Closing Thoughts on the 2018 Olympic Winter Games

The Pyeongchang Olympic Winter Games have come to a close, an event that organizers can objectively determine a success on many levels. Like all Olympic Games, the 2018 edition did not come without its controversies or concerns moving forward. But to a large extent, the Games were well organized and the execution was on par or exceeded those of other recent events. Read more…


A Look Inside USA House in Pyeongchang

At past Olympic Games, USA House has traditionally been a refuge of sorts for athletes and their families and an area for the U.S. Olympic Committee to cater to its corporate sponsors in a safe atmosphere with cuisine they all recognize from home. The same was the case in Pyeongchang but on a decidedly smaller scale. Read more…


Tokyo Readies For Its Moment

Up next for the International Olympic Committee is the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Summer Games in Tokyo. And to take advantage of the audience in Pyeongchang, Tokyo 2020 established a house in the Gangneung Olympic Park to get fans excited about what comes next. Read more…


Alibaba Highlights Technology for Host Cities

The Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba became an International Olympic Committee sponsor in January and is using its first Olympic Winter Games to paint the picture of how cloud technology may make the Games easier on host cities in the future. Read more…


Olympics Transportation With Some Flair

By and large, transportation has been running smoothly at the Olympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang, which is no easy task given the remote locations of the mountain events. And some of the vehicles being used to move athletes, spectators and the media are attractions in themselves. Read more…


On the Menu: Hot Dogs and Spicy Stir-Fried Rice Cake

At the venues being used for the Olympic Winter Games, attendees can get pretty much the same venue food experience they can receive at sporting events in the United States, with some notable exceptions. Read more…


Signs, Signs, Everywhere are Signs

At an event as widespread as the Olympic Winter Games, signage for participants, spectators, media and volunteers is essential. And as you could imagine, that lends itself to some interesting signs in themselves directing people on what to do or where to be—even if they don’t know they need to be there. Read more…


Volunteers are Getting the Job Done

At every Olympic Games, pretty much the only way organizers are able to accomplish what they set out to accomplish is with the help of thousands of volunteers. In Pyeongchang, those volunteers are seemingly everywhere and by and large are doing their hosts proud. Read more…


What Floor am I On?

Finding your floor on the elevator in the Media Village can be a bit of a challenge in Pyeongchang based on an interesting approach to numbering. It’s best to take a few minutes before figuring out where your number may be.


Catching Up With Bill Hancock

There are tens of thousands of volunteers at the Olympic Winter Games, doing any number of tasks such as directing people to venues, assisting with security and telling people which buses they need to board. Most work for the Pyeongchang Organizing Committee, but each national Olympic committee usually has its own people volunteering in some capacity to help with more specific needs. And it’s safe to say none of those volunteers cuts a lower profile than one of the most high-profile people offering their time for the U.S. Olympic Committee. Read more…


Big Air Offers Big Opportunity

Of the four new sports on the Olympic Winter Games program, only one—big air snowboard—requires its own venue. That allows host cities to get a bit creative when it comes to where to place the enormous ramp required to allow the sport’s elite athletes to do their amazing tricks. Read more…


Team Korea House Highlights Travel and Tourism

One of the key ways South Korea is hoping to take advantage of its showcase in hosting the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games is the Team Korea House located in the heart of the Olympic Village in the coastal city of Gangneung. Read more…


Tourism Perspective: Naksansa Temple

There are few parts of the world that can boast of a 1,300-year-old tourist attraction. South Korea is one of them. Take a look inside the Naksansa Temple, located less than an hour from the Olympic venues. Read more…


Five Lessons for Event Organizers From Tonga’s Olympian

As Olympian Pita Taufatofua—the famous flag-bearing and chest-bearing Olympian from Tonga—told his story of qualifying for the Winter Games, there were some valuable lessons for event organizers and host cities about how they can run their events or organizations and the approach they can take to promoting their sports. Read more…


The Ultimate in Olympic Branding

You know your sports organization has established itself when you can convince your host city to brand the drains in the gutter with your event logo.


Olympics Merchandise Covers a Wide Ground

It’s hard to go all the way to the Olympics and not come back with something. Organizers of course know this, which is why there are a few merchandise superstores around Pyeongchang, namely in the Olympic Parks. Read more…


Halfpipe is Full of Action

While most of the outdoor events at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games are being held in venues fairly close to each other in Pyeongchang County, freestyle, slopestyle and halfpipe are being held at the Phoenix Snow Park, close to an hour away from the rest of the action. Read more…


Holland House Gets Hospitality Right

At a sporting event as big as the Olympics, there is often an entire series of events taking place outside the competition that keep event organizers of all kinds busy. At night, during or following the last competitions, some of the most popular places around are the hospitality houses organized by various nations. Read more…


Attendance Holding Strong Despite Concerns

Coming into the Olympic Winter Games, one of the biggest concerns was ticket sales. In their last update, organizers had reported that about 80 percent of tickets had been sold. But so far, attendance has not been a big issue. Read more…


An Inside Look at Olympic Park

The Pyeongchang Olympic Winter Games have a bit of a large playing field, with events largely taking place in two areas: outdoor events in the Pyeongchang mountains and, 45 minutes away, indoor events in the coastal city of Gangneung. As a result, there are two Olympic Parks. Read more…


Mike Tirico Takes the Reigns

Mike Tirico is making his presence known as the new primetime host of NBC’s Olympics coverage. In our recent interview with him in SportsTravel, he explained his approach to the job of taking over from Bob Costas. Read more…


First U.S. Gold Medalist is a Look Into the Future

The press conference held by the first U.S. athlete to win a gold medal at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games revealed the challenges the Olympic movement has from other events when it comes to appealing to the next generation. Read more…


North Korean Cheerleaders Captivate the Crowd

You’ve seen cheerleaders at sporting events before. You’ve likely even seen drum majors call out the songs for marching bands to play. But you’ve likely never experienced anything quite like the group of 200 or so cheerleaders that North Korea has brought to the Olympic Winter Games and who are making their presence known at various events around Pyeongchang. Read more…


Catching Up With USA Curling CEO Rick Patzke

In recent years, curling has become one of the most popular sports at the Olympic Winter Games, especially among television viewers in the United States. With the sport adding a mixed doubles discipline this year, SportsTravel caught up with USA Curling CEO Rick Patzke at the Gangneung Curling Center to discuss how things are going so far in Pyeongchang. Read more…


Curling Mixes Things Up

There are four sports making their debut at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games and the first one up this week is mixed curling. Read more…


Tourism Perspective: The DMZ

Part of the goal for the Pyeongchang Organizing Committee in hosting the Olympic and Paralympic Games is showing off the rich cultural history of Pyeongchang and its surrounding counties in the hopes that when the cauldron flame is extinguished, tourism and travel can thrive here. Read more…


Opening Ceremony Delights, Chills Spectators

As Opening Ceremonies go, the kickstart to the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea, was a spectacular affair, albeit it a freezing one. Wind chills had the temperature in the teens, although a region known for its windy days and nights generally let up on the howling gusts. Read more…


Lindsey Vonn Makes Opening Ceremony a Priority

Lindsey Vonn is an Olympic champion and a skiing legend. But during a press conference hours before the Opening Ceremony, she also showed why the opening event at the Olympic Games holds so much power to inspire. Read more…


Anatomy of a Torch Relay

Sometimes when you’re attending the Olympics, capturing your own golden moment is all about being in the right place at the right time. And more often than not, those circumstances tend to come around by sheer coincidence. Read more…


USOC Says System Failed Abused Gymnasts

The U.S. Olympic Committee held a press conference at the Olympic media center in the hours before the Opening Ceremony that was dominated by discussion about a summer sport—the sexual abuse scandal involving USA Gymnastics athletes who were abused by their convicted former team doctor, Larry Nassar. Read more…


KTX Designed to be a Legacy of the Games

One of the key challenges for any organizers of the Olympic and Paralympic Games is transportation. And in South Korea, where the majority of visitors will fly into Seoul, organizers had an immediate challenge in how to whisk them across the entire Korean peninsula, and in a timely fashion. Read more…


Incheon Greets Olympic Visitors With Mascot Touch

Olympic and Paralympic mascots are big business. And it’s not just the oodles of merchandise that are sold at official gift shops in the Olympic Park and countless other places in the host city or country. Read more…


IOC Eases Rules on Potential Host Cities

The International Olympic Committee has unveiled more than 100 reforms aimed at increasing the flexibility and reducing the costs of cities to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games, including new thoughts about how venues can be used. Read more…


Going to the Olympics? Beware of Eels

The U.S. Embassy in Seoul has issued a 33-page welcome guide to Olympics fans and visiting media, and someone in the embassy would appear to have a sense of humor. Either that or Olympic visitors may want to watch out for eels. Read more…


Olympic Villages Open to Athletes

The PyeongChang 2018 Organizing Committee has opened the two Olympic Villages that will be used for athletes and officials during the Olympic Winter Games, including a mountain home for more than 3,500 athletes and officials and a coastal village for more than 2,400 athletes and officials. Read more…


A New Look for the Games

The first Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games to be held in South Korea will certainly have a different feel than other recent Games. For the first time in 20 years, there will be no active NHL players competing. For the first time since 1952, there will not be an official team from Russia. Read more…


Will the U.S. Bid Again?

With the 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea, soon to be in the rear-view mirror, attention will next turn to bidding for the 2026 Winter Games. Leaders in Utah, Denver and Reno–Tahoe have all expressed interest should the United States pursue a bid. Complicating matters, though, was the recent award of the 2028 Summer Games to Los Angeles. Read more…


See Below for Coverage of the 2016 Olympic Summer Games

 

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Meb Keflezighi on making his fourth Olympic team

 

Meb Keflezighi talks about making his fourth Olympic team.


Security a Concern From the Start

The situation involving the U.S. swimmers who appear to have fabricated their story of being robbed in Rio de Janeiro has no doubt struck a nerve with Rio 2016 organizers. One of the many issues leading into the Games was the notion of security not just for the athletes but for spectators as well. And while there have been a number of reported cases of street robberies during the Games, the truth is that the venues themselves have been remarkably secure so far. Read more…

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Cisco Lands in Perfect Spot

Sponsors have long sought to use the Olympic Summer Games as a way to boost their presence in the host city. But in Rio de Janeiro, Cisco has been taking the prospect of South America’s first Olympics as a way to boost its business across the entire host country of Brazil. Read more…

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How Beezie Madden Got Involved in Equestrian

 

Learn how Beezie Madden got her start in equestrian.


How Briana Provancha Got Involved in Sailing

 

Learn how Briana Provancha Got involved in sailing.


How Mariya Koroleva Got Involved in Synchronized Swimming

 

Learn how Mariya Koroleva got her start in synchro.


Merchandise Seeing Interest in Megastores

Merchandise is a big part of the Olympic Games, especially once the official logo and mascot are revealed. That’s no different in Rio de Janeiro, where two “megastores” have been erected to sell official merchandise. Read more…

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Transportation Has Ups and Downs

Rio de Janeiro is a big city, let’s just get that out of the way. And while we’re speaking about things out of the way, the Olympic Park is not exactly close to all those landmarks you see in photos of Rio de Janeiro like Christ the Redeemer, Copacabana Beach and Sugarloaf Mountain. As a result, transportation has been a continuing focus since Rio won the bid to host the Olympic Summer Games in 2009. Read more…

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A View From Within

The view of the Olympic Summer Games can often be different from the other side of the world. SportsTravel caught up with Jose Antonio do Nascimento Brito, a member of the Rio 2016 Board of Directors, to get his take on how things were reported going into the Games and how they are going so far. Read more…

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How Madison Hughes Got Involved in Rugby

 

Learn how Madison Hughes got his start in Rugby.


How Carlin Isles Got Involved in Rugby

 

Learn how Carlin Isles got his start in Rugby.


Empty Seats Again an Issue

After several days of events, one trend that is hard to ignore at the Olympic Summer Games is the number of empty seats. Read more…

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Olympics Still Has Power to Amaze

When you talk to International Olympic Committee members or U.S. Olympic Committee executives, the talk eventually comes around to the Olympic “movement” and its power to inspire. And while the logistics of the Olympic Summer Games can amaze (in good ways and bad), there are nights like last night that make it hard not to get caught up in the emotion of the action on the field or the mat or the pool. Read more…

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Pyeongchang Already Thinking Winter

It may have been be a hot day in Rio de Janeiro at the Olympic Summer Games, but for an hour or so on the beach at Copacabana, the 2018 Pyeongchang Organizing Committee was already thinking winter. Read more…

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Los Angeles Makes Its Case for 2024

LA2024 officials held a briefing in Rio de Janeiro to discuss their bid for the Olympic Summer Games and the message they were sending without explicitly saying it was that Los Angeles would not have nearly as many problems for the International Olympic Committee as Rio has had concerning infrastructure. Read more…

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How Mariel Zagunis Got Involved in Fencing

 

Mariel Zagunis dishes about her start in Fencing.


Beach Volleyball Setting Does Not Disappoint

When Rio was chosen to host the Olympic Summer Games in 2009, one of the exciting parts of the bid was the notion of a temporary beach volleyball venue on Copacabana Beach. Read more…

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A Look Inside USA House

The U.S. Olympic Committee, like most national Olympic committees, establishes a home base during the Games where athletes, coaches, executives, sponsors and other Olympic family members can meet, relax or network. This may be the most ambitious yet. Read more…


How Lauren Crandall Got Involved in Field Hockey

 

Lauren Crandall tells SportsTravel about her start in Field Hockey.


Stars Dominate the Tennis Stadium

While the debut of golf has made headlines with so many of the world’s best men skipping the tournament, it’s notable how many of the world’s best tennis players have found a way to make the Olympics an important part of their schedule. Read more…

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Team Handball Filled With Energy

It is somewhat surprising that the Olympic sport of team handball has not really caught on in the United States. Read more…

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Hungry at the Olympic Park? Get in Line.

At the Olympic Park and at venues across the city or Rio de Janeiro, the same menu is available for concessions. But you better be prepared to wait. Read more…

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How Casey Eichfeld Got Involved in Canoeing

 

Casey Eichfeld shares how he got his start in canoeing.


A Full First Night at Olympic Park

Olympic Park in the Barra section of Rio de Janeiro opened for events yesterday and was full of activity through midnight, when the first of the swimming finals on the program concluded. Read more…

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A Conversation With Scott Blackmun

SportsTravel caught up with U.S. Olympic Committee CEO Scott Blackmun, who was attending the debut of rugby sevens at Deodoro Stadium, watching the U.S. women’s team lose a close match to Fiji in their opener. Read more…

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Rugby Sevens Makes Olympics Debut

Rugby last appeared in the Olympics in 1924 in its more traditional 15-a-side rugby union format. In 2016, it’s rugby sevens that is on the program, a quicker more high-scoring version of the sport. Read more…

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How did Gevvie Stone get involved in Rowing?

 

Find out how Gevvie Stone got involved in rowing.


 

Rio 2016 Delivers Colorful Opening Ceremony

Rio 2016 promised a low-tech Opening Ceremony and in many respects delivered on that promise is what was nonetheless a colorful, vibrant start to the Olympic Summer Games. Read more…

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Serious and Fun Before the Opening Ceremony

The scene outside Maracanã stadium for the Opening Ceremony is a mix of fun and a reminder that high-profile events such as this require an extraordinary amount of security. Read more…

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Do you have any superstitions before competing?

 

Find out what superstitions athletes Briana Provancha, Mariya Koroleva, Aly Raisman, Lauren Crandall and Mariel Zagunis have when they compete.


 

French President François Hollande Defends Paris 2024

Representatives of the Paris 2024 bid committee also met with the press on the eve of the Opening Ceremony, including French President François Hollande. Read more…

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USOC Pleased with Rio 2016 Support

Top executives of the U.S. Olympic Committee held a press conference at the Olympic Park media center and said they were pleased with the athlete’s village, venues and cooperation they have received from the Rio 2016 Organizing Committee. Read more…

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Visa Activating Sponsorship

Visa is celebrating its 30th year as an Olympic sponsor and to mark the occasion, it is using the Rio Olympic Summer Games to showcase a variety of new technology available for the only credit card you can use at Olympic venues. Read more…

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First Impressions in Rio

As SportsTravel hits the ground in Rio de Janeiro for the 2016 Olympic Summer Games, we have some initial impressions of the city and its level of preparedness. Read more…

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USA Swimming

 

Learn how TEAM USA swimmers Missy Franklin, Matt Grevers and Conor Dwyer got their start.


USA Track and Field

 

What makes Hayward Field special as a venue for the Olympic trials for Ashton Eaton, Allyson Felix and Dawn Harper-Nelson.


USA Women’s Gymnastics

 

Hear stories from the early years of Gabby Douglas, Aly Raisman and Simone Biles.