(ATR) Around the Rings was on the scene for the 2016 Team USA Media Summit in Los Angeles, California where more than 100 of the best athletes in America shared their experiences as Olympians and how they are preparing for the upcoming Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
Swimming stars such as Ryan Lochte, Missy Franklin and Natalia Coughlin spoke on day one of the three-day summit before track athletes LaShawn Merritt, Ashton Eaton and others took the stage. Athletes spoke about their challenges ahead of the Rio 2016 Olympics before breaking out for roundtable interviews.
The health and safety of athletes at Rio 2016 was the primary concern for media with plenty ofquestions about Zika and the water quality in Rio. Many say that they are more focused on their competition and performances rather than worried about issues they cannot control.
Day two of the summit featured call-ins from beach volleyball stars April Ross and Kerri Walsh-Jennings as well as women's soccer champions Alex Morgan and Carli Lloyd.
Los Angeles 2024 also held its first national press conference where the bid committee announced its Athlete Advisory Commission. The stage was filled with 30 of the 53 Olympians and Paralympians named to the group.
Pauley Pavilion at the UCLA campus was the setting for demonstrations of Olympic and Paralympic sports by Team USA athletes. Olympic legend Michael Phelps also held a press conference where he described his change in attitude from London 2012 to Rio 2016.
Day three revolved around USA Basketball as women's national team players Tamika Catchings, Sue Bird, Candace Parker and Ella Delle Donne held a press conference before USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo talked about the culture change at the national federation and its recent success.
Click here for photos from the media summit.
Written by Kevin Nutley
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