When speaking about the bid, I make it a point to let people know that athletes are at the center of our Games plan. We had the honor recently of having Paralympian John Register and Stuart Owens Rankin (the grandson of Jesse Owens) address our staff, and their visit underscored the tremendous impact the Games and the Olympic Movement can have on people’s lives.

For Register, a collegiate track star who lost a leg as a result of a training accident, participating in the 1996 Paralympic Games in Atlanta reignited his passion for competition and instilled in him a desire to share his journey with others. Rankin spoke movingly about the impact of his grandfather Jesse Owens, saying that his lasting impression of the legendary track star was not of an athlete, but of a dedicated family man and generous human being.

Pierre de Coubertin said, “The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not winning but taking part; the essential thing in life is not conquering but fighting well.” We at Chicago 2016 take these words to heart and realize that the ultimate legacy of bringing the Olympic Games to Chicago will be the opportunity to introduce new generations of people to the Olympic ideals.

I hope you’ll help make this dream a reality.

Regards,

Patrick G. Ryan
Chairman and CEO
Chicago 2016

With the Major League Baseball season set to start next week, players from both of the city’s professional baseball teams took time out from the final days of spring training camp to voice their support for Chicago’s bid to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The city’s passionate sports fans are high on the players’ list of reasons that Chicago would provide a perfect atmosphere for the Games. Each year around eight million tickets are sold for sporting events in the Chicago area. In 2007, a combined six million spectators attended games at Wrigley Field and U.S. Cellular Field. Players also cited the city’s many cultural institutions, world-class restaurants, entertainment attractions, accessibility and the beaches and lakefront.

“The fans in Chicago are passionate and loyal. They stand by their guys, they stand by their teams. From the Cubs and the White Sox to the Bears and the Bulls, every team is supported well and supported strong. And the fans, they are loud, they are excited and they show up to every game,” said White Sox catcher A. J. Pierzynski.

Several other players listed the city’s many attributes as providing something for all visitors to enjoy. Cubs second baseman Mark DeRosa stated, “I think Chicago should host the 2016 Olympic Games because of everything the city embodies: working-class city, great beaches, and great restaurants.” Cubs General Manager Jim Hendry added, “We have the nicest fans in the world, the greatest restaurants, the cleanest downtown area; we have the best of everything.”

Striking a chord that even the rival fans should be able to get behind, Ken Williams, senior vice president and general manager of the White Sox, pointed to Chicago as a microcosm for the best parts of the United States. “Whether you’re talking about the beachfront and all the summer activities or the shopping and Magnificent Mile, Chicago’s got a little bit of everything this country has to offer.”

White Sox designated hitter Jim Thome said of Chicago, “It’s a wonderful place to play. All of us athletes push and endorse the Olympic Games to come here.”

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A record number of 130 Olympic and Paralympic athletes will gather in Chicago April 13–16 to tell their stories to more than 300 members of the media at the U.S. Olympic Team Media Summit at the Palmer House Hilton. The U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) event is the “official preview” of the U.S. Olympic Team that will compete in Beijing, China, August 8–24 in one of the most important Olympic Games in history. The athletes will take part in press conferences, broadcast and photo sessions, roundtable interviews and special NBC interviews (which will be the source material for some of the in-depth profiles during the television broadcast). Sports Illustrated and USA Today will have special studios at the hotel to prepare for their massive coverage of the event.

Among the 130 athletes currently confirmed to participate are 51 who have previously competed in an Olympic or Paralympic Games, including 35 medalists. The headliners include swimmer Michael Phelps (Towson, Maryland), a six-time Olympic gold medalist from the Athens Games, and his coach Bob Bowman; track and field standouts Allyson Felix (Los Angeles, California), Jeremy Wariner (Waco, Texas) and Sanya Richards (Austin, Texas); as well as U.S. Women’s National Team soccer athletes Abby Wambach (Rochester, New York), Heather O’Reilly (East Brunswick, New Jersey) and Kate Markgraf (Bloomfield Hills, Michigan).

The USOC has held U.S. Olympic Team Media Summits since 1988. Host cities for the event have included Colorado Springs, Atlanta, Houston, Salt Lake City and New York City. The largest group of athletes to attend the event previously was 96 athletes, who went to New York City in 2004 to preview the Olympic Games in Athens, Greece.

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Olympian Alexandra Yeung (cycling, 2000) visited Healy Elementary School on February 18. She discussed the Olympic value of respect with more than 400 students. In her hourlong presentation, entitled “Real Athletes Show Respect,” Yeung talked about how respect for competitors, elders and teachers can help young people achieve their goals. At the end, she presented a signed USOC Olympic flag to the school’s students and principal, Mary Ellen Ratkovich.

In honor of Black History Month, on February 21 Chicago 2016 brought Olympian Michael Conley (triple jump, 1984, 1992, 1996) and Paralympian Matt Scott (wheelchair basketball, 2004) to visit with hundreds of elementary-school students from the Chicago International Charter School (CICS) Washington Park campus. Conley and Scott shared their personal experiences with the crowd and also highlighted the accomplishments of African-Americans in the Olympic Games. Conley demonstrated the triple jump that won him the gold medal in 1992, and Scott showed off some of the basketball skills that led Nike to feature him in its “No Excuses” commercial.

On March 3, Paralympian and Chicago 2016 Vice President of Sport and Accessibility Linda Mastandrea participated in the fourth annual “Hats Off to Reading” event at Child’s Voice School.

On March 20, Chicago 2016 staff from the Legacy and Community Relations departments met with the USOC, Bud Greenspan’s company Cappy Productions and Creative Curriculum Initiatives to discuss potential educational legacy programs for Chicago schools. Potential initiatives included supplementing after-school and summer school programs with Olympic-based reading and math lessons.

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A key goal of the Community Relations team is to engage in a dialogue about the bid with different communities and organizations in the Chicago area. The following are some of the events that Chicago 2016 has been a part of over the past month:

View the Community Relations calendar…

• Fifth Ward Community Meeting, Thursday, February 28

  Members of the Chicago 2016 community relations department gave a presentation to Alderman Leslie Hairston’s Fifth Ward community meeting. After the presentation, Alderman Hairston and 2016 staff fielded questions regarding the bid. In addition, the alderman used the meeting to set up committees that will be tasked with educating the rest of the ward on pre-Olympic activity, transportation, parking and legacy.

• South Side Irish Parade, Sunday, March 9

  A little snow and cold weather didn’t stop Chicagoans from lining the streets for the South Side Irish Parade, and Chicago 2016 was there to celebrate. Four-time Paralympian and Beijing wheelchair tennis hopeful Paul Moran (sitting volleyball, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004) and Olympian Ron Urick (canoe/kayak, 1988) joined Diane Simpson (rhythmic gymnastics, 1988) and Chicago 2016 staff and volunteers at the parade.

• St. Patrick’s Day Parade, Saturday, March 15

  A large contingent of 2016 volunteers and staff took part in the Chicago St. Patrick’s Day Parade. Paralympians Paul Moran and Patrick Byrne (sled hockey, 2002) and Olympians Michael McCahey (fencing, 1984), Gary Morgan (athletics, 1988), Diane Simpson and Ron Urick also joined the celebration as they rode on the float up Columbus Drive.

• Metropolitan Mayors Caucus, Monday, March 17

  Chairman Pat Ryan and Mayor Richard M. Daley addressed the 2016 Regional Coordinating Committee of the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus. The committee was created to support the efforts of the bid by identifying ways the communities and counties in the metropolitan area can play an active role in bringing the Games to Chicago. The event provided an opportunity to communicate important information about the bid to the region’s chief elected local officials.

   

  Chicago 2016 will be out in force for the Shamrock Shuffle Expo (Friday, March 28 to Sunday, March 30) and the Chicago Greek Parade (Sunday, March 30).

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With the 2008 Summer Games less than five months away, Beijing has become a focal point for Chicago 2016. A contingent from the bid spent a week there earlier this month to plan for our activities during August. Chicago 2016 will also send a delegation to the upcoming general assembly of the Association of National Olympic Committees (NOCs) on April 5–9 in Beijing. This conference allows the committees from each of the world’s 205 countries to share insights and experiences, discuss issues and set priorities, all with the goal of becoming more aligned and integrated with the Olympic Movement. For the members of Chicago 2016, it will be a prime opportunity to learn about the issues the NOCs care about and incorporate these findings into our Games concept.

As August approaches, we’ll be sure to keep you posted on information about the events we’re planning to celebrate the Beijing Games.

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With the Beijing Paralympics just months away, Jarrett Perry is set to defend his 2004 Paralympic Games and 2007 World Championships gold medals in the 100-meter backstroke. But he can’t get ahead of himself.

First he must qualify for the event, plus the 200 IM, 100-meter breaststroke, and 400-meter and 100-meter freestyles, at the U.S. Paralympics Swimming Trials held April 3–5 at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. Perry is favored to do it.

“My current time is 1:03.91 in the 100 back,” said the 21-year-old, who is studying aerospace engineering and international relations at the University of Colorado in Colorado Springs. “But I want to go under 1:02.5 at the trials.” That mark would better the current world record of 1:03.81 set by Matthew Cowdrey of Australia, who is expected to be Perry’s chief competition in Beijing. “I had the record, and I’ll have it back at trials. I’m going to do it,” said Perry.

A resident athlete at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs and a native of Wichita, Kansas, Perry set the world record in the 100-meter backstroke with a personal best in 2006 and is the current world record holder in the 200-meter backstroke, an event no longer part of the IPC World Championships and Paralympic program.

Perry was diagnosed at birth with twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS), a disease in which one child receives more blood than the other through blood vessels in the placenta, and had his leg amputated when he was two days old to prevent further infection. By age two, he was swimming in Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay. And after a return to Kansas, he knew well before age four that, “Swimming was something I was good at.”

Although his parents weren’t swimmers, his older sister and twin brother excelled in swimming along with him, with his brother becoming the Kansas High School State Championships winner in the 100-yard breaststroke. Perry made his international mark when he captured the silver medal in the 100-meter backstroke at the 2002 IPC Swimming World Championships in Mar del Plata, Argentina, and won a gold medal at the Athens Games.

“It was one of the best experiences in my life,” Perry said about the victory at the 2004 Paralympics. “My family was there. They didn’t get to go to the World Championships in 2006. I’m trying to get that experience in Beijing.”

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Two-time Olympian Lindsey Vonn (born Kildow) is on top of the world after winning the 2008 Audi FIS World Cup Skiing Championships title plus the downhill crown. Vonn and Bode Miller achieved the first U.S. women’s and men’s overall titles since Tamara McKinney and Phil Mahre accomplished the feat in 1983.

“First of all, I can’t believe I won the downhill,” said St. Paul, Minnesota, native Vonn (skiing, 2002, 2006), who now resides in Park City, Utah, with her husband, Thomas, (skiing, 2002). “It’s not even in my realm right now to fathom that I won the overall.”

Vonn, 23, put on her first pair of skis at age 2. She commuted to Vail, Colorado, for some years for training before the entire family moved to support her in the 1990s. Vonn went on to become the only U.S. athlete to win at Italy’s Trofio Topolino (for ages 11–14) and grabbed junior world and U.S. titles as a teenager. She made her first Olympic team in 2002 and captured her first World Cup victory at age 20.

Since then, Vonn won silver medals in the downhill and the Super G at the 2007 World Championships and claimed ten World Cup downhill victories to make her the most successful U.S. skier in the discipline ahead of Picabo Street and the retired Daron Rahlves, who have nine apiece.

As a world-class ski racer who competes in four events, Vonn is a rarity in Alpine skiing. But her new title is more than icing on the cake for the woman who, with the help of her coaches and the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association, recognized last month that the overall title—not just the downhill title—was achievable.

“Going into the season my biggest goal was just the downhill title, which was a big dream of mine since meeting Picabo when I was nine years old,” she said. “It never really sank in that I would have a chance on the overall until I was going into Crans-Montana [Switzerland] and the finals [last two weeks of season]. I definitely capitalized on it.”

Now it appears that more victories are ahead as she continues to tackle the slopes. “I’m only 23, and there’s still a lot more to accomplish in my career,” she said. “I’ve always dreamed of winning the globe and an Olympic gold. It’s those dreams that keep me motivated to ski, and it’s just so much bigger [now] that I’ve achieved one of those goals.”

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