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USOC Pays Tribute to Bob Mathias with Dedication
By USOC.Staff // U.S. Olympic Committee // June 21, 2007
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) will pay tribute to Bob Mathias, the first director of the Colorado Springs-based U.S. Olympic Training Center, on June 22 when the Pan Am Conference Center will be renamed in Mathias’ honor as part of the USOC’s Olympic Day festivities. The ceremony will be held at 11:00 a.m. on the Irwin Belk Olympic Pathway on the west side of the conference center.
A two-time Olympian, Mathias won a gold medal in decathlon at the 1948 Olympic Games at the age of 17. That same year, he was honored as the nation’s top amateur athlete when he was named the recipient of the Sullivan Award. Four years later, Mathias became the first athlete to win consecutive Olympic decathlons. He also competed in the 1952 Rose Bowl as a fullback for Stanford University making him the only person to compete in an Olympic Games and a Rose Bowl in the same year.
Mathias became an officer in the Marine Corps following his graduation from Stanford. Additionally, he acted in several motion pictures and served four terms in Congress. In 1978, he led the groundbreaking and construction of the Olympic Training Center, now the USOC headquarters in Colorado Springs, as the director. Mathias made countless contributions to the USOC during his leadership tenure.
USOC Chief Executive Officer Jim Scherr will join Gwen Mathias, Bob’s wife, and other honored guests for the dedication. A barbeque for USOC and National Governing Body team members will be held following the dedication ceremony to celebrate Olympic Day.
Details about the dedication are as follows:
What: Bob Mathias Conference Center dedication
When: Friday, June 22, 2007 - 11:00 a.m.
Where: Irwin Belk Olympic Pathway outside the current Pan Am Conference Center (west side)
Attendees: USOC Chief Executive Officer Jim Scherr, Gwen Mathias (Bob’s wife), Dick Fosbury (Athletics, ’68), Diane French (Volleyball, ’80), John Colbrunn (former USOC Director of Sports Operations under Bob Mathias), Baaron Pittenger (former USOC Executive Director), Will Brady (Resident Athlete, Modern Pentathlon)
Media interested in attending the dedication should contact Nicole Saunches at 719.866.2236 or Nicole.Saunches@usoc.org.
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