COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.: The United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee joins the global and Team USA communities in celebrating Olympic & Paralympic Day presented by Toyota on Friday, June 23. The day celebrates fitness, well-being, sport culture and educational opportunities, while promoting the Olympic values of excellence, friendship and respect, and the Paralympic values of determination, inspiration, courage and equality. Participation will be highlighted by Team USA athletes, National Governing Bodies, the LA28 Olympic and Paralympic Games and the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Training Centers in Colorado Springs, Colorado and Lake Placid, New York.
Held annually on June 23 and known worldwide as Olympic Day, the USOPC worked in partnership with the International Olympic Committee and International Paralympic Committee to recognize the day as Olympic & Paralympic Day in the United States, marking a change in the United States to include the values of the Paralympic Movement in the worldwide day of recognition beginning in 2020.
“Olympic & Paralympic Day celebrates the values that are exemplified by Team USA athletes, and vital to the health and growth of the global Olympic and Paralympic movements in the United States and around the world,” said USOPC CEO Sarah Hirshland. “We join the athletes, the national governing bodies, the IOC and the IPC, and fans everywhere in honoring and showcasing the undeniable power that sport has in unifying our nation and world.”
On Thursday, June 22, the LA28 Games joined ten local community centers for a model Games with more than 1,000 kids to celebrate the Olympics and Paralympics coming to Los Angeles in five short years. Olympians and Paralympians representing Team USA and nations around the world led kids in a parade of athletes, torch relay, sport competitions, medal ceremony and Opening and Closing ceremonies for the LA28 Olympic and Paralympic Day of Sport.
Featured athletes included Olympians Carl Lewis, Miles Chamley-Watson, Janet Evans, Kara Lynn Joyce, Jason Richardson, Nick Itkin, Octavio Alesi, Patricia Freitas, Nina Cutro-Kelly, Ben Wanger, Cody Mattern, Conor McCullough, Izzy Cerullo; and Paralympians Blake Leeper, Candace Cable, Samantha Bosco, Jamal Hill, Nick Mayhugh, Ahkeel Whitehead, Robert Tanaka, Natália Mayara, David Garza and Cody Jones. Additional details can be found here.
The U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado, will offer free tours to the public every hour on the hour from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. on June 23, allowing fans to immerse themselves in the history of the training center and the remarkable facilities that help prepare athletes for the global stage. In Lake Placid, New York, athletes and training center staff will be taking over downtown Lake Placid and passing out Team USA giveaways.
The IOC has announced a new global initiative to inspire and enable the world to move more every day. Led by Olympians and created in collaboration with the World Health Organization, Let’s Move kicks off with an invitation to make time every day for movement for better health.
