BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA – FEBRUARY 04: Michael Turchin (L) and Lance Bass (R) attend the 10th Anniversary of Gold Meets Golden, (Photo by Presley Ann/Getty Images for Gold Meets Golden )
BEVERLY HILLS, CA (LA ELEMENTS) 2/13/2023 -The stellar event that is Gold Meets Golden was held during Grammy weekend on February 4 at the Virginia Robinson Gardens in Beverly Hills. Hosted by legendary gymnast Nadia Comaneci and Academy-Award winning actress, Nicole Kidman, Olympic and Paralympic athletes joined forces with entertainment industry celebrities to raise money for Angel City Sports.
Angel City Sports, based here in the City of Angels, (of course!) provides adaptive sports opportunities for kids, adults and our veterans with physical disabilities or visual impairments. This non-profit even provides equipment, coaching and competitive opportunities and best of all, they do this year-round and it’s free.
Guests at this invitation only event had the chance to see the world famous synchronized swimming team that is the Aqualillies, in action. Also delighting the Gold Meets Golden guests, was the musical performance by Shoshana Bean and Stephen Schwartz who performed a powerful version of his song, “When You Believe.”
Chloe Kim attends the 10th Anniversary of Gold Meets Golden at the Virginia Robinson Gardens (Photo by Presley Ann/Getty Images for Gold Meets Golden )
Hunter Doohan attends 10th Anniversary of Gold Meets Golden, Comaneci, at the Virginia Robinson Gaardens in Beverly Hills (Photo by Presley Ann/Getty Images for Gold Meets Golden )
The turnout for Gold Meets Golden was impressive. The Olympic athletes included: Tom Daley (Gold Medal winner, Tokyo, for Men’s Synchronized 10 m Platform Diving), Chloe Kim (2 time Gold Medal winner, Pyeongchang and Beijing, for the halfpipe), Missy Franklin (4 time Gold Medal Winner, London, for 100 m backstroke, 200 m backstroke, 4×200 m freestyle, 4x 100 m medley), Mallory Weggeman (Gold Medal winner at the London Paralympic Games for swimming S8 50 m. freestyle) Ian Thorpe (3 time Gold Medal winner, Sydney, 400 m. freestyle, 4×100 m. freestyle, 4×200 m freestyle, 3 time Gold Medal winner, Athens, 200 m. freestyle, 400 m freestyle) and Greg Louganis (Gold Medal winner, Los Angeles, 3 m. springboard, 10 m. platform and Seoul, 3 m. springboard and 10 m. platform), Janet Evans (3 time Gold Medal winner in swimming, Seoul, 400 m. freestyle and individual medley, 800 m. freestyle, Barcelona 800 m. freestyle, Ezra Frech Paralympian, high-jump and long-jump competitor in Tokyo and Michael Johnson,Track and Field (Gold Medal Winner, Barcelona, 4×400 m. relay, Atlanta, two time Gold Medal Winner for 200 m. and 400 m. and Sydney, 400 m.
Mallory Weggemann attends the 10th Anniversary of Gold Meets Golden, at the Virginia Robinson Gardens (Photo by Presley Ann/Getty Images for Gold Meets Golden )
Ian Thorpe attends the 10th Anniversary of Gold Meets Golden, presented by at the Virginia Robinson Gardens on February 4th, 2023 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images for Gold Meets Golden)
Brianne Howey attends the 10th Anniversary of Gold Meets Golden, at the Virginia Robinson Gardens in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Presley Ann/Getty Images for Gold Meets Golden )
Among the entertainers at Gold Meets Golden were: Singer Lance Bass from NSYNC (and family), Singer Pepa (Salt-N-Pepa), Singer Nora Mae, Actor Trevor Donovan (Hallmark’s The Engagement Plot), Actor Kevin Dias (Emily in Paris), Brianne Howey (Ginny and Georgia), Hunter Doohan (Wednesday), and Cheryl Burke (Dancing With The Stars)
We caught up with Tom Daley at Gold Meets Golden. He shared with us what those final seconds are like before he dives in Olympic competition, who he’s rooting for at the Grammy’s and more.
Tom Daley attends the 10th Anniversary of Gold Meets Golden at the Virginia Robinson Gardens on February 4th, 2023 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Presley Ann/Getty Images for Gold Meets Golden )
We’re always fascinated by the mind of a champion. So, before you won your gold medal in synchronized diving in Tokyo, what went through your mind right before you took that dive.
“I mean it’s one of those few moments when all of the pressure comes down to one moment, you train for four, well five years in that case and then it comes down to that one moment. And it was very intense. But at the same time, you have to realize that you’ve done all the preparation. You’ve done all the training and you just have to be as present as possible.”
So the thought as you’re diving is, ‘hit that spot!’
“Yeah. Just execute. Don’t overthink it. You know how to do it. You just have to execute it.”
You were fairly recently awarded Order of the British Empire. What does that mean to you?
“In the UK it’s a huge honor”.
Are you Sir Tom Daly now?
“No! Just Tom Daly OBE.”
How important is it for you to take part in Gold Meets Golden?
“Gold Meets Golden, well it’s my first time ever being here. But It’s an amazing cause and it’s so sweet to see the real impact that these events are having with the charity they’re supporting. So it’s really special.”
Tomorrow are the Grammy Awards. Are you rooting for anyone in particular?
Well, it’ll be cool to see some of my fellow Brits do well, Harry Styles is nominated for a couple. Lil Nas is nominated as well so it’ll be cool to see the Brits and also the queer community come through.”
Katie Chin attends the 10th Anniversary of Gold Meets Golden, at the Virginia Robinson Gardens on February 4th, 2023 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Presley Ann/Getty Images for Gold Meets Golden )
An event filled with celebrities like Gold Meets Golden needed none other than a celebrity chef to nourish the VIP crowd. Perhaps one who even brought her talents to the Obama White House? And that would be Katie Chin.
What is your philosophy when it comes to preparing the menu for a huge event?
“My philosophy is to nourish mind, body and soul. To honor the organization because that’s so important in my opinion. And I also feel like, sometimes the simplest dishes are the most delicious and to use the freshest ingredients available to make sure that we’re honoring Los Angeles with locally raised ingredients from produce to protein, whatever we happen to use. I’m just so happy to be here and I’m just delighted by the support and I’m so excited for what’s next to come.”
Gold Meets Golden was sponsored by: Ottobock, a leading manufacturer of prosthetic and orthotic devices and technology worn and used by the disabled and amputee community across the world including by Paralympians, CODEX Beauty Labs, Herradura Tequila, FASHWIRE and BOSE.
To learn more about Gold Meets Golden, please click here. To learn more about Angel City Sports and the sponsors mentioned in this article, please visit their sites.
On our cover from left to right: Janet Evans, Greg Louganis, Nadia Comãneci, Michael Johnson, Ezra Frech, Heinrich Popow and Johannes Floors.
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