Hilary Knight Makes Olympic History with Record-Tying Goal

**Team USA**, the public-facing brand of the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC), empowers America's elite athletes to compete on the global stage while driving innovation in sports performance and athlete support.[1][2][6] Founded in 1894 amid the International Olympic Committee's inception, the USOPC—headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colorado—evolved from early efforts by American IOC members to organize U.S. participation in the 1896 Athens Olympics. It formalized as the American Olympic Association in 1921 and gained its modern structure via the 1978 Ted Stevens Olympic and Amateur Sports Act, which designated it as the nation's National Olympic Committee (NOC) and, uniquely, National Paralympic Committee (NPC)—one of only four worldwide managing both.[1][2] U.S. Paralympics, a key division, launched in 2001 to oversee Paralympic teams and community programs.[2] The USOPC fields U.S. teams for the Olympic, Paralympic, Youth Olympic, Pan American, and Parapan American Games, collaborating with 45 Olympic National Governing Bodies (NGBs) and others for training, trials, and athlete selection. As a federally chartered nonprofit, it relies entirely on private funding from fans, sponsors, and partners—unlike government-backed NOCs elsewhere—allocating 78% of its budget directly to athletes via programs like the Athlete Marketing Platform and Technology and Innovation Fund, which deliver cutting-edge sport science and sponsorships.[1][3][5] Key achievements underscore its dominance: Team USA topped the 2020 Tokyo Olympics medal count with 113 medals (39 golds) across 28 sports and ranked third in Paralympics with 104 medals (37 golds), even amid pandemic delays.[3] The U.S. consistently leads global medal tallies, hosts major events, and holds leadership roles in internationa