As the 2018 Winter Olympics begin in Pyeongchang, South Korea, Friday, CU Boulder has experts available for media interviews regarding international relationships with North Korea, doping issues, sports governance and mental health and social issues in sports. Also, CU Skiing coaches, who have worked directly with some of CU Boulder’s Olympic athletes, can discuss their experiences leading up to the Olympic games.
US biathlete Joanne Reid competing in an event. (USOC)
Find a list of CU Boulder students and alumni known to be competing in the Winter Games below.
North Korea: Steve Chan, professor of political science, can talk about the macro-level international politics serving as a backdrop to this year’s events. Chan studies international relations and political economics in East Asia and has written 15 books and over 150 articles and chapters.
steve.chan@colorado.edu
Doping and sports governance: Roger Pielke, Jr. is director of the CU Boulder Department of Athletics Sports Governance Center and author of “The Edge: The War Against Cheating and Corruption in the Cutthroat World of Elite Sports.” Pielke can speak on anti-doping regulation, including the Russian doping saga, and Olympic sports governance more generally. Pielke recently published a report card for national governing bodies of Olympic sports, giving them an average D-grade.
pielke@colorado.edu
On mental health and social issues: Dr. Sherrie Ballantine-Talmadge is a sports medicine physician with the CU Sports Medicine and Performance Center at CU Boulder and a team physician for U.S. Figure Skating. Ballantine-Talmadge can discuss Olympic figure-skater Gracie Gold’s recent decision to step away from the sport to address an eating disorder, and the prevalence of mental health issues among athletes. Ballantine-Talmadge can also discuss the participation of figure skater Adam Rippon, the first openly gay American to qualify for the Winter Olympics, and the impact his openness about sexual orientation could have on his sport and the games overall.
sherrie.ballantine-talmadge@ucdenver.edu
CU Boulder Skiing coaches: Both Head Coach Richard Rokos and Head Nordic Coach Bruce Cranmer can talk about the process of preparing athletes for the Olympics. Cranmer has coached current Olympic athletes Joanne Reid and Petra Hyncicova. For interviews with Rokos or Cranmer see contact below.
CU Boulder students and alumni competing in the 2018 Winter Olympics:
- Joanne Reid, biathlon, BS Applied Mathematics ’13, MA Engineering ‘17
- Kendall Wesenberg, skeleton, BS Business Administration ‘12
- Brian Hansen, long track speed skating, BS Business Administration ‘17
- Arielle Gold, snowboarding, Psychology
- Petra Hyncicova, cross country skiing, Integrative Physiology
- Casey Andringa, freestyle moguls, Business Administration
For interviews or help with experts contact:
Andrew Sorensen, CU Boulder Media Relations
andrew.sorensen@colorado.edu
For interviews with CU Skiing coaches contact:
Jason Clay, CU Boulder Intercollegiate Athletics
jason.clay@colorado.edu