The United States of America has sent many athletes to the celebrations of the Olympic Games, starting with the first modern Olympics held in 1896. Athletes representing the United States have participated in every Olympic Games with the exception of the 1980 Summer Olympics, during which it led a boycott in protest of the Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan. The United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) is the National Olympic Committee for the United States.
Francis Olympic Field of Washington University in St. Louis, site of the 1904 Olympic Games. The 1904 Summer Olympics in St. Louis, Missouri were the first Olympic Games held outside of Europe.
Several members of America's first Olympic team in 1896. Standing: T.E. Burke, Thomas P. Curtis, Ellery H. Clark. Seated: W.W. Hoyt, Sumner Paine, trainer John Graham, John B. Paine, Arthur C. Blake.
Margaret Abbott competing in golf. Abbott was the first American woman to win an Olympic event.
The United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) is the National Olympic Committee (NOC) and the National Paralympic Committee for the United States. It was founded in 1895 and is headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The USOPC is one of only four NOCs in the world that also serve as the National Paralympic Committee for their country. The USOPC is responsible for supporting, entering and overseeing U.S. teams for the Olympic Games, Paralympic Games, Youth Olympic Games, Pan American Games, and Parapan American Games and serves as the steward of the Olympic and Paralympic Movements in the United States.
U.S. Olympic Committee headquarters in Colorado Springs, Colorado
The grounds of the training facilities in Colorado Springs