(ATR) Leaders of the US Olympic Committee are keeping calm about preparations for Rio, even with worries about Zika and polluted waters.
USOC chair Larry Probst, CEO Scott Blackmun, marketing director Lisa Baird and sport performance chief Alan Ashley spent 30 minutes answering questions at the USOC Media Summit in Los Angeles. More than 700 journalists are said to be accredited for this three day briefing which the USOC traditionally organizes ahead of every summer and winter Olympic Games.
The briefing by the USOC leadership covered preparations for Rio, reaction to the latest doping worries in Russia and the Los Angeles bid for 2024, the reason the summit is scheduled in the California city.
"Our main emphasis is to communicate and educate," said Ashley about the Zika threat. Blackmun mentioned the infectious disease unit named last week to advise the USOC with two out of the three doctors female.
"Women are the primary decision makers when it comes to the unborn child, women are the primary caretakers so we wanted to make sure women were on the board," said Blackmun.
Baird boasted that sponsors are expecting good results from Rio which she said could be the most marketed Games ever.
"We have 39 sponsors and we work very closely with them. Almost all of them have something very special planned. What you hope as a marketer is that it really breaks through on the American consciousness," she said.
On a branding note, Baird explained the U.S. flag that now is part of the USOC logo contains but 13 stars, not the 50 on the current U.S. flag. She says with fewer stars the logo can be used in smaller formats such as pins. But she assures the USOC is not toying with the flag design, which is still recognized by the U.S. government as an official flag.
The Paralympics got a high profile place on the program that included International Paralympic Committee president and IOC member Philip Craven. His appearance in Los Angeles was the first time an IPC president has attended one of the USOC mediasummits.
For the USOC, the media summit is an efficient way to bring athletes expected to compete in Rio face-to-face with members of the press who arecredentialed for the 2016 Summer Games. In addition to US media, international press included European, Asian and South American news outlets.
The first day opened with a panel of eight US swimming stars including Ryan Lochte and Missy Franklin. Top track and field athletes headlined the afternoon on day one with Ashton Eaton, Allyson Felix,Dawn Harper-Nelson, Meb Keflezighi and Aries Merritt.
Los Angeles 2024 will present its athletes commission to the media summit on Tuesday.
Jerry Colangelo, manager of the USA basketball team to be selected for Rio 2016 will be one of the headliners for the final day of the summit on Wednesday.
Written and reported in Los Angeles by Ed Hula.
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