Living An American Dream
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Two years ago, Angelina Palermo accepted her dream job, far from home.
Now that job has presented her a dream experience, far from this country.
A former Butler resident who accepted a position with USA Cycling in 2019, Palermo leaves Monday with the U.S. cycling team for the 2021 Olympic Games in Tokyo.
Though she won a national championship in the downhill dual slalom, while competing for Marian University in Indianapolis, Palermo is not headed to the Olympics as a competitor.
She will be handling and coordinating the media coverage for the U.S. cycling team.
“This is something I sort of fell into,” Palmero said.
Upon graduating from Marian, Palermo, 25, accepted a marketing position in Pittsburgh. Though she was one of the top collegiate female cyclists in the country, she opted not to pursue a spot on the Olympic team.But it didn't take her long to return to the sport.Palermo saw an opening in the USA Cycling organization and applied online.“I never thought I'd get it, to be honest,” she said. “I was pretty young. But I think my background in the sport helped me.“I had competed in virtually all of the phases of cycling. I'm as familiar with the sport as anyone, I suppose.”Two months after moving to Colorado Springs to begin her tenure with USA Cycling, Palermo received an unexpected surprise. Kelly Fox, who she was working under, was set to go to the Olympics as the media coordinator for the U.S. team.Fox accepted a similar position with USA Diving, however, putting the Olympic opportunity in Palermo's lap.“Kelly asked me if I wanted to go to Tokyo,” Palermo said. “I couldn't say yes fast enough.”Cycling is one of few Olympic sports that goes on throughout the duration of the Games. That means Palermo will have an extended stay in Tokyo.“Opening ceremonies are July 23 and I won't be leaving to come home until Aug. 8,” she said.She will be busy most of the time. Cycling is broken down into numerous disciplines: BMX, cyclocross, downhill, mountain biking, road cycling, etc.“It's going to be pretty crazy,” Palermo admitted. “Since I've never done this, I'm not sure exactly what to expect. I've been preparing, but you never totally know what you're up against until you experience it.”Palermo recalled her initial meeting with NBC and “how strange that felt.” She's since been meeting with the network (that will broadcast the Games) on a routine basis and “it feels pretty normal.”She also knows many of the members of the U.S. cycling team through her own competitive experiences.“She's around the same age as most of them, so she's competed with or against a lot of them,” her father, Ron Palermo, said.He added that his daughter has had opportunities to move over to other sports organizations since moving to Colorado Springs.She's spurned them all.“Most of the USA team organizations are in Colorado Springs,” he said. “But they're not cycling. If it's not cycling, Angelina doesn't want it.“A lot of people aren't totally committed to the industry they're in. She is.”Since the Olympic athletes and officials from each country will not be permitted to go out to eat — due to the increasing COVID-19 pandemic in Japan — Palmermo is bringing much of her own food with her.Meals will be provided in the Olympic village, but the cycling events will cover a lot of geographic territory around the city.“The downhill might be two hours west of the city, the cyclocross an hour north ... There may be times Angelina doesn't get back in time to eat that meal,” her father said. “She may be eating in her room quite a bit and has to make sure she's able to feed herself.”Regardless, Palermo doesn't expect this to be her one and only Olympics. She doesn't figure to be leaving USA Cycling anytime soon.“My experience this year will make me that much more prepared for Paris in 2024, then Los Angeles after that ... I hope to be doing this for a long time,” she said.Ron Palermo competed in motorcycle races at the national level from 1998 through 2000. He and his wife, Cheryl, began riding bicycles as a means of staying in shape.He used to put 3-year-old Angelina in a seat in front of his bike to take her riding with him.“My parents used to go on long bike rides and leave me home,” Angelina Palermo recalled. “After a while, I asked them why. Then I started coming along.“I've loved this sport my entire life.”“I never thought she'd be able to land a career in cycling,” her father said. “I know her passion for it. I'm thrilled for her.”And Angelina has an ulterior motive concerning the Olympics.“These Games will publicize cycling a lot more and I get to coordinate that publicity,” she said. “It's not about the gold medals for me.“It's about getting more people on bikes. That's really the goal.”
