(COLORADO SPRINGS) — 20 Olympic athletes are coming to Olympic City U.S.A. this week, starting July 10, to celebrate the newest inductions to the Olympic and Paralympic Hall of Fame.
It all kicks off Thursday with a community movie night, featuring four Olympic classics across the city, like Blades of Glory and Miracle.
Then on Friday, the Olympic and Paralympic committee will host a community outreach day with Olympians out and about in the community, teaching clinics, or even having coffee with the community.
Saturday, some Olympic track and field stars will take questions during the breakfast panel hosted by Dan O’Brien, who was inducted in 2012.
He will be talking to Legends like Bob Beamon, Billy Mills, John Carlos, and Tommie Smith. The ceremony gets underway later that night to welcome the newest Hall of Famers.
O’Brien commented, “acknowledgment within the United States in the Olympic movement, that’s as high as it gets… You’re being mentioned now along with, you know, the greatest Olympians ever.”
He says this moment is different from winning gold because of the time you have to reflect.
O’Brien recounted, “It’s an opportunity to look back at all the hard work and all the dedication, determination that it took you to get there…This is a time of celebration.”
The celebration will continue at the Olympic and Paralympic Museum with the debut of a brand-new exhibit, which includes destroyed medals from Olympian Gary Hall Junior, who lost his home during the Palisades fire in California earlier this year.
The Museum will be free to the community all weekend.
About The Author
