★ The Sports Examiner: Chronicling the key competitive, economic and political forces shaping elite sport and the Olympic Movement.★
★ To get the daily Sports Examiner Recap by e-mail: sign up here! ★
≡ THE ROSEN REPORT ≡
U.S. Olympic medal winners who visit the Winter House, the American hospitality center in Milan for figure skating, hockey and speed skating, receive a “Medal Care Kit,” courtesy of the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Museum.
While this kit can’t fix a broken medal like Breezy Johnson‘s – “I was jumping in excitement and it broke” – said the Downhill champ, it can prevent wear and tear.
“At the Museum, we often see athletes bring their medal with them,” said Lindsay Flanagan Huban, the Museum’s chief content & integration officer. “They pull it out of a pocket, and say, ‘Oh, I keep it in a shoebox, I keep it in a sock drawer.’ Bonnie Blair will pull hers out of a pocket and put it around peoples’ necks. They get sort of worn after a while.”
Museum archival specialist Oriana Va’I had the idea to put together the proactive kits which have, Huban said, “everything an athlete needs to take care of and preserve their piece of history.”
There’s an acid-free archival box so the medal won’t tarnish, foam to wrap the ribbon so it doesn’t crease, acid-free tissue paper, and “because we are a museum, of course we’re going to give you a pair of white gloves,” Huban said.
A lint-free wipe, also included, is the only thing an athlete should use to clean a medal because solvents or soap and water will damage it.
“We have not done anything like this before and there has been a lot of interest, not just from current members of Team USA, but athletes who competed, 15, 20, 50 years ago,” Huban said, noting the Museum has gotten emails from athletes who aren’t in Milan. “We’re really pleased to be able to offer this.”
The museum brought 50 kits and could run out if both U.S. hockey teams reach the podium.
For now, each medal-winning athlete has received one kit and the museum is happy to ship more. Blair, who won five speed skating golds and a bronze in her Olympic career, has already requested five more boxes.
The kit also includes a loan and donation card if the athlete is inclined down the road to remember the Museum.
The Winter House, set unobtrusively in a Milan hotel with heavy security outside, is sponsored by Starbucks and is one of the most exclusive tickets in the Olympic city. Olympic athletes, their families, sponsors, donors and guests, including entertainers Marisa Tomei and Jeff Goldblum, have enjoyed the warm atmosphere reminiscent of a lounge from the last century during nightly watch parties.
Sponsored by Starbucks, the original plan was to call it the Ice House because the three sports are all played on ice. However, the name was changed because of its similarity to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement acronym.
The capacity is about 300 a night. “Some people who have come in have enjoyed it so much that they want to come back,” Huban said.
Besides the Starbucks cafe, drinks are served from “Boitano’s Lounge,” created by 1988 Olympic figure skating champion Brian Boitano. For entertainment, he has conversed with a large stuffed ostrich in the Winter House.
Athletes who visit sign a panel like the ones that cover the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Museum. Besides Winter Olympians, gymnastics icon Simone Biles, Olympic swim star Mary T. Meagher and rugby player Ilona Maher have swung by to hobnob.
There are photos of current American athletes on the wall and they sign them when they visit.
The Winter House has celebrated the 50th anniversary of the 1976 Innsbruck Winter Olympics with gold medalists Dorothy Hamill and Sheila Young and the 20th anniversary of the 2006 Turin Games with U.S. stars Sasha Cohen, Apolo Ohno, Ben Agosto and Rusty Smith.
As part of its display, the Museum brought three torches that rest in a case: 1984 Los Angeles, because L.A. is hosting the next Olympics; 2022 Beijing, the previous Winter Games, and 2024 Paris, the previous Summer Games.
“We pull out either L.A. or Beijing every evening,” Huban said. “We let people put on some gloves – and it’s two hands on the torch at all times. They take a photo, make a memory. It’s been super popular.”
A Milan Cortina torch and set of medals have been promised and they will be installed soon at the Museum.
“The Museum is just so pleased to have the opportunity to connect with the athletes and introduce ourselves if they don’t know us yet,” Huban said.
¶
★ Receive our exclusive, weekday TSX Recap by e-mail by clicking here.
★ Sign up a friend to receive the TSX Recap by clicking here.
★ Please consider a donation here to keep this site going.
For our updated, 45-sport, 910-event International Sports Calendar for 2026 and beyond, by date and by sport, click here!
