UCCS represented on Team USA

UPDATE: After this article was published UCCS alumni Clarissa Chun won the bronze medal in women’s 48 kg/105.5 lb freestyle wrestling.

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While Colorado Springs is no stranger to the Olympics, most people settle for touring the Olympic Training Center and watching the Games on TV. Three UCCS community members have taken their Olympic experience to the next level.

Frank Thompson, a 2011 graduate, participated in men’s skeet shooting. In his first Olympic qualifying round, Thompson scored 71 out of 75 and finished seventh overall.

Clarissa Chun, a 2005 graduate, will compete in the women’s 48 kg/105.5 lb freestyle wrestling qualifiers at 1 p.m. Aug. 8. The women’s freestyle finale will take place at 5:45 p.m. Aug. 8. In 2008, Chun became the first wrestler from Hawaii to represent the United States at the Beijing Olympic Games where she finished fifth overall.

Matt Emmons, a 2006 graduate, won bronze  in men’s 50 meter rifle, the fourth and final medal for USA Shooting at the London Games. Emmons is no stranger to the Olympics, having earned the silver medal in the men’s 50-meter rifle competition in the 2008 Beijing Games, and a gold medal in the 2004 Athens Games.

Nanna Meyer, assistant professor, Beth-El College of Nursing and Health Sciences, recently returned from London where she helped prepare the Olympic Village for the athletes’ arrival.

As the senior sport dietitian for the U.S. Olympic Committee, Meyer and her team are responsible for making sure athletes have the food they need to compete. This included finding local sources for food, setting up recovery stations throughout the multiple Olympic villages and included developing menus that meet the nutritional needs of U.S. athletes.

“We try and provide a place where athletes can have access to safe, performance-based meals, and culturally diverse foods,” Meyer said. “Being part of such a massive project has been amazing.”

Meyer initially became involved with meal service at the 1998 Nagano Winter Games. Since 1999, she has served as the U.S. Speed Skating Team’s sports dietitian and participated in Salt Lake City in 2002, Torino in 2006 and Vancouver in 2010.

Meyer uses her ties with the U.S. Olympic Committee to help further her student’s experience in sports nutrition.

“It’s always been my dream to allow students the opportunity to work with such elite sports and athletes,” Meyer said. “Working with the USOC is a natural collaboration.”

While the London Games continue until Aug. 17, Meyer’s attention has already turned to the 2014 Sochi Winter Games.

“We only have about a year and a half until Sochi,” said Meyer. “It’s exciting, but it’s going to be very challenging.”

Photos courtesy of Nanna Meyer