Watch a replay of the event at Facebook.com/LA2024
216 Olympic and Paralympic medals – 142 gold, 49 silver and 25 bronze – won by group that will help LA 2024 offer "the most personalized experience ever for Olympians and Paralympians"
LA 2024 today announced 53 athletes who will serve on LA 2024’s Athletes’ Advisory Commission (AAC), ensuring the top American and international athletes in the US are deeply involved in every aspect of its bid and helping to create a state-of-the-art, personalized experience for Olympic and Paralympic athletes in 2024.
Specifically, the AAC will review venues and help further develop the LA 2024 Games Concept; provide broad communication and feedback across every activity of the bid; represent and promote the rights and interests of athletes in LA 2024’s decision-making process; and support LA 2024 by promoting the positive values of sport and Olympism to youth across the country and, later, around the world.
Giving athletes a voice in LA 2024’s bid, the Athletes’ Advisory Commission will lead Athlete Town Halls in cities all over the United States, so that all Olympians and Paralympians can have the opportunity to share their feedback and aspirations regarding LA 2024’s Games Plan. The LA 2024 AAC will capitalize on the extensive network of more than 10,000 Olympian and Paralympian alumni across all 50 states.
The LA 2024 AAC’s American and US-based international athletes have collectively won 216 Olympic and Paralympic medals, including 142 gold medals, and was presented by LA 2024 leaders at the USOC Media Summit at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, the site of Hollywood’s annual Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills. LA 2024 will add additional athletes to the Commission over the course of its bid, which culminates with the 130th International Olympic Committee Session in September 2017 in Lima, Peru.
LA 2024 Director of Athlete Relations and Vice Chair Janet Evans said: "As a four-time Olympian who understands that athletes are the Olympic and Paralympic Games’ most important stakeholders, I joined the LA 2024 team to help guarantee that athletes have a strong voice in the development and planning of the Games Concept. I can say with the utmost confidence that the group we’re presenting here today will be front and center as we create the most personalized experience ever for Olympians and Paralympians."
Evans continued: "The LA 2024 AAC has a real and vital role to play in our bid. We provide input to all areas of the Games Concept, and we provide insight that only Olympians and Paralympians can. I am extremely honored to be here today with all of these great champions, and I know that together, we can bring the Games back to LA in 2024."
Joining Evans on stage, LA 2024 AAC member and 10-time Olympic medalist Carl Lewis said: "When you look at the incredible array of athletes here today, it is hard to imagine such a gathering of champions anywhere else, except perhaps at an Olympic and Paralympic Games. I can tell you that just being on the stage with legends like Dawn [Harper-Nelson], Candace [Cable] and Janet is not only thrilling, it is humbling. Every athlete on this stage knows that the real legacy of a Games is measured in the lives, dreams and aspirations of young athletes, long after the Games are over. This AAC will help LA 2024 create a Games Concept that provides the perfect experience for athletes, and ultimately, we hope, helps the Olympic and Paralympic Movement inspire a brand new generation of Olympic and Paralympic hopefuls."
In addition to Evans and Lewis, speakers at Tuesday’s ceremony included LA 2024 Chair Casey Wasserman, LA Mayor Eric Garcetti, four-time Olympic medalist and IOC member Angela Ruggiero, 12-time Paralympic medalist and LA 2024 Vice Chair Candace Cable, and two-time Olympic medalist Dawn Harper-Nelson.
IOC Member Angela Ruggiero said: "I am proud to be on team LA 2024, and I look forward to helping share the Olympic and Paralympic values with my hometown, our great nation and the world. Olympic Agenda 2020 reforms place athletes at the heart of the Games by enhancing and improving their Olympic and Paralympic Games experience, and the LA 2024 Games Concept is tailor made for Olympic Agenda 2020. From our Olympic Village on the spectacular UCLA campus, to our ideal Southern California weather, an LA 2024 Games will offer Olympians and Paralympians the ideal, personalized Games experience. It’s truly remarkable that all this has been accomplished with the input, advice and guidance of many of the world’s greatest Olympians and Paralympians."
LA 2024 Vice Chair and 12-time Paralympic medalist Candace Cable said: "I am especially proud to be a part of the LA 2024 Athletes’ Advisory Commission. This group has a golden opportunity to raise awareness about Paralympic sport, and to have meaningful input on the LA 2024 Paralympic Games concept from the athlete’s perspective. This group is uniquely suited to raise the bar in terms of diversity and inclusion, not just around disability, but also gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation and race."
"LA 2024’s AAC also has the significant opportunity to reignite America’s passion for the Games after 28 years, and re-introduce the values of Olympism and Paralympism to a new generation of young people. Now is a unique time in which we have the opportunity to help the IOC and IPC re-imagine the Games for the future."
The speakers were joined onstage by 25 other Olympians and Paralympians, making for a ballroom full of silverware at the iconic Beverly Hilton hotel.
LA 2024 Chairman Casey Wasserman said: "Few things are as humbling as being associated with the men and women comprising the LA 2024 Athletes’ Advisory Commission. They not only represent their nation as Olympians and Paralympians - they also represent a living link to history, to the ancient Games. Athletes are the heart and soul of the Games because without them, we would be deprived of witnessing great sport, and we would be deprived of witnessing the courage and grace that lies within each of us - this is the true gift of these great athletes. This commission will empower our bid to Follow the Sun and provide an unforgettable Games experience for the Olympic and Paralympic Movements’ greatest stakeholders - athletes."
LA Mayor Eric Garcetti said: "The City of Angels is home to over 1,000 Olympians and Paralympians who choose to call LA home because our city embodies Olympic and Paralympic spirit. Not only are we fortunate to have world-class infrastructure and idyllic weather conditions, LA has a long and proven commitment to sport and to healthy living for all. I want to offer my personal thanks to the truly astonishing men and women that make up LA 2024’s AAC, for giving their time, their experience and their passion to our bid so that we can bring the Summer Games back to US soil for the first time in 28 years."
The LA 2024 Athletes’ Advisory Commission members are:
Andre Agassi, Tennis
Chuck Aoki, Wheelchair Rugby
Sarah Attar, Track & Field
Howard Bach, Badminton
Candace Cable, Track & Field, Alpine and Nordic ski racing
Tamara Christopherson, Canoe/Kayak
Bryan Clay, Track & Field
Nadia Comaneci, Gymnastics
Bart Conner, Gymnastics
Muffy Davis, Track & Field
Anita DeFrantz, Rowing
Landon Donovan, Football
Janet Evans, Swimming
Allyson Felix, Track & Field
Rickie Fowler, Golf
Lex Gillette, Track & Field
Paul Gonzales, Boxing
Steffi Graf, Tennis
Dawn Harper-Nelson, Track & Field
Cobi Jones, Football
Meb Keflezighi, Marathon
Karch Kiraly, Beach Volleyball
Michelle Kwan, Figure Skating
Michael Johnson, Track & Field
Katie Ledecky, Swimming
Fabien Lefèvre, Canoe/Kayak
Carl Lewis, Track & Field
Carol Lewis-Zilli, Track & Field
Tara Lipinksi, Figure Skating
Greg Louganis, Diving
Alex Morgan, Football
Ibtihaj Muhammad, Fencing
Alana Nichols, Canoe/Kayak
Karen Norris, Swimming
Apolo Ohno, Speed Skating
Chris Paul, Basketball
Aaron Peirsol, Swimming
Thiago Pereira, Swimming
Michael Phelps, Swimming
Amy Purdy, Snowboarding
Angela Ruggiero, Ice Hockey
John Register, Track & Field
Sarah Reinertsen, Track & Field
April Ross, Beach Volleyball
Sinjin Smith, Beach Volleyball
Matt Stutzman, Archery
Diana Taurasi, Basketball
Brenda Villa, Water Polo
Jarryd Wallace, Track & Field
Kerri Walsh Jennings, Beach Volleyball
Jordyn Wieber, Gymnastics
Venus Williams, Tennis
Trischa Zorn, Swimming
For more information, visit LA24.org.
LA 2024 can also be found on the following social media channels:
Twitter.com/LA2024
Facebook.com/LA2024
Instagram.com/LA2024
YouTube.com/LA2024
Snapchat.com/add/la2024
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