Rapid Response: Team USA’s bold plan for Paris, with US Olympic & Paralympic Committee CEO Sarah Hirshland

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This country around Team USA in the pride of our nation, without a doubt. And I think You know, I say to people, anyone who will listen to me, this is the only team we can all agree on. Right? We love our sport in this country. This is the only team we all agree on. That's Sarah Herschlin, CEO of the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee. In anticipation of this summer's Paris Games, Sarah returned to Rapid Response to give us a primer breaking down the most important questions, stories, and events ahead of the opening ceremony.

Sarah also opens up about the recent doping scandal to hit Chinese Olympians, preparations for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, and the controversial changes hitting the NCAA. Whether you're a sports fan or not, Sarah sharuble insights about preparing for a make or break moment. encouraging individualism while stressing team unity and more. I'm Bob Safian. And this

is rapid response. I'm Bob Safian, and I'm here with Sarah Hirschling, the CEO of the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee. Sarah it's great to have you back on the show. Bob, it's great to be back. So Paris is just around the corner. Are you excited? Are you nervous? I mean you spend

Multiple years to get To this point. What are you feeling? All of it. All the things. I'm feeling excited. I'm feeling anxious. I'm feeling nervous. I'm feeling hopeful.

And so it's easy when you're prepared. to go into something to feel like now we're we're hopeful that we get a little luck on our side and this thing could be amazing. The Olympic trials Have recently finished up Team USA selecting its members.

You've been through that drill before, but I'm sure every time is different. Are there things that have been memorable to you about this year's trial season? Always. And you know, I think the more each of us gets to know the people Um the the more invested you become in their

success in their journey. And so, you know, I've been in this role now six years and and many of these athletes uh have become friends and people I admire and and people I understand even more about how difficult their journey is. So you get invested in their success for sure. And you know, as you said, it's it's always a little uncertain. And with trials, there are inevitably athletes who will make the team. And achieves for some a first time dream, for others, you know, they're going back.

And there will be those who don't. So it's the trials is it's pretty gut wrenching at times. Are there A any athletes who you had a particular engagement with? During the trials.

Whether it An unexpected surprise or or an unexpected disappointment, like are there there any things that you're You're thinking back on Sometimes the The ones who don't make the team are are the most

are the most gut wrenching. Um and some Some super talented athletes may not make a team. We certainly saw that at the track and field trials in Eugene. Um we had an athlete who who was extraordinary back in Tokyo at the games. Um, who tripped?

In trials and won't be competing in that event here in Paris, despite the fact that arguably she's one of the most talented runners out there. So it happens. Um And it is what makes sport a little unpredictable. Um but it's also fun when you see someone like, you know, the the young sixteen year old um also from track and field, who will be the youngest male ever um on the track and field side of things to make an Olympic team. And I spent a little bit of time with his parents and Um there

You know, they're as wide eyed as he is. Um, so it's it's fun. It's really fun when you when you get a chance to do that. You just got back from the gymnastics trials. Obviously the gymnastics community has dealt with a lot of adversity since the last trials. How did it feel to be there? Were there changes that you saw that you felt? We were in a place.

Not too many years back where we were genuinely evaluating Whether the US Gymnastics Organization could regain the trust of its community. And um this past weekend validated the answer to that unequivocally in my mind, which is they have done that. Um we saw you know, fifteen thousand people in the arena.

eighty percent of them wearing some kind of red, white, and blue team USA, USA gymnastics apparel. And you know, it's a it's a simple metric, but But we don't wear logos of something that we don't believe in. So It's really rewarding to know that um we've learned, we've listened, we've evolved, um, and the community's back. And then we saw some extraordinary performances on the field, which further validates that the things happening in the offices are are doing what they're supposed to be doing. I recently read a blurb from you where you where you were encouraging brands to do more and sponsor more Olympic athletes. Can you explain why you felt the need To say that?

Well, so many um Olympic and paralympic athletes are unknown to us. Particularly in advance of the games, right? Um, we don't see Archery competitions every day on television. I'm always wanting to encourage people to open the aperture. Two

the number of incredible athletes who who are the best in the world at what they do. Um, but just because we don't see them every day, it can be easy not to recognize that they're there. These are individuals who have achieved something Um of being the best at what they do. That Very few people ever achieve in their lifetime. And there's something to be learned from these individuals, and there's value to be garnered from their journeys. And the corporate community can and should leverage that in lots of ways. We tend to see a a small handful of the ones we know the best showing up in TV commercials. And my push is

Broaden your aperture and recognize that you know there's eight hundred athletes who are gonna come to Paris, who've achieved Extraordinary things and let's celebrate all of them. For our listeners who are Looking forward to the Paris games. What

What should we be watching for? Who should we watch for? You know, I was teasing actually my uncle the other day, three hundred and forty six events at the Paris Olympics. That doesn't even count the Paralympics. And the US, if history is any indication, you know, will Probably win.

somewhere north of a hundred metals over seventeen days. So To say what should we watch for? I look at it and say, Well You should at least watch for the hundred plus medals over seventeen days, but that's a lot to s to squeeze in. Certainly, you know. America expects an extraordinary track and field team, an extraordinary swimming team, an extraordinary gymnastics team.

We we love our basketball. Um, we'll have four basketball teams this year, two five on five and two three on three. So I would call out to those who are basketball fans in this country to say, pay special attention to the three on three. It's gonna be a ton of fun. We love volleyball, we love our soccer. You know, the competition around the world is fierce in soccer. So those are hard ones to win for us. So I have to ask you about I saw that Alison Schmidt and Michael Phelps were in

Congress last week talking about drug testing and Some Chinese swimmers testing positive for a performance enhancing drug called I think T M Z without any repercussions. Like h how does that figure into

this sort of sport integrity and how much, you know, everybody can trust that This year's results are gonna be. Fair. Yeah, it's Well, it's maddening, um, to all of us, as you can imagine, to to think that athletes

could be going to Paris without the confidence that they're competing on a level playing field. And so we we have to work hard, um, n not just in the United States, but uh but across the world. To improve a system. um that is in place But is not operating, I would say, at full capacity, and talking about two hundred and six different countries, all of whom are supposed to live up to the same standards. And so it's a it's a difficult proposition.

But it isn't okay um for athletes to be going uncertain about whether they're competing on a on a level and fair playing field. And that's the that's disappointing for sure. There's a certain amount of Trust I guess that It becomes part of it because you can't

Safeguard. Everything you can't test for everything? Yeah, well, that's I mean, you you just used the right the big word. Um, the big word of the day, maybe the big word of the decade, trust. Right, and and to what degree do we and can we trust and who is it that we're relying on to trust. Um We're

Incredibly fortunate in the United States. We have an exceptional anti-doping system and athletes in this country are held to an extraordinarily high standard. And we do have uh violations. It happens. It happens in the United States and it happens in other places. Um, the the trick is to have a system that catches the bad actors and weeds them out of the system and doesn't let them play. And that's what we have to all count on. As as you're talking about The issue of trust. It made me think like

What do you think? this year's games mean for the United States, given where the brand of America is, like globally and domestically right now? Because the Olympics has an impact Beyond just the athletes and the competition. Yeah, it really does. And you know, I I'm not sure I've fulciated that. Six years ago when I took this role.

It is in many ways a you know, it's kind of a microcosm of of a much bigger and broader geopolitical environment. And so Uh we have to be conscious of all of that and celebrate the things that we should celebrate and be conscious and respectful of of the places where we need to be a bit more humble, um, and we need to recognize where leadership is required. But how to do it in a way that that brings others along. Do you feel like one of the goals for you is that Everyone in the world

Including Americans look at the United States. Differently. As a result of the games? And if so, like what would be different? That he would want them to Well look, we wanna unite.

this country around and behind Team USA in the pride of our nation, without a doubt. And I think You know, I say to people, anyone who will listen to me, this is the only team we can all agree on, right? We love our sport in this country. This is the only team we all agree on. This group of Team USA athletes represents the diversity of our country. I hope everyone in the country can see themselves in one of these athletes and be motivated and inspired by that. Um and at the same time

That The way we represent ourselves as a collective team. it reflects well on this country to others around the world. Um it reflects the excellence that we strive for as a country and have been able to achieve in many ways over Decades, arguably hundreds of years, but at the same time respects

that we understand the obligation that comes with that kind of excellence and leadership and that we want to reach out and help others along the way. Mm. I mean it it's always been tricky, I think, the relationship between the US Olympic Paralympic Committee and the athletes, because some athletes use the Olympic platform To advocate. for things for societal issues for change.

But they're also representing the country and not just themselves personally. And you're like the keeper of those guardrails. Like how are you approaching that for Paris this time around? Yes and no. I wouldn't call us a keeper of guardrails, but but we're a facilitator of Of being a bridge between those things, right? Everyone is an individual, and and we want to embrace and celebrate who each of these team USA athletes is as an individual and what they care about and what matters. While at the same time

Demonstrating what it can mean to be Very individualistic and part of a team at the same time. Oh. We view it as our obligation.

To help athletes understand the ramifications of decisions they might be making. We are guests at the Olympic Games, just like every other country. Um, we get an invitation, and that invitation comes and says, We'd like you to send a delegation of US athletes to these games as our guest. And we, of course, accept that invitation. And when we accept that invitation, we also agree to to be guests of that organization. And we have to abide by the rules and the the framework that they set out.

And there are ramifications if you don't. And so our job isn't to tell athletes what they can and can't do. Our job is to help them understand. the ramifications of different decisions they might want to make. And so they can make informed decisions. And We also want to celebrate who they are as people and what matters to them in the avenues that we have to do that. And I'm in the the best example I can think of is we have a number of athlete mothers. And we've really done a lot to celebrate and let those women talk about what it means to be an athlete mother, in some ways the beauty of it, and in many ways the challenges that they see and the gaps in society around what that is, and whether it's healthcare or

you know child care um or stigmas around being an athlete mother Those are stories we we want and we encourage them to tell. While Olympians aren't employees of the US Olympic Committee, this idea that Sarah's talking about mirrors so much of what we've discussed in recent months on Rapid Response, the delicate balance in a company culture to encourage self-expression and being yourself. While also maintaining cohesion and brand unity, it's not simple stuff. After the break, Sarah gives us a sneak peek into preparations for the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028 and why the recent changes to NCAA sports could, as she says, crumble the very fabric of collegiate sports as we know it.

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Building. Creative planning where wealth works together. Learn more at creative plating dot com slash masters of scale. Hey listeners, Bob here. If you listen to Rapid Response on Masters of Scale, you may be missing half the show because every Friday we release a second Rapid Response exclusively in the Rapid Response feed. The guests and topics are just as compelling and timely for From Ford CEO to NASA's administrator to the lessons from The Devil Wears Prada. It takes about 10 seconds to find, just search rapid response wherever you listen to podcasts and hit follow to make sure you never miss an episode.

I hope to see you there. Humans will never be more intelligent than AI. Those were great at AI and those that went out of business because they weren't. How do we build a future? That is human centered. I'm Rana El Chayubi.

And on my podcast Pioneers of AI, we answer that question and so many more. As an AI scientist, entrepreneur, and investor, I know what it takes to build AI that works for everyone. Every week I sit down with the pioneers shaping our future. And we take you behind the scenes of the AI that's transforming our lives. Find pioneers of AI wherever you tune in. Before the break, CEO of the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee Sarah Hirschland gave us a preview of what to expect at the Paris Games. Now, Sarah takes us inside planning for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, how the changing model for collegiate sports will impact the Olympics and America more broadly, and what will define success for Team USA this summer.

Let's jump back in. The next Olympics twenty twenty eight will be in Los Angeles. When you get to host. Now I now I know that's still a ways off, but are are there things that you're Looking to learn. From

how the Paris games unfold, are there things you want to test? Like how how much do you you use this as a lens for what you're gonna do? Four years from now. Enormously. We'll test a million things in Paris, um, across every aspect of the organization. We don't get the luxury of a a a cycle of of test and learns. Um, we have these four year cycles. So For us, we try to cram a lot of newness into each games, and then we we have to learn as much as we can and and we'll deploy that in Los Angeles.

All of that is to say we'll learn a lot in Paris. But to have a game's on home soil. is a completely different animal. We'll use every minute of the next four years to get ourselves and more importantly the country um ready to really embrace what it will be to have these games on On US soil again.

Yeah, I as as you're talking, it sounds like There's pressure around the Paris games, for sure for the athletes and for the team and for you. But compared to thinking about twenty twenty eight, like It's easier in some ways. Does it like when you when you look ahead to twenty twenty, it's a little bit like of a a lump in your throat, like oh boy. We really gotta hit the ball hard there.

Hundred percent. It's just more. I mean, you you can go to a cocktail party at someone else's house and you you still wanna have a lovely time. You wanna look nice, you wanna be a good guest. That's a little bit different than having a cocktail party at your own house. We look at it more from the perspective of how do we galvanize the support of the country.

How are we growing our fan fan base here at home? What can we learn? around how we're preparing athletes and teams for these games that's gonna make us even better. And you know We know that in Los Angeles we'll have the largest Delegation, the largest team the US has ever fielded for a games.

And you wanna make sure that Um, you know, if you're if you're gonna if you're gonna show up to play that you're prepared to win. I wanted to ask you about Uh Shifting NCAA financial model for college athletes. It's kind of a new complication. And I'm curious, as you look ahead.

to future games in twenty twenty eight or otherwise, like this Paying of college athletes and the bridging of amateur and Professional. What kind of impact do you think that's gonna have on On the teams and on sport.

Бродли, і едукачин баст систем. Is what created the success of sport in this country. And um that started in elementary schools and high schools, and you know, we always grew up with the opportunity to learn and participate in sport. The college system accelerated that to the elite. And created incredible opportunities for athletes, and that's been

you know, it's the envy of the world. And that that system is being challenged and threatened in ways that that we all have to be paying attention to. To anyone who will listen, we are saying don't don't lose sight of the importance of broad based sport on two things. Number one, team USA. And the development of our elite athletes in this country and two

uh the health of youth sport Because so many young people Are participating in new sport with the idea that one day they might be a collegiate athlete. And if the collegiate system crumbles, Youth Sport will suffer and Team USA will suffer. Um, and the development of human beings will suffer because sport is such an important part of the development of young people. And what you're worried about crumbling if I can just

make sure I understand it is that as Dollars have to flow. to a to certain kinds of athletes because y y that there won't be as much support for the broad group of of collegiate athletes that aren't those essentially superstars.

The revenue from collegiate athletic departments is coming predominantly from football programs. And as those football players begin to share in that revenue stream, which By the way, we support athlete sharing in the revenue. that the the challenge will be that the the incremental funds now get pulled away from supporting the fencing team and the rowing team and the baseball team.

And and and when you have those discussions with the NCA with colleges, because the the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee has has always had a degree of influence in collegiate sports. When you have those conversations What do you hear back? Well, we're all working together to try to identify what the new model will look like.

We have conversations with athletic directors at the s at the institution level, with the conference commissioners. And with the NCAA to create a a transformed model that will allow for broad based sport on campus while at the same time. providing um greater benefits to those athletes who are contributing to the economic sort of machine that college football has become. And so we're all in conversations thinking about how you do this. And so what is the

the transition gonna look like We need to preserve the opportunity for athletes to generate earnings. Undoubtedly. While at the same time. Ensuring that there is some sense of structure that provides for both competitive

Equity and parity, that that's what makes sports interesting. But also protects the very athletes that we're trying to to foster and develop. So you've been at the helm of the US Olympic and Paralympic in the for five years. Your contract was just renew through twenty twenty nine. Congratulations. Thank you. Thank you. Um W what surprised you the most over the first five years?

Looking back, um, of course Looking backward always comes with a much greater degree of clarity than than when you're in it. Um but looking back was You know, was a time of Reacting to the circumstances around us.

You know, we were sitting amidst a crisis of this reckoning around abuse in sport. We were sitting in um a a time that was gonna require significant change and listening to the world outside.

And we needed to be reacting to that. And That's one kind of leadership and one kind of sort of environment to operate in. Looking at the next five years, we're now really nicely positioned where we're calling the plays. Um, you know, I describe it to my team as we're we're playing offense now. And that It's a different kind of leadership. It it in some ways it puts more pressure on you, but it's way more fun. It's quite likely here. Later this month.

That the IOC will award the United States the twenty thirty-four winter games back in Salt Lake City. Um which will put us at a place where from twenty twenty four to twenty thirty four We'll host both the summer and winter games, and it will be a a pretty extraordinary decade of sport. So we're looking at this and saying in the next ten years we have an opportunity to reset What this broad base of sport means in this country.

Funding is such a A critical part of being able to do that, having the resources behind it. How much of the next five years is about thinking about The funding model, the business model. differently and what like where might you go with that?

Well, that's I mean, you you've you've hit the nail on the head, right? We have to grow. the four year period between now and LA will be a critical, critical window uh for us to reinvent how we think about generating resources for Team USA, both philanthropic, which has become An increasingly significant part of our revenue. And also the business community.

um on the commercial side and that's a that's a value exchange that You know it's incumbent upon us to create Great value for those businesses to be engaged and affiliated with us? Taking advantage of these big moments when there are games, but also figuring out how to stay in the conversation.

And create value and create opportunity. In those Quieter periods. Two, right? That's exactly right. There's a three hundred and sixty five day a year journey that all of these athletes are on, and there are heat moments, and we have to think about sustaining that energy through all of it.

What Will define success for Team USA in Paris. Well, the number of medals is an easy one. And so I I won't deny that we'll be paying close attention to that. We certainly will. We'll also look at the engagement of of the American public across all the typical measures you would look at as as a marketer. Certainly our partners at NBC will be watching viewership metrics as as everybody would. There are digital metrics and social metrics. And then some of the what I'll describe as maybe a little bit softer metrics, but we talked a lot about the integrity of sport and competition. And so

you know, we'll evaluate the extent to which this experience for team USA athletes feels fair and does it feel inclusive and does it feel safe? Um, and are there measures around sort of that healthy sport culture that we can point to and say Uh, is this going in the right direction as it relates to those things, which which matter? Sarah, this is this has been great. Thank you so much for doing it. It's my pleasure. And um to you and all your listeners, go team USA. Ha ha ha. Sarah is a great example of a leader juggling what you can control versus what's out of your control.

Her role comes with a lot of stakeholders, a lot of people to keep happy. She understands that to set yourself up for success, you need to prepare as much as possible. But crucially, that also means preparing for inevitable disappointments, that things won't always go according to plan. and you'll likely need to make some instinctual game time decisions. This I think is a great model for everyone in the business world. Just like Team USA, we should all be developing our own winning mindset. And even when we don't take home gold. to learn lessons that will make us better in the future. I'm Bob Saphion.

Thanks for listening. Rapid response is a wait what original. I'm Bob Safian. Our executive producer is Eve Tro. Our producer is Alex Morris. Assistant producer is Masha Maku Tonina. Mixing and mastering by Aaron Bastanelli.

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