Episode summary
How a 'Mediocre Athlete' Became the Head of the U.S. Olympic Committee | At Barron's
At Barron's
· · Hosts: Andy Serwer · Guests: Sarah Hirshland
Summary
Sarah Hirshland explains how the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee is structured differently from most national Olympic bodies: it is a privately funded, 501(c)(3) organization with no direct government money, responsible for fielding Team USA rather than hosting the Games. She says the organization runs on a four-year cycle and expects about $1.5 billion in revenue over that period, with roughly 75% from sponsorships, licensing, content and broadcast rights, and about 25% from philanthropy.
She also lays out the road to Milan-Cortina in February and Los Angeles 2028. Team selection is still underway, with only about a dozen athletes already confirmed by name for the Winter Games. For LA 2028, she expects private financing, heavy ticket and hospitality revenue, and close coordination with federal, state and city officials on security and logistics. She says the Trump administration has been supportive and sees the event as a chance to showcase the U.S. as a host country.
Hirshland argues that the Olympics are evolving through new sports like cricket, lacrosse, baseball-softball and flag football, while the movement continues to wrestle with doping, Russia’s suspension after the invasion of Ukraine, and unsettled transgender eligibility rules. Her core theme is fairness: she says the goal is to protect equal competition while keeping the Games globally relevant and commercially strong.
Key takeaways
- Hirshland says the USOPC is privately funded and expects about $1.5 billion in four-year-cycle revenue, with 75% from commercial rights and 25% from philanthropy.
- She says only about a dozen athletes are locked in for the Winter Games so far, leaving the next 100 days crucial for team selection.
- She expects LA 2028 to rely heavily on ticketing and hospitality, with roughly 10 million tickets sold and no direct federal financial support.
- Hirshland says Russia remains suspended because it invaded Ukraine during the Olympic truce period.
- She frames doping and transgender eligibility as fairness issues that still lack consistent global rules across sports.
Notable quotes
“Our responsibility in our organization is to field the United States team in these global competitions that we know as the Olympic and Parolympic games”
“our over a four-year period, we'll we'll have about a billion and a half in revenue”
“we're entirely privately funded. So about 75% of that revenue will come from what is standard commercial”
“there is a huge qualification sort of pathway unique to each sport”
“The Trump administration has been really clear and supportive that they want this to be an opportunity to show the world that we're a great host country”
How the episode opens
Hello everyone and welcome to At Barrens. I'm Andy Stwart and welcome to our guest Sarah Hland who is the CEO of the US Olympic and Parolympic Committee. Sarah, welcome.
Nice to see you. Thank you so much for having me. It's great to be with you.
So, first of all, can you explain the structure a little bit of how the Olympics in the United States works? Absolutely. Obviously, we're one of 205 countries around the world.
Our responsibility in our organization is to field the United States team in these global competitions that we know as the Olympic and Parolympic games. Um, different from actually hosting the games which in Los Angeles in 2028, we will do again. Last time we hosted a games here was 2002.
There is an organizing committee in Los Angeles who's responsible for executing holding the games in this country. We're responsible for the United States team, right? And so there's the the parolympic committee and the Olympic Committee are sort of under your opaces.
Two different entities, right? We're an integrated organization, but they are two different global movements, if you will. They're two different global sort of ecosystems.
Um we operate both in this country and we're one of the only countries in the world that does that. Right. And there's some other differences between the US Olympic Committee and Olympic Committees in other countries as well.
For instance, government support. That's right. Talk about that distinction, please.
Generally speaking, um, governments around the world have something that they'll define as a sport ministry or a government agency that ultimately regulates sport in that country. In our country, that doesn't exist. Um, and therefore, we we are an entirely private and privately funded um organizing body for uh the global sports ecosystem, different than the rest of the world.
From the episode’s captions: roughly the first two minutes, lightly cleaned. Keep watching on YouTube →
Topics
- la plans
- flag football
- doping scandals
- russia
- olympic committee leadership
Companies and tickers mentioned
- U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee
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Summary, takeaways and quote selection by Octagon. Quotes are short excerpts; the full conversation is in the episode.
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