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US Rowing, the sport’s national governing body, will use Big Bear Lake as its high altitude training base through the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
US Rowing will hold three-week training camps each of the next three springs on the lake as part of a partnership with The Sports Office, which designs and operates training camps, Visit Big Bear and the Big Bear Municipal Water District.
“For us, this is about building consistency in how we prepare for LA28,” said Josy Verdonkschot, US Rowing’s chief high performance officer. “We need environments that challenge our athletes while allowing us to control variables across training cycles. Big Bear offers that rare combination, and this partnership allows us to build something sustainable and performance-driven over time.”
Team USA’s rowing squads used Lake Casitas in Ventura County for its selection and training camp prior to the 1984 Games in Los Angeles. Lake Casitas also served as the competition venue for the 1984 Olympics. The 2028 rowing competition will take place at Long Beach’s Marine Stadium.
The U.S. finished tied for fifth with Ireland in the medal standings at last year’s World Championships with four medals, two of them gold.
At 6,752 feet (2,058 meters), Big Bear is above the altitude threshold of 6,500 feet that experts maintain is required to boost elite performance by increasing red blood cell production, lactic acid tolerance and VO2 max, the maximum rate of oxygen your body can consume during intense effort.
“Big Bear Lake has always been a place where athletes come to challenge themselves, and US Rowing’s decision to train here on the road to LA28 takes that legacy to a whole new level,” said Visit Big Bear CEO Travis Scott. “This is a defining moment for our destination and a proud example of what strong local partnership can make possible.”
Big Bear was the longtime training base for Olympic middle-distance runner Brenda Martinez, the silver medalist at the 2013 World Championships at 800 meters and the Diamond League final winner in the same event a year later.
Big Bear Lakes has also been a training base for top-level boxers and mixed martial arts fighters, including Oscar De La Hoya and Gennady “GGG” Golovkin.
“This isn’t a new story — it’s a story finally being told at the level it deserves,” said Damien S. Navarro, a co-investor in The Sports Office. “Big Bear has always had the raw ingredients. What we’re building now is the system around it — where environment, science, and performance come together to create something that didn’t previously exist in the United States.”
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