Palermo completes whirlwind experience managing media for U.S. team at Olympics
Cycling has taken Angelina Palermo a long way.
A former collegiate national champion, the former Butler resident, now living in Colorado Springs while working for USA Cycling, recently spent three weeks in Tokyo handling and coordinating media coverage for the USA cycling team.
Palermo, 25, wasn't done there.
“We had some world tournaments in The Netherlands and Italy right after the Olympics,” Palermo said. “I was gone for a month and a half before I got home.
“Tiring ... but it was all worth it.”
Because there are so many different disciplines involved in cycling, Palermo and the U.S. cycling team stayed at the Olympics for the duration.
And there were long days involved.
“Not all of the (cycling) events were right in Tokyo,” Palermo said. “For the road race, time trials and mountain bike races, we had to travel two and a half hours from our hotel in Tokyo to the venue in Ibu.
“Obviously, that wasn't an ideal situation for our athletes to compete at their best.”
Eventually, Palermo, the U.S. and all of the cycling teams were given hotel accommodations in Ibu.
“That was pretty cool,” Palmero admitted. “There we were, all of the best mountain bikers in the world, all staying at one hotel. All of us in the cafeteria together was interesting.”
Palermo's stay in Tokyo didn't give her much time for sightseeing. She got up at 6 a.m. every day and didn't get to bed until 10 p.m. Depending on her workload, those nights could extend to 2 a.m.
That was Palermo's schedule for 21 consecutive days.
Overall, there were 22 events covering five different cycling disciplines at the Olympics. Cycling medal presentations took place every day but one.
“It was pretty hectic ... extremely busy,” Palermo said.
While Great Britain and The Netherlands dominated the cycling competition with 12 medals each, the United States did land three medals in the sport. Jennifer Valente won gold in the women's omnium and was a member of the Americans' women's team pursuit quartet that claimed a bronze medal.
Hannah Roberts won a silver medal in the women's BMX freestyle.
“This was the first year BMX freestyle was in the Olympics, so there was a lot of (media) interest there,” Palermo said. “Hannah went on NBC's Today Show and I coordinated that, went with her to the set. It was exciting.
“Jennifer crashed during her final race, got up and still finished with enough points to win her gold medal. That was our first Olympic gold. Just seeing a triumph like that was amazing.”
Palermo served as a resource for the media, connecting them to the athletes, setting up interviews before and after races.
The entire time, she took mental and physical notes.
“This was my first Olympics and I plan to be there in much the same role in Paris in 2024,” she said. “I learned a lot through this experience.
“For me, it's all about getting better and doing better next time around.”
