PARIS — From the City of Love to the City of Angels, planning for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics is well underway and organizers are paying close attention to what’s worked, and what hasn’t, so far in Paris. It will be LA’s third time hosting the Olympics — the last time was 40 years ago — and first time hosting the Paralympic Games. Janet Evans remembers sitting in the stands at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum during the opening ceremony for the 1984 Summer Olympics as a 12-year-old.
“I remember watching those athletes march out behind their country’s flags in their beautiful opening ceremony uniforms and thinking, ‘I want to do that,’” Evans said. That was before she went on to win four gold medals and set world records as a U.S.
Olympic swimmer. Now, as chief athlete officer for LA2028, the organizing committee bringing the games to LA, she is focused on giving a voice to athletes and their concerns. “Having lived in three Olympic Villages and having competed in three Olympic Games, .
.. it’s really important to understand what the athletes are experiencing,” Evans said.
Much of the focus will be on hearing from athletes about their concerns after the Games are over. But Evans said some of the concerns that have been floated in the last few weeks — reports of uncomfortable beds, limited air conditioning and food shortages — won’t be an issue in LA, which plans to house the athletes on the UCLA campus. “We feed thousands of students a day.