Category Archives: Olympics

Beth Shriever poses with the gold medal after the Women's BMX final on day seven of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Ariake Urban Sports Park on July 30, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan.

Francois Nel | Getty Images

After her funding was cut, British Olympic BMX champion Beth Shriever became a teaching assistant in an elementary school, an experience she says taught her some important life lessons.

Shriever made history at this July's Tokyo Olympics, winning Britain's first ever gold medal for BMX racing. In August, the 22-year-old then secured first place at the BMX Supercross World Championship in Holland, making her the first woman to hold both titles at the same time.

But Shriever's path to victory hasn't been an easy ride. In 2017, after she won the Junior World Championships, she told CNBC that she received a phone call informing her that the funding for the British women's BMX program had been cut.

Shriever was living at her parents at the time, but wanted to continue earning her own money. So she decided to become a teaching assistant, working with preschool-aged children at the elementary school where her mom works in Essex, England.

Even with the stamina of a professional athlete, Shriever said that she found working with children "exhausting" and would go to BMX training after work "absolutely shattered."

Despite this, Shriever said that she loved being able to see how the children developed over time.

Working with kids also helped her become more patient, she said, and prepared her for a life away from home as a professional athlete.

"When I did move away from home, I feel like obviously I did grow up very quickly, but working with children and kind of being independent as well, probably helped prepare me for that a bit better," she said via video call.

Shriever suggested that seeing how carefree kids are reminded her to enjoy life, "go with the flow and just do what makes you happy."

Working as a teaching assistant for those two years was actually "kind of a blessing in disguise," she added.

After losing her funding, Shriever also set up a GoFundMe page and held a few fundraising events to cover the costs of traveling to compete in races in America and Australia. She raised 4,496 ($6,101) through the GoFundMe page.

When it looked likely that she would qualify to compete in the Tokyo Olympic games, the British Cycling governing body approached her again and offered funding so she could move to the city of Manchester in the north of England to train as a full-time athlete.

"Now it's just kind of catapulted into the right direction for BMX racing," Shriever said.

"I feel like that had to happen, me and Kye [Whyte] had to do well, and now we've kind of secured the program for the next cycle," she added. Whyte won a silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics, the first ever BMX title for Britain, as he raced before Shriever in the finals.

Shriever said she was very aware of the pressure to perform at the Olympics.

"I obviously had conversations with my psychologist about it because I said to him: 'If I don't well, we're probably not going to be here next year,'" she said. To alleviate some of that pressure, her psychologist suggested that she focus on enjoying the races, rather than the possibility of letting other people down if she didn't get the best results.

Looking ahead, Shriever said hopes to defend the BMX Olympic title, but also wants to help inspire the next generation of women in her sport.

"I feel like now, hopefully, I can be that role model for younger girls that you can make it in BMX, you can make a career out of it," she said.

Last month, Shriever was awarded an honorary doctorate of sport from the University of East London for her achievements and was the youngest-ever recipient of the degree from the college.

Check out: Jennifer Garner on helping lead her own start-up: Ive gotten much better at having hard conversations

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Olympic BMX champion reveals the life lessons she learned from her part-time job - CNBC

The husband of Kenyan runner Agnes Tirop has been arrested in connection with her murder. The star athletewas found stabbed to death in her home earlier this week. Police say they arrested Ibrahim Rotich in the Kenyan coastal city of Mombasa on Thursday night after a high-speed chase that went on for miles.

Rotich was trying to flee the country, and the chase ended, police say, after he "rammed his getaway vehicle into a lorry at Athi River, along Mombasa road, as he desperately escaped our dragnet."

Rotich is being held in police custody where they say he is "being grilled by detectives at Changamwe police station, for more details...before being arraigned to answer to murder charges."

The 25-year-old was found dead in her home in the western town of Iten, a training center for top athletes. Her murder has shocked the athletics community. She was already a rising international track and field star, having recently smashed the women-only 10km record in Germany last month. She was also a two-time world championship bronze medalist, and finished fourth at the Tokyo Olympics in the 5,000 meters.

World Athletics President Sebastian Coe said they'd "lost one of it's brightest young stars in the most tragic circumstances."

International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach said he was shocked by her death, adding that "her performances at the Tokyo Olympics had given hope and inspiration to so many people".

Tirop's brutal killing has once again raised the issue of the prevalence of gender-based violence in Kenya, which according to government statistics affects at least 45% of all women and girls in the country. Experts say unofficial figures could be a lot higher.

Police believe there was a domestic altercation before Tirop was stabbed and said the windows of her car had been deliberately shattered.

The police had been hunting for Rotich since Wednesday after his family reported he called them crying and asking for God's forgiveness for something he had done, the Associated Press news agency quoted Tom Makori, Elgeyo Marakwet county police chief, as saying.

Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta said in a statement "it is even more painful that Agnes, a Kenyan hero by all measures, painfully lost her young life through a criminal act perpetuated by selfish and cowardly people."

Rotich will be transferred to Nairobi, where he is expected to appear in court.

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Olympic runner Agnes Tirop's husband arrested in her killing - CBS News

Lost amid all the hype and anticipation of a new NHL season is the fact that today Oct. 15 is the deadline for national teams to submit their long lists of players for the 2022 Olympic hockey tournament in China.

The provisional playing rosters for all 12 qualifying countries will be announced by January, according to an internal NHLPA memo circulated to players and agents and the tournament itself opens Feb. 9.

The Jets Paul Stastny made an interesting observation this past Wednesday when asked about Team USAs prospects for the Olympics. Stastny noted that with the depth and talent now available in the U.S., its expectations are the same as Canadas, Russias, and Swedens gold or bust.

Hockey, played at the highest level, has never seen a more level playing field. Its safe to conclude that if each of the top six countries could enter three teams in the event, Canadas B and C teams would still enjoy an edge, especially if the selections were limited strictly to position players and not goaltenders.

But the A teams are close and once the long lists are in, its no longer an abstract exercise in team-building, but getting closer to the actual time when decisions have to be made. The good news is that Canadas management staff, headed by Blues general manager Doug Armstrong, will get half an NHL season to sift through the more complicated decisions at the bottom of the roster, which is always where the debate and controversies occur.

Here at The Athletic, weve been projecting rosters, off and on, for years.

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Duhatschek notebook: Team Canada Olympic roster predictions updated, revisiting the Pavel Datsyuk trade - The Athletic

BOSTON The pitching arm is extremely demanding. You cant just ignore it and expect it to work when you need it. Thankfully, though, it isnt picky. Just ask David Robertson.

Ten weeks before he returned to the majors with the Tampa Bay Rays to face the Boston Red Sox, Robertson needed somewhere to pitch. It was late June and he had already helped the United States Olympic team qualify for the Tokyo Games. But the international tournament was weeks away, and Robertsons arm was begging for competition.

So Robertson suited up for an amateur mens league team at Cardines Field in Newport, R.I., not far from his home in Barrington. He pitched two innings but does not remember the name of his team.

I had to give my jersey back; I didnt want to take it from em because I wasnt coming back, Robertson said on Sunday, before a somewhat higher-profile game at Fenway Park. I know it was the Sunset League, though, and I was definitely the oldest guy.

For the record, Robertson pitched for Westcott Properties against R&R Construction. Before long he was in Tokyo, earning two saves and returning with a silver medal, and from there it was onto the Durham Bulls, the Rays Class AAA affiliate.

And now, after a September call-up, Robertson is back in the postseason for the seventh time. Robertson, a right-hander, has pitched in all three games of this American League division series against the Red Sox, allowing no runs in four innings, including two in Sundays 6-4 loss in 13 innings. The Red Sox lead the best-of-five series, two games to one, with Game 4 scheduled for Monday night in Boston.

Robbie has been there and done it all, said Rays Manager Kevin Cash, who caught Robertson for the Yankees World Series title team in 2009. Hes pitched on the biggest stage, biggest moments. I think his veteran knowledge of how to navigate through challenging times and challenging venues has been a big benefit to our entire roster.

Robertson, 36, is not the Rays oldest player designated hitter Nelson Cruz is 41 but he is the oldest pitcher. He reached the majors with the Yankees in 2008, and two years later began a streak of nine seasons with at least 60 appearances.

Then his arm betrayed him. In his first month of a two-year, $23 million contract with the Philadelphia Phillies, Robertson tore his flexor tendon and ulnar collateral ligament. His recovery went well, he said, until the pandemic sidetracked his routine, setting him back and costing him the abbreviated 2020 season. The Phillies declined his club option for 2021.

Robertson put off signing with a team until after the Olympics, where he closed out victories against South Korea and the Dominican Republic and also pitched against Japan, which won gold. Playing before no fans, he got a taste of the surreal major league experience he had missed in 2020.

It was an interesting trip, put it that way just a huge stadium with no one in there and you could hear everything, Robertson said. They were very rushed games, because of the time constraints they had between innings. But it was awesome.

Robertson chose the Rays, he said, because of his familiarity with the Tampa area and the A.L. East. He also knew the Rays had some injuries in their bullpen and thought he could slide easily into a late-inning role.

Much of the Rays success, though, comes from embracing the unconventional. They had 14 different pitchers with a save this season, setting a major league record, and their relievers know to be ready at all times. (On Sunday they used Andrew Kittredge, their only All-Star reliever this season, to stifle a rally in the third inning.)

Robertson, as it turned out, was up for anything.

In the initial interview, hes like, Whatever, Im good, three innings, no problem, said Rays pitching coach Kyle Snyder, who also let Robertson start a game. You could get some guys who come in here, at least halfway from a previous generation, that dont necessarily buy into this.

I know from an industry standpoint, what we do is looked at a little bit critically. But were just doing what we do. We cant ride that same wave everybody else does; we cant spend the money they can. We have to figure out ways to maximize our roster.

In some ways, of course, the Rays are a troubled franchise. With chronically poor attendance, they have been pushing for a dubious dual-city plan in which they would play half their home games in Montreal. Their persistently low payroll just $83 million for the 40-man roster this year, according to Baseball Prospectus gives them the freedom to experiment with mostly low-cost players just happy to have the chance.

Their success presents an issue for the players as a whole. By proving they can win with a low budget (the Rays have had the best record in the A.L. in each of the last two seasons) are the Rays diminishing the earning value of players?

Robertson, as a former player representative to the Major League Baseball Players Association, said he was not concerned.

It always irons itself where the union and the M.L.B.P.A. come to an agreement where guys will be able to get more of a share of their market value, he said. This is more of a spot where guys can come in, figure out what theyre doing and then they might leave here because theyre earning too much to stay on this roster.

While they are together, though, the Rays seem to know they are part of an ever-evolving experiment in how to build a winner. It does not always work; a pitching staff encouraged to fill up the strike zone is sometimes hit hard, as the Rays have been since their shutout in the opener of this series.

But their postseason presence is a testament to their ingenuity. The Rays will look anywhere for a player who could help, even if he pitched against R&R Construction on his winding path to October.

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David Robertson's Journey from the Olympics to the Rays' Postseason Roster - The New York Times

Tokyo Olympics: Some of the most kind and heroic moments

The Tokyo Olympics has delivered many heartwarming moments that have captivated fans. Here are just a few.

Staff Video, USA TODAY

It might feel like the Summer Olymipcsjust ended, but the Winter Games are already just around the corner.

The 2022 Beijing Olympicsare quickly approaching, and they'll be the third consecutive Games to be held in Asia, following the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics and the Tokyo Games, which were postponed from 2020 to 2021 because of COVID-19.

As another edition of the Olympics nears, here's everything you need to know about when and where the Beijing Games will take place, the COVID-19 protocols that will be in place and when you'll be able to watch Chloe Kim, Mikaela Shiffrin and the rest of Team USA compete for gold.

The opening ceremony of the Beijing Games is slated for Feb. 4, less than six months after the closing ceremony of the Summer Games in Tokyo.

It will be the first time in three decades that the Summer and Winter Olympics will occur less than a year apart.The two events used to be held in the same calendar year but have taken place in alternate even-numbered years since 1994.

The closing ceremony for the Beijing Games will take place on Feb. 20.

Beijing won the right to host the 2022 Winter Games in a tight raceoverAlmaty,Kazakhstan. (Oslo, Norway, was the other finalist but withdrew its bid because of a lack of public support.)

While Beijing will have its name on the event, the Games venues will be spread across three distinct areas.

Events like curling, figure skating, ice hockey and speed skating will take place in the city center, including at several venues that were used when the city hosted the 2008 Summer Olympics. Sliding sports and alpine skiing will be held about an hour northwest of the city, in the district ofYanqing. And the remaining sports, including snowboarding, will take place in the neighboring city ofZhangjiakou, which is an hour farther in the same direction.

While the opening ceremony is Feb. 4, preliminary competition will begin in some sports two days earlier.

In one of the premier winter sports, figure skating, medals will be up for grabs once every three days on average for almost the duration of the Games, from Feb. 7 to Feb. 19.

Meanwhile, Mikaela Shiffrin will likely have her first shot at a medal Feb. 7, in women's giant slalom. The snowboarding halfpipe finals are slated for Feb. 10 (women) and Feb. 11 (men). And the gold-medal games in women's and men's hockey will take place Feb. 17 and Feb. 20, respectively.

For U.S. viewers, the Beijing Games will once again be televised on NBC and its platforms. The network has exclusive rights to broadcast every iteration of the Games through 2032, as part of a $7.75 billion deal it signed with the International Olympic Committee in 2014.

If its broadcast of the Tokyo Games is any indication, NBC likely will put some of its coverage on Peacock its new streaming service in addition to its various TV channels.

Will there be fans at the Olympics?

It appears so, but none from outside mainland China.

The IOCrevealed in late September that Beijing organizers planned to prohibit international spectators, including the family and friends of athletes, from attending the Winter Games but that they would sell tickets to Chinese fans who met certain conditions and complied with COVID-19 protocols.

Organizers did not immediately announce how many fans, or what percentage capacity, would be permitted to watch the events at various venues.

In addition to the ban on foreign spectators, Beijing organizers have pledged to create a "closed-loop" system for everyone who travels to China for the Games. This means everyone from athletes and coaches to media and referees/judges will be housed in a strict bubble, separate from the rest of China, and permitted only to move within that bubble.

Organizers have also all but mandated vaccination at the Winter Olympics. While unvaccinated people will technically be allowed to enter the "closed-loop" bubble, Beijing 2022 has indicated that they will have to quarantine in China for 21 days before doing so a duration of time that would seriously complicate athletes' training regimens, for instance, and likely be a non-starter.

That rule won't be an issue for Team USA, mind you. The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee announced in September that it would require all athletes, coaches and staff to be vaccinated before the Games.

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Winter Olympics 2022: Everything you need to know about Beijing Games - USA TODAY

Lanny Smith, the founder of Actively Black, an athleisure brand, does not take his new partnership with the Nigerian Bobsled and Skeleton Federation lightly.

When you look at historically whats happened with the Olympics and brand sponsorships, you see the biggest brands in the world, he said. Its something that most small to midsize businesses, most Black-owned brands, dont even have the resources to show our work at that level.

Actively Black announced its role as official outfitter for the Nigerian bobsled and skeleton teams for the Beijing Winter Olympics on Oct. 1, Nigerian Independence Day.

The brand is designing all of the clothes the teams will be seen in at the Games in February, including the opening ceremony outfits and the competition uniforms. Mr. Smith, 36, said he wanted the looks to pay homage to Nigeria, to the motherland; the tribal Ankara print in the designs is part of that goal.

The brand also released a merch collection alongside the partnership, featuring white and green detailing drawn from the colors of the Nigerian flag.

In 2018, Nigerias womens bobsled team became the first-ever African bobsled team to qualify for the Olympics. They worked with Under Armour then, before switching to Actively Black.

Actively Black is in this industry of giants, from Nike to Lululemon to Under Armour, Mr. Smith said. We are an underdog that is trying to carve out a space, and at the same time, you have this team, this federation that is competing in a sport that traditionally you dont see African countries participating in.

Indeed, being from a country so close to the Equator means that Nigerias bobsled and skeleton teams have had to travel as far as Pyeongchang, Korea, just to practice.

We have been able to create space against the odds for African people to be represented in the Winter Olympic games like never before, said Seun Adigun, 34, the founder of the Bobsled and Skeleton Federation of Nigeria.

The collaboration is also part of a larger trend of Olympic sponsorships increasingly becoming an important milestone for brands of all sizes, not just the usual athletics giants. Skims, Kim Kardashian Wests shapewear brand, was the official underwear outfitter for female athletes for Team U.S.A. at the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympic Games.

Also for the Tokyo games, Telfar sponsored and designed the uniforms for Team Liberia, which was of particular inspiration to Mr. Smith. Telfar, another Black-owned brand thats killing it right now, was able to do something similar with Team Liberia this past summer Olympics, he said.

Mr. Smith and Ms. Adigun met in college at the University of Houston, where they were student athletes. When Mr. Smith founded Actively Black in November 2020, Ms. Adigun kept up with his work. And as Team Nigeria started to search for another sports apparel partner for the upcoming Olympic Games after their Under Armour sponsorship ended, Ms. Adigun offered the spot to Actively Black.

Actively Black has tried to incorporate cultural change from its beginnings. Were really trying to redefine just even the word Black and what that means and to take away the negative connotations to really have something thats a sense of pride for people, Mr. Smith said.

His desire to launch the brand grew while in quarantine in 2020, as a racial awakening spread across the world. I saw all these companies coming out with these pledges that they were going to do this and that for the Black community, and I felt like a lot of it was performative, he said.

The label focuses on clothes that match up to all the other mainstream brands that we wear, but is something that speaks to our culture and also has the main purpose of reinvesting back into our communities, Mr. Smith said.

Weve been asking for a seat at the table for so long, and we just decided to build our own table and serve our people that way, he said. Part of that reinvesting, Mr. Smith added, includes holding fund-raising events for organizations like the Liberation Fund.

For Mr. Smith, this is only a start. I hope that it just inspires other Black designers and other Black-owned brands to dream big and know that theres no limits to what we can do, he said.

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Two Winter Olympics Underdogs That Have Already Won - The New York Times

Tell me Stan Bowman is biased without telling me Stan Bowman is biased.

Ahead of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, each team participating in the Mens Hockey tournament was asked to select three preliminary players to their rosters ahead of named their expanded roster invite list later this month. On Thursday, Team USA announced their first three selections from Team USA GM Stan Bowman. The first three players named to Team USAs 2022 Winter Olympic Mens Hockey team are Auston Matthews, Patrick Kane, and Seth Jones.

The first two players are not surprising whatsoever. Kane and Matthews are arguably the top two U.S.-born players on the planet right now. There was no doubt they would be on the team. Seth Jones on the other hand, was a bubble-player for the upcoming 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.

But with Blackhawks GM Stan Bowman serving in the same role with Team USA for the 2022 Winter Olympics, not only is his new No. 1 defenseman in Chicago on the team, he is one of the first three players given a roster spot.

Even I had to laugh that Jones was named as one of the first three players to the team. With U.S.-born defensemen like Adam Fox, Charlie McAvoy, Zach Werenski, and Jaccob Slavin in the mix, its hilarious that Bowman just went ahead and chose Jones right out of the gate.

From Bowman and Team USAs official press release:

Its no secret were excited about the prospects of our team for the 2022 Games, saidStan Bowman, general manager of the 2022 U.S. Olympic Mens Ice Hockey Team. Patrick, Auston and Seth reflect the high level of talent that will make up our final roster as we strive to bring gold back home to the U.S.

All three of Jones, Matthews, and Kane have represented Team USA in the past at various levels, all with relative success. Jones was part of the 2013 World Junior Championships Gold Medal USA team, as well as the 2015 World Championships Bronze Medal team. Matthews has won two U18 World Junior Championships Gold Medals with Team USA in 2014 and 2015, and won Bronze at the 2016 World Junior Championships. Kane won the 2006 U18 World Junior Championships Gold Medal, the 2007 World Junior Championships Bronze Medal, the 2010 Olympics Silver Medal, and the 2018 World Championships Bronze Medal as Captain of that USA squad.

With this clearly biased move by Bowman, theres a 100% chance Alex DeBrincat will also be headed to Beijing with Team USA. Heres hoping now that, not only will Jones earn his contract extensions worth with the Blackhawks, but now hell have to earn his early roster spot with Team USA. No pressure, right?

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Auston Matthews, Patrick Kane, and Seth Jones Named to Team USA 2022 Winter Olympic Roster - bleachernation.com

Erik Tait felt understandably anxious going into the early October trials to rep the North American team at the Fdration Internationale des Socits Magiques (FISM), which the Columbus magician described as the Olympics of magic.

Not only did Tait have to contend with the strict competition rules(performers were given a precise time frame in which to set up, complete a trick and then completely empty the stage), but he was also working with a less familiar brand of cards, which added a degree of difficulty to a trick that had long ago started to feel like second nature.

I elected to use a different brand of cards than my normal deck for reasons specifically related to the competition, and the deck felt a little alien in my hand, said Taitby phone the day after he returned from the competition in Quebec City. The brand of card Ive used for five years, the weight of the deck, the thickness of the paper, the finish, the flexibility and the rigidness of the card stock, its something my hand is very used to.

On top of that, Tait said he has long harbored feelings of discomfort while performing in front of magicians, who made up a majority of the audience during the competition in Quebec City, an unease he traced both to a long-held imposter syndrome Taits belief that he didnt belong on the same stage with the true wizards of the craft as well as the difference in the responses between a lay audience and one filled with performers, where the silences and cheers fall at divergent moments.

In competition, everyone is watching you more critically rather than for entertainment value, said Tait, who has worked with a therapist for much of the past year, the last half centered more intensely on this aspect of performance. Ive spent the last six months working [with my therapist] on my nerves in front of magicians. I get extremely nervous in competition and shake a lot, and then my hands dont quite operate right, and we very specifically worked on that.

As a result of these sessions, Tait was able to better control his nerves in Quebec City, where he performed what he described as an extended version of the invisible three-card Monte trick that he previously did on-air in an episode of Penn & Teller: Fool Us. (Tait also won the International Brotherhood of Magicians Gold Cups International Award of Excellence in Close-Up Performance for the trick in 2018.)

Still, following Taits delivery of the trick, which unfolded precisely as he hoped it would, he wasnt exactly brimming with confidence, believing he might have scored just high enough to scrape by in the qualifying. Instead, when results were announced, Taitlearned that he had placed in the top three for close-up magic, securing a spot on the North American team, which will take on global challengers at FISM 2022, also in Quebec City.

FISM was always kind of an unattainable goal, something for the giants of the industry and the real wizards who live among us, not guys who do a couple of card tricks like me, said Tait, who came to magic two decades ago via juggling and still maintains a similarmindset when he performs, balancing a series of highly technical sleight of hand tricks that he compared with the act of keeping multiple balls in the air. I grew up looking at FISM and thinking, man, it would be cool to do that, but never thinking I actually would. And now Im in that situation, and its pretty overwhelming.

Following the trials, overcome with the emotion of the moment, Tait escaped to a pub across the street from the venue to have a drink and relax his nerves. While seated at the bar, he was approached by a local who noticed him shuffling cards and, after striking up a conversation, requested Tait do a couple of tricks, which left the man gobsmacked. The manthen invited Tait to join him at a table with friends, introducing the magician by saying, This is Erik. Please be quiet. He is the wizard.

And he and his friends were just really enthusiastic, and asking lots of questions, and there wasnt this sense of, Oh, do you do childrens birthday parties? said Tait, who plans to spend the next 10 months working with a team to refine and perfect his trick in advance of FISM. They were really treating what I did as an art form, and asking probing and interesting questions. … They were sharing this sense of wonder that is really unique to the human species, and it was this grounding moment that, yes, we were there for a competition, and, yes, we were there to test our mettle. Butat the end of the day, the reason we do magic is to be able to share this moment of mystery and wonder with other humans. And it kind of brought me back to the real world, and I was like, OK, lets go do this again. Lets share this moment and experience with others.

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Erik Tait ready to represent North America at the Olympics of magic - Columbus Alive

More than 40 Special Olympics teams from around the state competed in a soccer tournament in Owasso Wednesday.

Organizers said these players know the true value of sports.

"It is just as competitive as any other sport you have ever been to," said John Seals with Special Olympics Oklahoma.

It is a very warm welcome back to in-person events for Special Olympics Oklahoma.The players have come from all over the state to be a part of the games.The teams are made up of players with and without intellectual disabilities.

"We think it adds so much to people's lives to come out and compete and we haven't got to do this for almost two years now," saidSeals."We have got 46 teams here from all over the state."

COVID-19 has changed the way these games happen. The public isn't allowed to come watch and cheer the players on, it's just family, players, and coaches but regardless of the changes, the kids were having a ball.

The referees volunteer their time to be here, saying these games are what sports should be.

"This is for the true love of sport- it is not playing for money, it is not playing for college scholarship, it is not people spending all of their money taking their kids all over the country- they are playing for the love of the game,"saidSeals.

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46 Special Olympics Teams Compete In Soccer Tournament In Owasso - News On 6

The commute can't be beat. It takes Maddie Rooney only eight minutes to drive from her home to the Super Rink in Blaine, where the former Minnesota Duluth goalie and her U.S. women's hockey teammates will train for the next four months as they prepare for the Winter Olympics.

A native of Andover, Rooney already knew her way around the Super Rink, where she took skating lessons as a kid. She felt even more comfortable Tuesday, when the U.S. women's national team officially began its pre-Olympic residency program. With new signage and a locker room designed just for them, Rink 6 has been turned into a true home base for the 28 players training toward the Beijing Games in February.

"This is going to be a great setup for us,'' said Rooney, who helped the U.S. win gold at the 2018 Olympics. "We feel welcomed and valued here. And that's so important when you're working toward a goal like this.''

The work started in earnest Tuesday, as the residency program returned to Blaine for the first time in more than a decade. Though players from 13 states are part of the program, it has a pronounced Minnesota flavor.

The group includes six Minnesotans and eight current or former Gophers. Minnesota State, Mankato senior defenseman Anna Wilgren was added last week. The roster will be cut to 23 for the Olympics, with the Winter Games roster expected to be announced Jan. 1 during the NHL Winter Classic at Target Field.

Over the next few months, the U.S. will play nine games against archrival Canada in a series called the "My Why Tour.'' The tour, which includes a Dec. 20 game at Xcel Energy Center, kicks off Oct. 22 in Allentown, Pa.

The U.S. also has scheduled several scrimmages with North American Hockey League teams, local boys' high-performance and elite league teams and a group of top women's players who are not training with the national team.

Like Rooney, USA Hockey is plenty familiar with the Super Rink. Before the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, it held its first-ever women's pre-Olympic residency at the facility, bringing players from all over the country to live and train in Blaine. The locker room was built specifically for the U.S. women's team with $350,000 in donated funds.

USA Hockey moved the program to Boston for the 2014 Sochi Games and to the Tampa, Fla., area for the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics. Katie Million, hired in 2019 as director of USA Hockey's women's national teams, didn't know the history in Blaine when she came on board. Once she learned about it, she knew she wanted the program to return perhaps permanently.

"When I came and saw it, I said, 'Why are we not using this space? It's fabulous,' '' said Million, who is based in Minneapolis. "It just made a lot of sense. We really would like to keep it home.''

In addition to the locker room, which has been renovated, Million cited the abundance of high-level local competition and Blaine's central location as factors in the decision to return. Several players already were living in the Twin Cities. So was Joel Johnson, coach of the U.S. women's national program.

Johnson, the longtime associate head coach for the Gophers women, was hired last summer to coach the St. Thomas women's team, about six weeks before he was named the Olympic coach. Having the national team in Blaine will allow him to juggle both jobs. Johnson plans to be behind the Tommies bench whenever possible, with St. Thomas assistant Bethany Brausen assuming head coaching duties when Johnson is busy with the national team.

"I'm here in the morning, then I grab lunch and head down and continue to coach at St. Thomas in the afternoon,'' said Johnson, who coached the U.S. women to a silver medal at the world championships in August. "It's pretty seamless.''

Johnson said the team has everything it needs at the Super Rink, a sentiment shared by his players.

"The locker room, the signs, all the red, white and blue, it makes us feel at home,'' said forward Abbey Murphy, who is taking this season off from the Gophers to train with the national team. "It's awesome.''

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On path to Beijing Olympics, U.S. women's hockey team makes it's home at the Super Rink in Blaine - Minneapolis Star Tribune