U.S. Olympians Won't Jump Vaccine Queue

(ATR) Team USA athletes heading to Tokyo next June and August for the Olympics and Paralympics should not be subject to priority treatment with vaccines, says Sarah Hirshland, U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee CEO.

"Let me be clear that our position and our perspective as an organization is that the priority for vaccinations needs to be with those individuals who are at high risk and those individuals who are the front line workers serving the community. That has to be the most important thing right now," says Hirshland, who notes the USOPC is developing a vaccine plan for Tokyo.

"And as time goes on and the vaccine becomes more available we certainly will be ready to be more thoughtful for our athletes and members of the delegation going abroad," she says.

Hirshland and board chair Susanne Lyons both expressed disappointment and resignation over the ruling on the Russian doping case decided last week by a tribunal from the Court of Arbitration for Sport. The CAS panel agreed that Russia had engaged in manipulation and withholding of testing results. But the three judges cut from four years to two years Russia’s banishment from the Olympics and other events.

"We will continue to work as a positive partner around the world," Lyons said.

"We will stand up for our athletes and make it clear that anything less than the highest effort of integrity to keep sport clean will not be accepted. We must have a stronger global effort to ensure that sport is fair," she said.

With a new U.S. President taking office next month, Hirshland says Joe Biden is well acquainted with the Olympics and the USOPC from his tenure as vice president and a member of the U.S. Senate.

"We do have some great relationships with him and members of his team," says Hirshland.

"I know he has had ample exposure to the Olympic and Paralympic movement and we are confident that he’ll be very supportive," she says.

A bid from Salt Lake City for the Winter Olympics is ready to go says Hirshland, once the IOC gives a signal that it’s ready to consider where to send the 2030 and 2034 Games. She said that a major influence for the U.S. will be the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. Hirshland says it’s not yet apparent how marketing might play out for subsequent Winter Games and whether it’s better to wait until 2034.

The briefing by the USOPC leaders followed a two-day board meeting last week, the last of the quarterly meetings on the schedule annually. It’s the third to be held virtually this year due to coronavirus countermeasures.

The 15-member board will expand by two members when it meets next in the first quarter of 2021. Reflecting mandates of a new federal law, the new members are all athletes current and past.

Most notable might be Donna de Varona and John Naber. Both swimming gold medalists from decades ago, they have both been involved with sport and the USOPC since then. Lyons says their experience will be valuable.

"They have seen a lot of these issues come along and go again. This is not the first ride on the merry go round for them. So coupled with their experience and that of the competing athletes [who are board members] will make our board stronger," Lyons said.

Homepage photo: ATR

Reported by Ed Hula.