Happy Olympic & Paralympic Day!
Held annually on June 23, Olympic Day originated in 1948 to commemorate the birth of the modern Olympic Games on June 23, 1894. On this day a proposal from Baron Pierre de Coubertin to revive the Olympic Games was approved, and the first modern Olympic Games were held two years later in 1896. In 2020, the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee worked with the International Olympic Committee and International Paralympic Committee to recognize the day as Olympic & Paralympic Day in the United States.
Today, as we celebrate Olympic & Paralympic Day, we honor the Olympic and Paralympic movements, the Olympic and Paralympic values (Olympic values of friendship, excellence and respect and Paralympic values of determination, inspiration, courage and equality) and the joy sport gives to millions of people around the world.
As the day also celebrates fitness and well-being with many communities offering the opportunity to try different sports, we asked members of Team USA what Olympic sport other than figure skating they would love to compete in. Check out their answers below!
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Jason Brown
I would love to be an Olympic diver. I am mesmerized by the way they flip through the air with such beauty and grace.
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Logan Bye
If I were to do any other sport in the Olympics other than figure skating, I think I would do snowboarding, specifically halfpipe or the big air event. I grew up in Colorado Springs and so there were a lot of ski towns that I grew up with, and I love to go snowboarding – love the adrenaline rush and really like to fly through the air.
Christina Carreira
I would do gymnastics because I love all the American gymnasts and I've been following them for a while.
Ellie Kam
I think I would choose skeleton. It sounds like a lot of fun being able to slide down. It's super-fast.
Liam Kapeikis
If I were to compete in a sport other than figure skating it would definitely be rock climbing. Rock climbing is my favorite cross-training sport. It's something that I do on a regular basis. I absolutely love it.
Isabeau Levito
If I were to compete in another sport at the Olympics that wasn't figure skating, I think I'd try tennis. I'm not very good at it, but it seems like a lot of fun!
Artem Markelov
I would love to compete in the Olympics in table tennis since I've always loved playing it!
Leah Neset
If not figure skating, I would compete in gymnastics since when I was younger, I did gymnastics and I loved it.
Danny O'Shea
For me, what I'd probably do is breakdancing because I've got some sick moves.
Eva Pate
If I were to compete in any other sport in the Olympics besides figure skating, I would pick gymnastics because I competed for 13 years competitively.
Anthony Ponomarenko
I think I'd choose hockey. I'm very passionate about it and I've been following it since I was a kid.
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