Olympic Organizations Return from the Holidays -- Monday Memo

(ATR) IOC, WADA, OCOGs,ATRandbid committees are getting back to work after a brief break for the holiday season.

A spokesperson for the International Olympic Committee tells Around the Rings the IOC will reopen on Sunday, Jan. 8 after shutting down on Dec. 24.

With a little over 400 days until the next edition of the Winter Olympics, PyeongChang 2018 hardly slowed down for the holidays. A POCOG spokesperson told ATR that organizers only shut down on Christmas day.

Tokyo 2020 also took a short break, reopening on Jan. 4 after shutting down on Dec. 29.

"Our preparations are on course and we are ready to continue our efforts in 2017 to deliver a successful Olympic and Paralympic Games," Tokyo 2020 said in a statement to ATR.

The World Anti-Doping Agency will return on Tuesday, Jan. 3 after closing its doors on Dec. 23.

Bid cities for the 2024 Olympics took time off as well but insist they still put in work during the holiday season.

The Budapest and Los Angeles 2024 bid teams resume full operations on Jan. 3 after reducing their workload on Dec. 23. Paris 2024 says it "continued working during the festive period."

Around the Rings will only be closed on Monday, Jan. 2 before returning to cover the Olympic Movement for its milestone 25th year.

LA 2024 Seeks to Capitalize on Rose Bowl

The Los Angeles 2024 bid team will utilize its partnership with this year's Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California to get into the national spotlight.

Three Olympians with ties to Los Angeles’ bid will serve as grand marshals for the 128th Rose Bowl Parade. Southern California natives Greg Louganis, Allyson Felix and Janet Evans will share the honors during the Jan. 2 event.

Louganis, a four-time gold medalist, is considered one of the greatest divers in Olympic history. Felix, who has won six golds and three silvers in track and field, is still competing and recently took home two gold medals at the Rio Games. Both are members of the LA 2024 Athletes’ Commission.

Evans, LA 2024 vice chair and director of athlete relations, won three gold medals and broke seven world records during her swimming career.

"On behalf of LA 2024, we’re thrilled that three of Southern California’s greatest Olympians will lead the world-famous Rose Parade and share our city’s Olympic passion with viewers across the globe," Casey Wasserman,LA 2024 chairman, said.

The 128th Tournament of Roses parade will precede the college football Rose Bowl game between Penn State and University of Southern California. USC will have strong fan support at the game as the Rose Bowl is a mere 15 miles from the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum where USC plays its home games.

Both the Rose Bowl stadium and LA Memorial Coliseum will be Olympic venues once more if LA 2024 is successful in winning the host city contract from the IOC.

Los Angeles is competing with Paris and Budapest to host the 2024 Summer Games. The IOC is set to name the winner at its Session in Lima, Peru in September 2017.

Homepage photo: Getty Images.

Written by Kevin Nutley

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