Honolulu Last Stop on Road to Tokyo

COLORADO SPRINGS (May 6, 2021) – USA Weightlifting (USAW) has announced plans to set up a training base in Hawaii to give its athletes the best possible preparation and support before and during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

The Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee has invoked strict protocols for the Games, limiting the number of administrators, supplementary staff and athlete entourage that can attend the events in Japan.

The USAW Hawaii Strong Camp, powered by NBH Bank, will give athletes and their coaches the chance to train in a secure bubble with world-class support staff as well as giving friends and family the chance to be together to support the athletes.

USAW Paris 2024 Olympic Hopefuls will also be given the chance to sample the Olympic experience, something that would have been too costly had the original Tokyo plans been possible, with the program designed to give Olympic hopefuls a taste of what final Olympic preparation entails, a facility extended to Mattie Rogers and Marissa Klingseis during the 2016 Olympic Games.

“The past 12 months or so have been very hard on our athletes and their teams and with Tokyo now approaching, USA Weightlifting wanted to do everything to give them the best experience while representing our country," USA Weightlifting CEO Phil Andrews said. 

“We want to provide the optimum preparation for our Olympians and setting up camp in Hawaii makes perfect sense, given its relative proximity to Japan," Andrews said.  “Our athletes will fly to Tokyo in good time to get acclimatized and will be supported with advice from our sleep expert Dr. Jeff Durmer MD to give them the best possible preparation.

“The concept in Hawaii is very similar to the original Tokyo Strong House, powered by NBH Bank and will mean that friends and family can enjoy a relatively similar experience to our original intent of Tokyo, watching the Olympic Games together as a group,” Andrews said.

The model will follow the USOPC’s High Performance Training Center concept and everyone attending the USAW Camp will follow strict bubble protocols, inclusive of regular testing of all individuals participating, and before they leave for Tokyo.

USAW anticipates being in Hawaii from early July through August 4, when Weightlifting ends at the Games. The Camp will be located at the 'Alohilani Resort Waikiki Beach, with easy access to Honolulu Airport with direct access into Tokyo.

A fundraising initiative will also be run under the Tokyo Strong: Worth The Weight (Hawaii Edition) banner, building on USA Weightlifting’s successful Tokyo Strong initiative designed to give athletes all the tools they need. USA Weightlifting wishes to extend its’ thanks to existing donors to the Tokyo Strong program.

USA Weightlifting expects to name its nominations to the U.S. Olympic Team later this month.