COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The highly anticipated U.S. Olympic Team apparel line has officially been introduced to America, as U.S. Olympic Team hopefuls modeled the Opening and Closing Ceremonies apparel from Roots and Medal Stand attire designed by Nike on NBC’s Today.

An Official Outfitter of the U.S. Olympic Team since 2002, Roots unveiled the 2006 U.S. Olympic Team Opening and Closing Ceremonies uniforms and select village wear items modeled by U.S. Olympic hopefuls Apolo Ohno (short track speedskating/Seattle, Wash.) and Shauna Rohbock (bobsled/Orem, Utah).

Ohno, a 2002 Olympic gold and silver medalist, modeled the Alpine Parade Sweater ($249.99) that will be worn by the U.S. Team as athletes enter the Opening Ceremony of the 2006 Olympic Winter Games. Inspired by classic alpine sweaters, it acts as a lightweight jacket that embraces the 1970’s American downhill ski racing suits with a bold iconic alpine graphic racing stripe that is incorporated throughout the 2006 Team USA Roots Collection. The sweater was paired with a microfiber, form fitting base layer shirt designed to keep athletes comfortable in all conditions. The outfit was completed with a modernized and sleek Team USA Beret ($24.95), created specifically for Italy, which is available this year in patriotic red, white and blue.

Shauna Rohbock, America’s top female bobsled driver, introduced a mix of the Village Wear and Closing Ceremony apparel. Continuing the alpine graphic racing stripe, she modeled the three layer system from the Roots Collection. This includes the base layer shirt, Festa Vest ($198.00) and Village Short Track Jacket ($98.00) that features a red coil zipper and gold slider. Rohbock also donned the Village Baseball Cap ($29.95), inspired by fashions from Formula One Auto Racing which is popular in both the U.S. and Italy. The Village Baseball Cap is fully adjustable and features all three U.S. Olympic Look of the Team shades of blue – Torino blue, alpine blue and powder blue. Her look was finished with a red Chant Scarf ($39.95) that has a custom “USA” printed in white lettering, ideal for sportsman-like showcasing to the crowds.

After a long history of designing performance footwear and apparel for the best athletes in the world, Nike joins the U.S. Olympic Team as an Official Sponsor for the first time in history. Modeled by Olympic gold and silver medalists Derek Parra (long track speedskating/Orlando, Fla.) and Angela Ruggiero (ice hockey/Harper Woods, Mich.), the NBC audience got a glimpse of the Nike apparel that U.S. athletes will wear when accepting their medals on the podium at the 2006 Olympic Winter Games.

Parra, who captured the hearts of American’s when he won gold and silver at the 2002 Olympic Winter Games, modeled the Nike Podium 3-in-1 jacket. With multiple layers and the seam-sealed, waterproof design of the Podium jacket, Nike has taken into account the weather variations of the Olympic venues in Torino. Another feature is a dual cargo pocket at the waist and a pocket over the heart for carrying medals. Parra also modeled the zip-out red quilted, down, windproof inner jacket ($109.99) that adds an accent of bright color which can be worn separately.

An Olympic gold and silver medalist and a member of the 2005 World Champion U.S. Women’s Ice Hockey Team, Ruggiero introduced an additional piece of the Nike layering system, the Cashmere Medal Stand Sweater ($74.99). Also available in a men’s style, the quarter-zip, high collar, wool cashmere sweater is one of the first of its kind made by Nike.

In addition to http://www.usolympicshop.com/ and U.S. Olympic Shop retail outlets, the Team USA Roots Collection is available at Target (http://www.target.com/) and Dick’s Sporting Goods stores, as well as on http://www.roots.com/. The 2006 Team USA Nike Collection can also be found online at http://www.niketown.com/ and at NikeTown stores nationwide.

The 2006 Olympic Winter Games will take place in Torino, Italy beginning February 10 through February 26, 2006.