COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.—Olympic gold-medal gymnast Peter Vidmar has been selected chief of mission for the 2012 U.S. Olympic team.
Vidmar, who won two gold medals at the 1984 Olympics, will be the liaison officer for the American team in its dealings with the International Olympic Committee and local organizers.
The 49-year-old Vidmar is chairman of USA Gymnastics. He scored a perfect 10 on the pommel horse at the Los Angeles Olympics and helped the United States to the team gold medal.
“I’m here to represent all the athletes, that’s for sure,” Vidmar said. “But I hope to make the gymnastics community proud by doing this, as well.”
Also Thursday, the USOC chose track and field paralympian Aimee Mullins as the chief of mission for the Paralympics, which will be held after the London Olympics.
Vidmar and Mullins will be among the very few non-competitors who will get to march into the stadium with the U.S. athletes at the Opening Ceremony.
“I remember that experience vividly,” Vidmar said. “When I marched into the stadium in L.A., that’s the moment I truly realized I was an Olympian. I had been so busy preparing and trying to be the best athlete I could be that when I marched in and saw the crowd, it hit me that everything I trained for had come to fruition.”
The Opening Ceremony takes place July 27, 2012.
