Pasadena native Bill Ito has always had an Olympic dream. He is getting the chance to turn that fantasy into reality next month.
The Azusa Pacific graduate and Mt. San Antonio College trainer is going to Rio de Janeiro for the XXXI Olympiad in August as part of the U.S. team training staff.
“I’m really excited,” Ito said. “This opportunity for me has been about 12 years in the making. My first work with Olympic athletes was in (2004). It’s been a great journey. (The Olympics are) something I’ve always dreamed of, as a kid.
“I grew up in Pasadena and when the ‘84 Olympics where here (in Southern California), I was a fan. To now have the opportunity to be part of the Olympics and Team USA, I get emotional. I’m very proud that I have this opportunity.”
It was a long, successful road for Ito. He grew up in Pasadena and attended Maranatha High School.
He caught the bug to be a trainer while attending Azusa Pacific University during the 1990s.
“I knew I always wanted to be part of the Olympics at some point,” Ito said. “But when I was an undergraduate at APU, I was fortunate enough to work with their track and field team, and that’s when we had Dave Johnson and a lot of athletes that competed for Nigeria, and they were Olympic-level athletes.
“As a student, I was able to grow up with it. I kind of fell in love working track and field and that’s where my career kind of spring-boarded. That gave me the bug and thought, ‘I would love at some point to put the Olympics on my professional bucket list.”
From APU, Ito became the head trainer at Walnut High School, and he also had association with the Mt. SAC Relays, which became his path to working with international elite athletes. It got him to become one of the trainers at the IAAF Junior Outdoor track and field championships in 2006 and ‘08, and after becoming one of Mt. SAC’s trainers, he worked at the junior championships in 2010 and ‘11; the 2012 Pan-Am Combined Events Cup and the World Senior championships in 2013 and ‘15.
He was also medical director at the National Pole Vault Summit in January.
“Bill is big reason why many of the world’s top vaulters attend the Summit,” said USATF High Performance and Development and Men’s and Women’s National Pole Vault chair Brian Yokoyama. “He is respected and admired amongst elite athletes throughout the world. His cutting edge techniques and knowledge has helped many of our elite vaulters with their medical issues which has allowed them to recover faster.”
Ito will have similar duties in Rio de Janeiro.
“The basic duty will be to provide the health and care of our track and field athletes,” Ito said. “That ranges from providing medical care at practice venues, competition venues. We do a lot of rehab and treatment.
“We are just there to provide medial support and try to provide the same level of care these athletes are accustomed to. We do everything from rehab to recovery on a daily basis. I’ll get a chance to work with from members of the whole entire team. It’s a cool opportunity.”
And a dream come true.