Olympic Valley, CA – Five U.S. Olympians have agreed to join its efforts of the Lake Tahoe Winter Games Exploratory Committee (LTWGEC) to develop a bid for the Tahoe region for the Winter Olympics.

Friday’s announcement of their involvement comes just weeks after the LTWGEC formed itself with civic leaders from both California and Nevada. The new organization supersedes two organizations that were previously exploring bids, the Sacramento based California Winter Games Coalition and the Reno based Reno-Lake Tahoe Winter Games Coalition.

The five Olympians – Andy Gabel, Bret Hedican, Jonny Moseley, Tamara McKinney, and Kristi Yamaguchi – represent a diverse array of Winter Olympic sports including alpine skiing, hockey, women’s figure skating, speed skating and freestyle skiing.

“We are delighted to have such an impressive array of Olympians join our effort,” said Andy Wirth, CEO of SquawValley/Alpine Resorts and Acting Chair of the LTWGEC . “The Olympic experience starts with the athletes themselves. We look forward to integrating the influence of these great champions into each and every aspect of our effort.”

“Lake Tahoe is one of the most beautiful places on the planet,” said Moseley (Nagano ‘98 – Freestyle Skiing). “In 1960, the world took a chance on making Squaw Valley it’s choice for the Olympics. We’re proud to invite everyone back.”

“I grew up here in Lake Tahoe,” added McKinney (Sarajevo ’94 – Downhill Skiing).  “It is a magical place with great mountains that would anchor some of the most breathtaking downhill skiing events in history.  Standing atop one of our peaks and looking at that beautiful Lake Tahoe will be a memory that everyone – Olympians and spectators alike – will never forget.”

The LTWGEC hopes to land the 2022 Winter Olympic Games, 62 years after the Olympics visited the region for the 1960 Games.