis-Woodhall noted that 2021 was a different vibe and it was her first foray into the professional world against European athletes and told herself it was just another meet, and with no fans in the stands, it actually felt that way.

Bednarek, who also has been coming back from an injury said that training has been going well and with that, he expects this will be a dominant year for him and said that it all comes down to the support team he has behind him.

The technology panel was up next, featuring Mike Levine (Director of Performance Innovation - USOPC), Mary Tucker (shooting), Morgan Pearson (triathlon), Hampton Morris (weightlifting), Dennis Connors (para cycling) and Marco De La Rosa (para shooting). They all discussed some of the ways technology helps them in their sports.

"Advances in sports technology and data analytics have transformed the training environment. We see a lot of opportunities to utilize non-invasive measures to understand athlete movements, body mechanics," Levine said. "We collect and analyze data on injuries, those inform evidence-based injury prevention protocol."

Pearson noted that sleep and recovery are important and after putting in big miles, sleep is the best way to recover while Morris noted that for him, nutrition is the one thing more important than sleep to him, as staying hydrated and fueled is key.

Both Tucker and De La Rosa noted the incredible advance in technology in the shooting sports makes their sports so much easier. The targets are all electronic, as are the triggers and the technology continues to improve the equipment they use for their sport.

Connors noted that the best way to combat injury is prevention, with mobility, stretching and devices all chipping in to help prevent the injuries from occurring. 

The final panel featured a number of athletes in the less-recognized sports, which included Jessica Davis (modern pentathlon), Hans Henken (sailing), Victor Montalvo (breaking), Hannah Roberts (BMX) and Miles Krajewski (para badminton).

Montalvo stated that many people don't even know that breaking is in the Olympics and he's happy to represent his culture and bring the hip-hop vibe to the Olympics, while Henken pointed out that sailing is so dependent on the weather that he and his teammates have been spending time in Marseille (site of Olympic sailing) for more than a year in order to prepare for what they will see come July.

Davis noted her sport often comes down to the fencing aspect, as there are usually strong runners and swimmers, so the fencing is pretty important. While it's the last aspect of the pentathlon that she started, it's also become the one she's the best at.

Krajewski, who is still finishing up his high school life, said that no matter what the obstacles are, there are so many athletes that have already overcome those and you can get through it. Roberts, who was the BMX gold medal favorite all through COVID leading up to Tokyo and finished second, said that this time she is just riding her bike and having fun now and hoping to be the best version of herself every day, on and off the bike.

The female driven panel at the Team USA Media Summit included (l to r), Courtney Ryan, Oksana Masters, Sunny Choi, Kate Douglass, Lee Kiefer and Gabby Thomas.