Colorado Springs stands as a beacon for elite athletes from around the world and with its proximity to the Rocky Mountains, it’s no surprise so many of them call this bustling city home. With one of the most prestigious Olympic training facilities in the United States, aspiring champions come here to push their limits and chase their dreams.
The Olympic Training Center
The Colorado Springs Olympic & Paralympic Training Center (CSOPTC) isn’t just a facility; it’s a launchpad for Team USA athletic excellence. With state-of-the-art equipment, world-class coaching, and cutting-edge sports science, the center provides a comprehensive environment for athletes to excel.
The sprawling complex includes a range of amenities: an Olympic-size swimming pool, and several gymnasiums for athletes to work on training and conditioning, wrestling, and boxing.
The velodrome is the official training venue for the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic cycling teams. With a 333.3-meter banked cement cycling track, it is one of the fastest velodromes in the world. The Aquatic Center is a 45,000 square foot space with a 50 x 25-meter swimming pool that contains 909,000 gallons of water.
Sports physiologists are on site to help athletes improve their training methods and the Athlete Performance Zone features a high-altitude training center designed to help athletes train and sleep at altitudes ranging from sea level to 24,000 feet.
A Melting Pot of Talent
Approximately 15,000 athletes from various disciplines converge on Colorado Springs each year, creating a dynamic environment filled with diverse talent. Track and field stars including Leonard Korir, wrestlers, swimmers, and even winter sports athletes like bobsledders and figure skaters all train here, fostering an atmosphere of camaraderie and fierce competition.
Kaleigh Washington (volleyball), Mallory Swanson (soccer), and Colin Duffy (sport climbing) all train in Colorado Springs. Paralympic athletes Jataya Taylor (wheelchair fencing) and Howie Sanborn (paratriathlon) also train at the facility.
Stories of Triumph and Dedication
The CSOPTC is not just about equipment and facilities; it’s about the incredible stories of the athletes who train there. The journey for athletes like Kaleigh Washington, a member of the U.S. Women’s National Volleyball Team since 2018, take place here. She was named the Best Middle Blocker at the Tokyo Games and calls Colorado Springs her hometown. She recently received a silver medal in the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
Similarly, paralympic athletes like Jataya Taylor who hails from Aurora and placed 15th in Individual Foil A-Women in Paris, also trained at the facility. This was her first time competing as a Paralympian. Howie Sanborn is a retired U.S. Army veteran who served for 15 years as an Airborne Ranger. He’s from New Hampshire, but has put down roots in Colorado Springs.
A distracted driver hit Sanborn while he was cycling, paralyzing him from the waist down. Seven months after he was injured, he competed in his first triathlon as a wheelchair athlete and recently competed in the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris, finishing ninth.
Winter athletes also find their place at the center. Bobsledders, Para Alpine Skiers, Figure Skaters, and Para Snowboarders for example, benefit from the facility’s Resident Program allowing them to live on-complex in the resident dormitories, or off-complex within the Colorado Springs community.
Looking to the Future
As athletes continue to push the boundaries of what’s possible, the CSOPTC remains at the forefront of innovation in sports training. The facility is constantly evolving, incorporating new technologies and methodologies to stay ahead of the curve. With each new generation of athletes, Colorado Springs reinforces its status of excellence through the stories of triumph and perseverance that emerge from the center.
In Colorado Springs, the pursuit of gold is more than a goal; it’s a way of life.
