‘Open question’ on U.S. Olympic participation
Members of the women’s U.S. hockey team practice in Park City. Photo/Kathryn Reed
By Jason Blevins, Denver Post
COPPER MOUNTAIN, Colo. — As the best snowboarders and skiers in the world kicked off their quest to reach the South Korea Olympics next year, America’s ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, suggested that the United States’ participation in the Winter Olympics is “an open question.”
In an interview with Fox News on Wednesday, Haley suggested it was not certain that the U.S. would send athletes to South Korea in February. She cited escalating tensions in the region with North Korea testing increasingly powerful missiles. She rekindled simmering concerns about safety for the athletes in South Korea’s PyeongChang, which is 50 miles from the North Korean border.
On Thursday afternoon, however, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said during a briefing that no official decision had been made and then sent an update on Twitter, saying the U.S. “looks forward to participating” in the Winter Olympics.
