With their population base and the methods they use to funnel athletes into programs, they are very close to where the Cubans, East Germans and Eastern Europeans used to be.

We take it seriously. It's our responsibility to help athletes in a performing role to respect our country.

We expect a difficult time in terms of the environment going in but clearly we've got some great athletes to face those challenges.

We know the Beijing Games will be like no other; we have a whole new platform and stage. For much of the population of China, our athletes will be the only representation they have of our society.

We got to meet and hang out with all the United States athletes because we all stayed at the same dorm. We got to know guys like Greg Louganis, Carl Lewis and Riddick Bowe, plus athletes from all over the world. It was fantastic experience.

As a result, America's skeleton athletes have had to deal with an unnecessary distraction during their preparation for the upcoming Olympic Winter Games, and that is unacceptable.

The United States Olympic Committee is pleased to work with Visa to provide the U.S. delegation of athletes, coaches and staff with a tool that will simplify all their financial transactions and needs during the Olympic Winter Games. These easy-to-use cards provide tremendous advantages. We are thrilled U.S. Team Olympic sponsors, Visa and Bank of America, have come together to provide these cards to athletes and operational staff during a busy time.

They didn't mean any disrespect. They were excited but I think those athletes would do things differently now.

In Salt Lake City, we had a wonderful opportunity to participate on our home soil. We had a home crowd and a friendly environment. We were in the same time zone or similar time zone to where the athletes trained. You're eating home-cooked meals with friends and family. And I think familiarity with the venues helped as well.