In 2021 when folks gathered downtown to support Team USA Wrestling, fans required masks and six feet distance due to the pandemic.
This year, ahead of the Paris Games, wrestling supporters had the opportunity to get close – literally and metaphorically.
The U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Museum on Monday hosted fans and the 16 men and women who qualified for the 2024 Olympics during their media day event.
“We had an opportunity for people to have access to all 16 athletes at once,” said Gary Abbott, Team USA wrestling director of communications. “We wanted to take care of the people who were willing to come out and spend time with our Olympians. … This gives us a chance to showcase all our athletes at once instead of in chunks.”
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Fans snapped photos and posed for selfies with their favorite athletes while also discussing the upcoming Paris Games.
As fans enjoyed the experience, athletes also cherished the moment.
Kamal Bey, who attended high school at Pine Creek, entered a room off an elevator with a smile plastered to his face.
As Bey exited the elevator, he walked to his right as his focus shifted from the audience who gathered to greet him to mannequins draped in red and blue Nike singlets with “USA” across the chest.
“Are these it!” Bey said, referring to the red outfit. “The blue ones are cold too.”
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Abbott said moments like Bey’s first glimpse at the Olympic attire and fans mingling with athletes is “one nobody will forget.”
“This is Olympic City, USA, and people take a lot of pride in that,” Abbott said. “They take pride that they can see real Olympians come here and train or be part of the experience here.”
Such as Sarah Hildebrandt.
Hildebrandt, who hails from Granger, Ind. moved to Colorado Springs nearly a decade ago to train for wrestling.
Fans who interacted with Hildebrandt received the full, as her coach Terry Steiner called it, “Hildebrandt experience.”
Hildebrandt’s bubbly personality scored laughs from teammates, eventgoers and everyone in ear shot of her at the Olympic Museum.
And the 50-KG, two-time Olympian said she’s grateful for the media day experience and the move to Colorado Springs.
“I wanted to be close to the Olympic movement,” Hildebrandt said. “I wanted to be at the Olympic training center. I felt like they offered a lot of amenities and good training partners. Obviously I have a lot of trust in the coaching staff as well. I really believe in training, and I knew I could make this my home. I fell in love with this place and now I bought a house and I love Colorado Springs.”
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