The Thrill of Victory and the Agony of Defeat

What do Pikes Peak, guns, altitude chambers, sunshine and freestyle swimming have in common?

It is the Olympic dream, baby! 

My husband and I had an extra hour before our conference started in Colorado Springs. We heard that the Olympic Training Center was nearby, and being fans of everything sports we headed out for a peek. 

This is the place where real Olympic Athletes live and train. It is remarkable to see the weights and conditioning room. Athletes were jogging indoors and we could see the daily work that it takes to truly be great! People were in amazing shape. Clearly, they could pop out and jog to the top of Pikes Peak on a whim. For me? Only in my dreams!

That is inspiring!

One of the distinctions of the facility was a workout room where coaches and athletes could control humidity, temperature, and altitude. The HATC is the only simulated training room like this in the United States and it prepares athletes for competitions around the world by mimicking their conditions at future competitions.

Having a place for athletes to see PTs, Sports Psychologists, and Nutritionists is another plus of the Training Center. In addition to coaches, it takes a team to support these athletes. I was surprised to hear that the facility doesn’t receive any government funding. The many companies and organizations that sponsor the US Olympic Team pay for this. Those ads bragging about the proud sponsors of the Olympic Team are real. Without those sponsors there would be no Training Center.

When we were walking around we saw some boxing hopefuls take some remarkable upper cuts in the boxing gym. We saw a mannequin holding a gun in the shooting area. Then we realized that this mannequin was a live and practicing human. He was so still! These athletes have to really calm their bodies down so that they don’t move. There were track and field athletes at work and there were Paralympians in the pool swimming. There is room for 150 athletes over the age of 17 to live there year-round, and many more come for shorter stints (training or competitions) throughout the year. 

It was exciting to walk the grounds and brush elbows with dreamers fighting for their goals. Also, it was great to see the shooters, wrestlers, swimmers, and runners (and athletes from many other sports whom we didn’t Community is one thing that makes Team USA so great.They support one another. 
see) all in the same place. Although they are doing different sports they work out, eat, and sleep all in the same Training Center. 

It takes a whole lot to raise an athlete to GOLD! 

Go Team USA! We Are Proud of You!