USANA Athletes: A Winning Team

As we reached an unseasonably high 75 degrees in Salt Lake City yesterday, it's tough to believe that the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver are less than 100 days away.

But they're set to begin February 12, 2010, and we expect USANA-sponsored athletes to perform well on sport's grandest stage.

Here's a fun fact that I recently learned: If USANA's athletes were their own country at the 2006 Winter Games in Torino, Italy, they would have placed second in overall medals! That's pretty impressive. We're aiming for first in 2010!

Here's an updated list of all the athletes USANA sponsors, some of whom you'll see in Vancouver. And here's an athlete accolade sheet that highlights many of our partnerships. (Note: Link opens a PDF document)

Derek Parra — US Speedskating
Earlier this week we published an excellent blog post by Derek Parra, an Olympic Gold Medalist who is now coaching the US Speedskating Team. He's going to be giving What's Up, USANA? readers an inside look at events leading up to the 2010 Winter Games.

USA Luge
Over on the USANA Corporate Blog today, VP of Customer Service Alan Bergstrom caught up with members of the USA Luge team during a training session in Park City, Utah.

Alan confirms that luge is, in fact, the fastest sport on ice. Erin Hamlin and Tony Benshoof, in the photo to the right, stopped by our office earlier this week.

Additional Athlete Highlights
Here are some notes about even more world-class athletes who trust their health to USANA. Special thanks to Andie Chen, who was instrumental in compiling the following information.

Great Britain Short Track Speed Skating Team

Jon Eley became the first British short track speed skater to win gold at a World Cup competition, when he placed first in Heerenveen, Netherlands.

Sarah Lindsay took silver in the Ladies 500 and became the first female in Great Britain Short Track history to win a medal at the World Cup. Sarah is now in the top 8 in the World rankings.

Tom Iveson, Paul Stanley, and Oliver Horsepool each finished in the top 10. Oliver finished third in the 1,500m but still broke the British record for that event. The men’s relay team finished in fourth place.

Adam Pengilly, British Bob Skeleton Association

"With the World Cup starting in three weeks, final equipment and physical preparations are underway. I am currently involved in a short block of training on the Olympic track in Whistler, Canada, to learn to drive the track better before the big event next February.

"One of the key changes to my program is the addition of USANA products to help my physical preparation and condition. Aligned with this is my physical training, which has seen a positive improvement over the last few months since the USANA nutritionals have kicked in.

"All in all, things are steadily moving onwards and upwards... "Faster, Higher, Stronger" as the Olympic motto goes!"

Be sure to keep up with all of the USANA athlete happenings by becoming a fan of USANA Athletes on Facebook. And don't forget about Twitter...you never know who will show up at our office.