Editing Flagstaff, Arizona (section)

===Altitude training destination===
Flagstaff is also a popular destination for [[altitude training]]. The first elite athletes to start altitude training in the city were those going to the [[1968 Summer Olympics]] in [[Mexico City]].<ref name=":16">{{Cite web|url=https://www.flagstaffarizona.org/blog/the-road-to-rio-runs-through-flagstaff/|title=Road to Rio Runs Through Flagstaff|last=Anthony|first=Sean|date=June 29, 2016|website=Discover Flagstaff|language=en-US|access-date=April 13, 2020|archive-date=November 26, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201126235351/https://www.flagstaffarizona.org/blog/the-road-to-rio-runs-through-flagstaff/|url-status=live}}</ref> A 2009 analysis showed that groups of 35 athletes spent three to eight weeks training in Flagstaff, to positive effect. This was one of the highest number of athletes and longest periods among seventeen sites used in the research.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Current issues in sports and exercise medicine|publisher=InTech|year=2013|isbn=978-9535110316|editor-last=Hamlin|editor-first=Michael|location=Rijeka|pages=214–216|oclc=852715498|editor-last2=Draper|editor-first2=Nick|editor-last3=Kathiravel|editor-first3=Yaso}}</ref> [[Australian rules football]] team [[Collingwood Football Club|Collingwood Magpies]] regularly train at NAU facilities,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.knau.org/post/athletes-still-training-flagstaffs-high-altitude|title=Athletes still training in Flagstaff's high altitude|website=www.knau.org|date=December 7, 2010|language=en|access-date=April 13, 2020|archive-date=December 3, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201203081129/https://www.knau.org/post/athletes-still-training-flagstaffs-high-altitude|url-status=live}}</ref> as does the [[Olympic Games|Olympic]]-medal-winning [[Team GB]] [[British Swimming]] team.<ref name=":17">{{Cite web|url=https://www.britishswimming.org/news/latest-swimming-news/arizona-altitude-camp-putting-swimmers-through-their-paces/|title=Arizona altitude camp putting swimmers through their paces|website=British Swimming|access-date=April 13, 2020|archive-date=January 23, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200123140625/https://www.britishswimming.org/news/latest-swimming-news/arizona-altitude-camp-putting-swimmers-through-their-paces/|url-status=live}}</ref> Another British Olympian, [[Mo Farah]], trains in Flagstaff.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.runnersworld.com/runners-stories/a28801012/mo-farahs-how-to-recover-bad-race/|title=Mo Farah's 6 Best Tips for Bouncing Back From a Bad Race{{snd}}or a Good One|last=Kuzma|first=Cindy|date=August 26, 2019|website=Runner's World|language=en-US|access-date=April 13, 2020|archive-date=July 2, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200702020135/https://www.runnersworld.com/runners-stories/a28801012/mo-farahs-how-to-recover-bad-race/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Long-distance runner [[Andrea Seccafien]] used to altitude train in Flagstaff but moved to Australia in 2018,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://runningmagazine.ca/bloggers/day-life-elite-training-flagstaff/|title=A day in the life of an elite training in Flagstaff|date=April 12, 2017|website=Canadian Running Magazine|language=en-US|access-date=April 13, 2020|archive-date=December 1, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201201045141/https://runningmagazine.ca/bloggers/day-life-elite-training-flagstaff/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":18">{{Cite web|url=https://runningmagazine.ca/the-scene/new-mo-farah-documentary-gives-a-glimpse-of-the-unglamorous-life-of-elite-runners/|title=New Mo Farah documentary gives a glimpse of the unglamorous life of elite runners|date=August 6, 2018|website=Canadian Running Magazine|language=en-US|access-date=April 13, 2020|archive-date=November 28, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201128175322/https://runningmagazine.ca/the-scene/new-mo-farah-documentary-gives-a-glimpse-of-the-unglamorous-life-of-elite-runners/|url-status=live}}</ref> saying "We don't go to Flagstaff or [[St. Moritz]] anymore which are more populated by runners and the general public. [...] Flagstaff feels quite metropolitan compared to where we are now"; the Canadian ''Running Magazine'' noted that the city becomes host to many professional runners in the spring.<ref name=":18" /> The popularity among runners is because of the altitude and pleasant climate, making it "for distance runners [...] a practically unparalleled paradise", known as the "running mecca".<ref name=":20">{{Cite web|url=https://cronkitenews.azpbs.org/2019/07/12/serious-distance-runners-cant-stay-away-from-flagstaff-lure-of-high-altitude/|title=Distance runners flocking to Flagstaff for high-altitude training|date=July 12, 2019|website=Cronkite News – Arizona PBS|language=en-US|access-date=April 13, 2020|archive-date=October 22, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201022031602/https://cronkitenews.azpbs.org/2019/07/12/serious-distance-runners-cant-stay-away-from-flagstaff-lure-of-high-altitude/|url-status=live}}</ref> Runner Nick Hilton said that "Flagstaff and [[Boulder, Colorado]], are probably the two biggest centers for elite distance runners in the country".<ref name=":20" />

The HYPO2 altitude training center in the city is used by swimmers and runners alike, and is an elite facility that attracts many teams from around the world.<ref name=":17" /><ref name=":20" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://hypo2sport.com/who-we-work-with/|title=2019 Clients & Countries|website=Hypo2Sport – Turning Thin Air into Gold|language=en-US|access-date=April 13, 2020}}{{Dead link|date=August 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> HYPO2 was created in 2012, largely with staff from NAU's Center for High Altitude Training, which closed in 2009. As of 2019, over 85 Olympic medalists from 44 countries trained at the facility.<ref name=":20" /> In 2016, the city advertised NAU and the HYPO2 with promotions saying "The Road to Rio Runs Through Flagstaff", prominently noting that if Flagstaff (with its training athletes) was a country, it would be in the top 10 of Olympic-medal winning nations since 1996.<ref name=":16" />

[[File:Flagstaff, United States (Unsplash).jpg|thumb|San Francisco Mountains]]