Olympics

American athletes eager to compete in 2018 Olympics

By Chase Williams
By Chase Williams

The athletes who will represent the United States in the 2018 Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, are preparing under a cloud of uncertainty.

Athletes who were at the Team USA Media Summit in Park City, Utah, told Channel 11’s Chase Williams the safety concerns aren’t so much a worry as much as they are a benefit.

“No one has a home field advantage. And I think that’s the cool thing when it comes to the Olympics. It kind of evens it out,” said Julia Mancuso, an alpine skier.

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Expectations are high, as always, for the United States, and 23-year-old Mikaela Schiffrin will be skiing’s gold standard.

“Part of me feels like this is all an out-of-body experience, where it’s like watching myself go through, like, setting goals, dreaming about these moments and then actually achieving them. And I’m like, this can’t be real,” said Schiffrin.

The stories of triumph are endless among the athletes. At 36, Lowell Bailey fought off thoughts of retirement and became the first U.S. athlete to qualify. Adam Rippon will skate to a song that he wrote. And Sarah Hendrickson will be competing in the ski jump after five knee surgeries over four years.

New prime-time host Mike Tirico will get to tell their stories, and said he sees the Olympics as an opportunity for hope in a country that becomes more divisive each day.

“Maybe it’ll be a great opportunity for the country to come together behind one thing,” said Tirico.

There are still four and a half months until the Olympic Games begin, but if the spirit and passion shown by the athletes during the media summit are any indication, Team USA will represent our country very well in Pyeonchang in February.

 

Cox Media Group

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