Hometown Girl Helps Olympians Train

“I couldn’t pay for a better option than to have the games in my hometown.”

Arlington Heights native Jackie Lange has an interesting perspective on Chicago’s Olympic possibilities.

“Chicago is my heart,” Lange, the media relations coordinator for the United States Olympic Education Center at Northern Michigan University said. “I couldn’t pay for a better option than to have the games in my hometown.”

The Olympic Education Center that Lange works for could play a role in the Chicago Olympics should the city win the Games. Located just a few hours from the city, the center hosts 80 resident athletes who train for the games while attending Northern Michigan University and they train up to 100 athletes a semester.

They could provide a home for athletes training for the games.

“We’re definitely a great training facility and we’d love to host athletes preparing for the games here,” Lange said. “The options on a college campus are basically limitless.”

“We’d be a resource for sure,” she said.

Lange might not be there anymore, but she’s definitely planning on helping the Olympic effort. In fact, Lange, who recently obtained her bachelor’s degree from Northern Michigan, plans to base her grad school choice on the results of the bid.

She’s been accepted to Northwestern University in Evanston, University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana and Valparaiso University.

If Chicago gets the games she said she’s going to Nortwestern.

“I have to see them rowing on Lake Michigan,” said Lange who rowed for Northern Michigan. “… I feel like I’ve got my foot in the the proverbial Olympic door. If I can help out with the Games in any way possible, even as a volunteer I’m there.”

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