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U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee Marks One-Year Countdown To Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 On July 23 And 24

By United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee | July 22, 2019, 10:48 a.m. (ET)

The National Stadium of the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 venues on July 03, 2019 in Tokyo, Japan.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee will join fans around the world in marking the one-year countdown to the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 this week with several promotional activities and athlete appearances. The U.S. celebrations will span the country, with events and publicity tours in New York City, Orlando and Colorado Springs, as well as across the Pacific, with Team USA athletes taking part in celebrations in Tokyo.

The 2020 Games – which run from July 24-Aug. 9, 2020 – will welcome more than 11,000 athletes from 206 expected countries. Athletes will compete in 50 disciplines across 33 sports, for a total of 339 medal events. New to the Olympic program in 2020 is the addition of karate, skateboarding and sport climbing events, while baseball and softball return to the Games after a 12-year hiatus. The 2020 Games marks the second time Tokyo will welcome the world’s greatest athletes, having previously hosted the Olympic Games in 1964.

Less than two weeks after the Closing Ceremony of the 2020 Games, the Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020 will take place from Aug. 25-Sept. 6, 2020. The Games will feature 22 sports with 537 medal events, including the debut of badminton and taekwondo on the Paralympic program.

To mark the occasion of one-year out from the 2020 Games, the USOPC is hosting several promotional activities:

Media teleconference today, July 22, at 11:30 a.m. ET with swimmer Haley Anderson and Para-cyclist Oz Sanchez
Olympic celebration on NBC’s TODAY on July 23 including sport demos, athlete interviews and more
A Team USA athlete publicity tour in New York on July 23-24
Team USA athletes leading a youth sports clinic at the Boys & Girls Clubs of America
Colorado Springs – Olympic City USA – hosting a one-year countdown celebration
"Team USA the Journey, presented by OREO" athlete appearances and social experience in Orlando
Athlete community outreach activities in Tokyo
Launch of TeamUSA.org’s Tokyo microsite at TeamUSA.org/Tokyo2020
One-year out takeover of TeamUSA.org, including exclusive previews, athlete bios, Games info, interviews and photos
Social activations across Team USA platforms on Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram and more

Please find expanded USOPC and NBCUniversal promotional program information below.

One year out media teleconference July 22

The USOPC will preview the milestone with a media teleconference today, July 22, at 11:30 a.m. ET. The call will feature Team USA’s first Tokyo 2020 Olympic qualifier, Haley Anderson (open water swimming, Olympian 2012, 2016) and Oz Sanchez (Para-cycling, Paralympian 2008, 2012, 2016). They will be joined by Julie Dussliere, USOPC chief of Paralympic sport and Finbarr Kirwan, USOPC vice president of summer sport performance.

Olympic celebration on TODAY July 23

NBC’s TODAY will feature U.S. Olympians and hopefuls representing 10 different summer sports on July 23, complete with a skateboarding street park and climbing wall in Rockefeller Plaza.

Athlete publicity tour and youth sports clinic in New York City July 23-24

Nearly 20 U.S. Olympians and hopefuls will participate in publicity tours and athlete appearances in New York City on July 23 and 24, including a Team USA Media Day hosted at Twitter Headquarters, a full round of interviews with NBCUniversal properties at its 30 Rock headquarters, Reddit’s Ask Me Anything, and a number of interviews and panels around the city.

Team USA athletes will also join kids from the Boys & Girls Clubs of America and Children’s Aid for The Peacock Games, an Olympic-themed youth sports clinic taking place on July 24 in Harlem, N.Y., in partnership with NBCUniversal. More than 100 kids will learn about the Olympic values and participate in a variety of sports and team building activities.

Together, the athletes in New York this week have won 12 Olympic medals, including six golds, in 10 different sports. They include:

Diving: David Boudia
Fencing: Nzingha Prescod, Nicole Ross
Rugby: Naya Trapper
Shooting: Kim Rhode
Skateboarding: Tom Schaar, Shaun White, Brighton Zeuner
Soccer: Ashlyn Harris, Ali Krieger
Sport Climbing: Alex Johnson, Ashima Shiraishi
Track and Field: Erik Kynard
Volleyball: Foluke Akinradewo
Wrestling: Jordan Burroughs, Helen Maroulis

Olympic City USA celebrates the Olympic milestone July 24

As part of the one-year out celebration, Colorado Springs – Olympic City USA – will transform one of its largest city parks into a sport demonstration event, featuring several Olympic sports, including gymnastics, skateboarding, soccer, wrestling and volleyball. The event will feature live demonstrations from several U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Training Center resident athletes, along with wrestling lessons from three USA Wrestling national teams, a skateboarding competition, a soccer mini-clinic and an appearance from the Olympic City USA hot air balloon. The event is free and open to the public.

Team USA the Journey, presented by OREO July 24

The Team USA Journey presented by OREO is a one-of-a-kind interactive social media experience that will make a stop at NBC Sports Grill at Universal City Walk in Orlando on July 24. The journey’s traveling vehicle – which is free and open to the public – features multiple social interactive elements that capture the energy and excitement of the Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020. In attendance will be several Team USA athletes, including Olympic champion Ashton Easton (track and field) along with Paralympic champions Steve Serio (wheelchair basketball) and Jamie Whitmore (Para-cycling). Laurie Hernandez (gymnastics) will be video chatting live with fans inside the social media vehicle.

Athlete community outreach activities in Tokyo

Team USA will also be celebrating one-year out in Japan. In partnership with Setagaya, Team USA’s host city at the Games, a two-day festival will take place July 27-28 to celebrate the milestone. The festival will include sport demonstrations – such as a shooting gallery and virtual reality fencing and equestrian – Paralympic sport education, photo opportunities with the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic mascots and more. Japanese and American athletes and sport representatives will also be on site throughout the two-day festival.

One year out takeover of TeamUSA.org

TeamUSA.org will be the epicenter for the latest on Team USA's road to the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 beginning on July 23, including the following content:

Dedicated Tokyo microsite with sport previews, news, team roster and more at TeamUSA.org/Tokyo2020
Sports the U.S. has already secured Olympic quota spots in with one year to go
Twenty athletes to watch who could make their Olympic debuts in Tokyo
Features on athletes in the five sports making their debut or return to the Olympic program
Twenty things to know about the city of Tokyo and what makes the 2020 Games unique
Breaking down the mixed-gender events debuting at the 2020 Games and Team USA's outlook

Social activations across the Team USA platforms

Team USA social channels will celebrate the one-year out milestone with new content and a focus on introducing fans of Team USA to Tokyo 2020 hopefuls in unique, engaging ways, including:

One-year out graphic treatment across all social platforms
Infographics introducing Team USA fans to summer athletes and sports
On-the-ground updates from the TODAY set and athlete appearances in New York City
Behind-the-scenes content from summer athletes training across the world

NBCUniversal

USOPC partner and Olympic Games broadcaster NBCUniversal will celebrate the one-year countdown over the next two days, July 23-24, by utilizing its unmatched portfolio of assets to connect Olympic fans with the Games, the host city and the athletes they love to cheer. From sport demonstrations and athlete visits on TODAY to a company-wide promotional roadblock to interviews with NBC Olympics primetime host Mike Tirico live from Tokyo, NBCU will leverage its abundant and diverse platforms to build excitement for the 2020 Olympic Games with a host of promotional and editorial initiatives.