A gut punch

Eleven years, five Olympics. And that just may be the end of the road.

Today I received an e-mail from the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee stating that my credential application for Milan-Cortina 2026 had been denied and that I was put on the wait list. They stated that demand was high.

To say I am disappointed and completely bummed out would be an understatement. This has been a journey of more than a decade that has taken me to Russia, Korea, China, Japan and France. I've been lucky to have incredible community support along the way, including a huge fundraising effort in my first years leading up to the Sochi 2014 Olympics. What I thought would be a once in a lifetime experience became a decade of incredible experiences. While I am bummed about not heading to Italy next year, I do have tons of great memories from five awesome experiences and that is something I am grateful for.

I was under the impression that once I was in the credential system for the Winter Olympics (or Summer Olympics) that I would get approved for credentials until I didn't accept them. Obviously this assumption was wrong and I guess I found out the hard way that was indeed the case.

The "demand was high" reasoning seems a little off to me, since we were told that for Paris last year, the demand was the highest it's ever been and I got a credential. I know the Winter Olympics have fewer credentials available, but I still figured I was probably okay. Given that I had also covered two Olympics in the middle of the pandemic when many outlets (including big ones like the Boston Globe) turned down their credentials, I thought I had built up some good will with the USOPC.

Now that I don't have an Olympics to plan for, I have some reevaluation to do of what is coming down the pipe. It really was the only thing I had to look forward to and now I just don't know. I don't know what I want to do going forward and I don't have anything to focus on. For more than a decade, my focus has been on the next Olympics. They are what I am working toward and what I am excited about. Without them, I just don't know. I am at a loss.

Maybe in a few days I will have something more to say, but right now, that's what I've got.


The Paris Closing Ceremony may be my final Olympic experience after my credential application for Milan-Cortina next year was turned down.

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