First came the designation as one of only nine official Olympic training sites.
Now Flagstaff and NAU have joined even more elite company. They are the sixth U.S. Olympic Committee Community Partner in the United States.
As announced at last night's fund-raising gala by the Center for High Altitude Training, the designation means Flagstaff and NAU will be even more involved in the U.S. Olympic movement than they are today.
As an official training site since May 2004, NAU and Flagstaff see a steady stream of athletes taking advantage of the altitude to hit the streets, trails, pools and gyms.
Of course, Olympic athletes are nothing new. Since the center started in 1994, more than 4,500 international athletes and coaches have used its resources, resulting in more than 100 Olympic medals.
What the partnership designation means is more education and outreach, When there's a USOC event or initiative, a community partner like Flagstaff and NAU will be first in line to host it if they so choose.
We also have to believe that raising the awareness of the Olympics in Flagstaff is likely to attract the interest of younger athletes. A local Olympic development running program has already begun, and who's to say that the next gold-medal cyclist or snowboarder won't emerge from a middle-school program?
And speaking of snowboarding and other snow events, it's nice to have the Olympics around this winter, given the lack of white stuff in Flagstaff. The Winter Games no doubt will feature backdrops of stunning winter scenery for the outdoor events, enough to help most local skiers forget the bare slopes at home for at least two more weeks.
As for the competition, there is some doubt, according to Mark Sappenfield's column below, whether the U.S. team can match its 2002 medal count, given its lack of home field advantage. But then, no one really expects the U.S. to do well at ski jumping or cross country skiing, which allows us to root for the international competitor of our choice.
When it comes to short-track speedskating, though, we'll be cheering for Apolo Anton Ohno of the U.S. against his archrivals, the South Koreans. How can anyone resist a speedskater named Apolo? And if he should crash, well, he has the perfect last name for his fans to utter: 'Ohno!"
