1. the united states olympic committee
September 16-30, 2015 1
Team USA Shop Discounts
Resident athletes receive a 20% discount on merchandise at the Team USA Shop in the Visitor Center at the CVOTC. Stop by to
pick up some great Team USA gear!
ANNOUNCEMENTS.
The Road to Rio Tour stopped at the B Street Pier in downtown San Diego
on Saturday, September 5 and Sunday, September 6 to build excitement for
the upcoming Olympic & Paralympic Games, which are both now less than
a year away. This was the second stop of the Road to Rio Tour presented
by Liberty Mutual Insurance and was held in conjunction with the U.S. Sand
Sculpting Challenge, so it was fitting that a sand sculpture was created to
welcome Team USA fans.
The San Diego tour stop was headlined by Olympic champion gymnast
Nastia Liukin and Olympic champion diver Greg Louganis, among other
Olympic legends.
From the Chula Vista Olympic Training Center, Lex Gillette & Wesley Williams were featured on the first day as were javelin thrower
Cyrus Hostetler and rugby athlete Bui Baravilala. They each started their appearance with a Q&A on the long jump platform, talking
about their training and eating habits as well their favorite athletic moment to date. Perry Baker from men’s rugby came out to the
tour on the second day, joining water polo Olympian Courtney Mathewson and Olympic champion rower Susan Francia. They all
spent some time signing autographs and taking pictures with fans.
The Road to Rio Tour touches down next in Boston at the Head of the Charles Regatta on October 17-18 for the last stop of 2015.
The Road to Rio Tour will resume in 2016 with the first stop being in Los Angeles.
For more information and to watch the re-cap video from the Road to Rio Tour – San
Diego stop, visit www.TeamUSA.org/RoadtoRio.
Road to Rio. San Diego Tour Stop

2. September 16-30, 2015 2
OLYMPIC VOICE
By Jamie Apgar, CVOTC Athlete & Community Relations Intern
The countdown begins as the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games are officially under the one year mark. Less than 365
days from now floods of athletes, coaches, volunteers and spectators will make their way to Rio De Janeiro,
Brazil, for the 15th edition of the Paralympic Games.
The Opening Ceremony will kick off on September 7, 2016, in the Maracanã Stadium and finish with the Closing
Ceremony on September 18. Over the course of 11 days, a grand total of 528 medal events will be contested,
including 264 men’s events, 226 women’s events and 38 mixed competitions. A total of 4,350 Paralympic
athletes from 178 countries hope to claim gold in one of 23 sports.
As with the Olympic Games, the Paralympic competition venues will be clustered into four main zones of Rio - Barra,
Copacabana, Deodoro, and Maracanã.
The Barra zone will be the heart of the Rio 2016 Olympic & Paralympic Games.
It will include the three main sporting areas of the Olympic Park, Pontal and
Riocentro and will be home to 13 Paralympic sports as well as the Paralympic
Village. The Olympic Park, which will be converted to an Olympic Training Center
post-Games, will host 10 Paralympic events across eight venues, making it the
largest concentration of sporting facilities. Three Carioca Arenas within Olympic
Park will hold wheelchair basketball, wheelchair rugby, boccia and judo while
the Tennis Centre will host soccer 5-a-side and wheelchair tennis. The Olympic
Park will also feature an Olympic Velodrome for track cycling and the Olympic
Aquatics Stadium for swimming. Rounding out Olympic Park is the Olympic
Arena, originally constructed for the 2007 Pan American Games, which will
host wheelchair basketball. The temporary Future Arena will hold the goalball
competition. The beachside location of Pontal will be the start and finish point
of road cycling while the Riocentro location will include three event pavilions for
powerlifting, table tennis and sitting volleyball.
Deodoro follows behind Barra with four Paralympic sporting venues. This zone’s new facility is the Youth Arena which will hold
wheelchair fencing. The Equestrian Centre and Shooting Centre are existing sites built in 2007 for the Pan and Parapan American
Games and will host both of those sports’ Paralympic competitions. The only temporary facility found in this zone will be Deodoro
Stadium for 7-a-side soccer.
Copacabana, most commonly known for its long stretches of sandy
beaches, will have three main sporting venues. Fort Copacabana will
be home to the Paralympic triathlon swimming course while the running
and cycling portions stretch across the Copacabana waterfront. Lagoa
Stadium, found in the heart of Rio, will feature scenic backdrops during
the canoe and rowing competitions. Marina da Glória will be home to
Paralympic sailing.
The Maracana zone will feature the Paralympic Archery competitions at
Sambódromo, home to the legendary Rio Carnival Parade. The Olympic
Stadium will be the main stage for Paralympic track & field events.
The 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio marks not only the first Paralympic Games in South America, but the first appearance in the
Paralympic program for the sports of canoe and triathlon. To make sure all of the events run as smoothly as possible, there are a
series of test events scheduled from August 2015 – May 2016. These test events will help to simulate the actual competitions and
test all the security, operations, facilities, and utilities that will need to be in full use come Rio 2016. The United States Paralympic
Team will be decided through international rankings for some sports and through trials events for others. Many CVOTC resident
athletes will take part in the U.S. Paralympics Track & Field Team Trials in Charlotte, North Carolina, from June 30 – July 2, 2016 as
the last step on the road to Rio.
The concept of the Paralympic Games dates back to when Dr. Ludwig Guttman organized a sporting competition, The Stoke-
Mandeville Games for the Paralyzed, as a rehabilitation program for British World War II veterans on the same day as the 1948
Olympic Games Opening Ceremony in London. Success of this program continued momentum throughout the years and led to
the first official Paralympic Games in Rome, Italy, in 1960. Since then the Paralympics have expanded to include a wide variety
of physical disabilities beyond paralysis. Since 1988, the Paralympic Games are held parallel to the Olympic Games, beginning
approximately two weeks after the close of the Olympic Games in the same host city and with the same excitement and fanfare.
Paralympic Games. One Year Out

3. What’s in it and what’s so special about it?
By Andrew Gehr, Nutrition Intern
For the past few years beets have become a popular topic in sports nutrition, with some athletes downing large bottles of beet
juice before competition, sometimes even without really understanding why! The key component of beets that has been researched
is nitrate. Nitrate is a precursor to nitrite (NO2) and ultimately gets converted to nitric oxide (NO), a substance that stimulates
vasodilation (widening of blood vessels). This makes the body more efficient at delivering oxygen to muscles, and may reduce the
amount of oxygen needed to create energy. The theory is that when an athlete consumes a high dose of nitrates either daily and/or
in the hours before exercise, it can enhance performance.
Performance Functions of Nitrates
• Increases production of NO and storage of NO2
• Stimulates vasodilation (widening of the blood vessels)
• Enhances regulation of oxygen consumption, which decreases the “oxygen cost” of exercise
• Speeds recovery from high intensity exercise
• Increases time to exhaustion
• Increases power output
• Decreases perceived effort
Aside from a performance benefit, consuming a diet high in nitrate-rich foods also has a positive impact on overall health. Studies
analyzing the diets of people in the general population who consumed a high amount of nitrate-rich fruits and vegetables observed
blood pressure-lowering benefits.
How much do you need?
Nitrate comes from the soil, so fruits and vegetables have the highest content, especially
ones grown beneath or directly in the ground such as beets or spinach. Though the
exact amount of nitrate in a food is difficult to predict, a diet rich in dark leafy greens and
root vegetables should supply adequate amounts for overall health. The dosage needed
for sport performance improvement is approximately 4-5mmol or 250-310 milligrams of
nitrate. The table illustrates how much of certain vegetables one would need to consume
to receive the adequate dosage of nitrate to possibly observe a performance benefit.
What athletes might nitrates help?
Nitrate supplementation may have the greatest benefit during high intensity exercises in
which the body is “starved” for oxygen, also known as “hypoxia”. In order for the body
to produce energy, oxygen must be utilized. During exercise, the demand for oxygen
from the body becomes much greater; the body will adapt to produce a larger oxygen
intake but there is only so much it can do. Nitric Oxide may reduce the amount of oxygen
needed by the body to produce energy thus making the body more efficient.
High Intensity & Time Trial Sports may benefit from
higher levels of nitrate in the blood
• Sprinting
• Rowing
Consumingfoodsrichinnitrateonaregularbasisensuresthatbloodnitrateconcentrations
are optimized. Well-trained athletes have a higher baseline level of nitric oxide (as a result
of training responses) so there is less likelihood of being able to increase these levels
further after nitrate supplementation. As such, well-trained athletes who consume a diet
that includes regular sources of nitrate-rich foods are unlikely to benefit from further supplementation with beetroot juice. Importantly,
antibacterial mouthwash and chewing gum disable a step required to produce nitric oxide from nitrate so they should be avoided.
Are there any side effects?
If you choose beetroot juice or beetroot supplements as the source of nitrates there are possible mild gastro-intestinal side effects. The
side effects include nausea, upset stomach and diarrhea, which is why if you choose to try nitrate supplementation, training is the best time
to do so. Additionally, beets and beetroot juice have the potential to alter urine color turning it a red color a condition known as beeturia.
Beeturia is not harmful and will go away but can be very surprising if you are not expecting it. As with all supplements, safety comes first.
Therefore, choosing from a reputable source is a must. Make sure that the supplement only contains one ingredient or ingredients you
know to be safe, legal and NSF certified. BeetIt, BeetElite and Red Ace, listed in the table above are three reputable sources.
While the research is still limited on nitrate supplementation, it is a hot topic in sports nutrition and continues to grow. It cannot be
guaranteed to improve sport performance but eating more vegetables is always favorable so at the very least include nitrate-rich
sources of vegetables regularly in your diet. If you want to try supplementing with beet juice, speak to your sport dietitian about this
so they can help you plan the best way to do so.
nutrition. Beetroot juice…
OLYMPIC VOICE
September 16-30, 2015 3
• Rugby
• Track Cycling
• Road Cycling
• Triathlon

4. OLYMPIC VOICE
September 16-30, 2015 4
Athletes in Competition. Results
WHEELCHAIR TENNIS – U.S. Open USTA Wheelchair Tennis Championships
August 31–September 6..................................................................................................... St. Louis, Missouri
David Wagner finished the semifinals of the Quad Wheelchair Open Singles strong defeating Australian competitor Andy Lapthorne
6-4; 6-1. Wagner kept this momentum going into the final to claim the win against Dylan Alcott from Australia 6-2; 6-3. In the Quad
Wheelchair Open Doubles, American team of David Wagner and Nick Taylor were victorious over British pair Jamie Burdekin and
Antony Cotterill 6-2; 6-2. In the final, Wagner/Taylor were beaten by the Australian team of Andy Lapthorne and Dylan Alcott 6-0; 7-5.
TRACK & FIELD – Diamond League
September 3.....................................................................................................................Zurich, Switzerland
Tia Brooks took fifth place with a throw of 18.14m in the shot put. In the long jump, Jeff Henderson made a mark of 8.22m, putting
him in fourth place. Teammate Michael Hartfield made a jump of 7.55m which landed him in ninth place.
CYCLING – UCI BMX Supercross World Cup Santiago del Estero
September 5-6................................................................................................Santiago del Estero, Argentina
In the Time Trial Superfinal, Connor Fields finished in first and Felicia Stancil took third. In the Elite Men’s final, Connor Fields was
the lone American representative and took seventh in a strong field of competitors. In the Elite Women’s final, Alise Post found her
way to the podium taking third place while Brooke Crain crossed the finish in fifth place.
ARCHERY – Texas Shootout and U.S. Olympic Team Trials #1
September 6-7.............................................................................................................College Station, Texas
The first round of U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Archery is complete as the competition pool was narrowed down to the top 16
male and female archers. CVOTC resident athletes led the pack in both the male and female divisions. Zach Garrett finished in first
winning 14 matches and 27.25 points. Sean McLaughlin followed behind Garrett with 25 points and Brady Ellison came in third
with 23 points. On the women’s side, Mackenzie Brown took the lead, winning eight matches and 25.75 total points. Ariel Gibilaro
finished in second with 23 points and LaNola Prichard following close behind in third with 22 points.
ARCHERY – Archery World Cup
September 8-13................................................................................................................Medellin, Colombia
Though the Americans missed out on individual podiums, the teams performed quite well with the Men’s Recurve Team of Brady
Ellison, Daniel McLaughlin and Collin Klimitchek winning the silver. The Women’s Recurve Team of Mackenzie Brown, Khatuna Lorig
and Ariel Gibilaro won the bronze. Brady Ellison secured enough points to claim his invitation to his sixth Archery World Cup Final in a
row, which will be contested next month in Mexico City. Also qualifying to represent the U.S. at the World Cup Final were Mackenzie
Brown and Collin Klimitchek.
TRACK & FIELD – Diamond League
September 11..................................................................................................................... Brussels, Belgium
In the women’s discus competition, Whitney Ashley had a best throw of 60.37m for seventh place. In the men’s shot put, Joe
Kovacs finished out the last meet of the IAAF Diamond League series in third place which earned him two points towards his final
score. Kovacs had a strong run throughout the series with three wins and a grand total of 16 points to win the overall Diamond
League competition. Throughout the 2015 Diamond League season, there were a few other notable CVOTC athlete performances.
Long jumper Michael Hartfield had one win this season and earned himself a third overall finish in the series with Jeff Henderson
finishing sixth in the Diamond Race. Tia Brooks earned fourth place overall in the women’s shot put Diamond Race.
Athletes in Training. Upcoming camps
Triathlon – Collegiate Recruit Program Training........................................................................................August 24 - September 30
Cycling – BMX Supercross Prep Camp 3.................................................................................................................September 7-23
Track & Field – BMW Racing Wheelchair Testing......................................................................................................September 9-19
Field Hockey – Argentina Men’s Team Training Camp............................................................................................September 10-21
Cycling – BMX International Athlete Training .........................................................................................................September 10-27
Rugby – Women’s Elite Camp 1............................................................................................................................September 13-18
Track & Field – Paralympic Track & Field World Championships Prep Camp..........................................................September 23-28
Rugby – Men’s 7s High Performance Camp..........................................................................................................September 24-27
USA BMX Supercross Series - Chula Vista Stop October 9-10
USA BMX is in their inaugural year for the domestic Supercross Series and it stops in Chula Vista on the Beijing replica BMX
Supercross track on Friday, October 9 and Saturday, October 10. Practice starts both days at 11:00 am and racing will begin at
2:00 pm. Admission is free, but there will be a $10 charge for parking. Watch some of the fastest BMX riders in the world race to
win big prize money! For more information, visit www.usabmx.com
Save the Date. Upcoming Events