(ATR) United States Olympic Committee chief executive officer Scott Blackmun tells Around the Rings he believes the PyeongChang 2018 Olympics will be "most safe and secure ever".
"Each set of Games has unique challenges, and we had different challenges in London than we had in Sochi and in Rio," Blackmun says on the latest edition of ATRadio from the Team USA Media Summit in Park City, Utah. "We expect these Games to be the most safe and secure ever. Our people on the ground in Seoul and PyeongChang expect very, very little trouble.
"Obviously we are in the middle of some global tensions which aren’t for National Olympic Committees to resolve," he adds. "It’s our hope the governments and the IOC can manage this in a way that allows our athletes to be in the spotlight as opposed to some of the other things we’ve been hearing about lately."
Blackmun says now that the USOC has successfully returned the Olympics to the U.S. with the Los Angeles 2028 Summer Games, their focus can shift towards athlete preparations for PyeongChang 2018 and other potential bids for the Winter Olympics and Pan American Games.
"I think we will explore 2026 and 2030," he tells ATR. "Obviously, we have a partner in LA 2028 and we want to make sure anything we do strengthens them as opposed to creates challenges for them. So in consultation with them, we’ll decide what want do vis-a-vis the possibility of a winter bid but we’d very much would like to have the Winter Games back in the United States."
Blackmun also talks about the USOC’s plans to help Caribbean countries affected by recent hurricanes and the USOC’s involvement with the revitalized PanamSports Organization.
Listen below to the full conversation with Blackmun and ATR Editor Ed Hula.
Written by Kevin Nutley
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