Olympic Athletes Training in Colorado Now Eligible for In-State Tuition

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Colorado is now the first state in the country to allow all Olympic athletes training in here to get in-state college tuition. Right now, it only applies to athletes living at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs.

Governor John Hickenlooper signed the bill into law in front of the head of the US Olympic Committee, as well as a handful of athletes, including long-distance runner Jenny Simpson.

Simpson trains in Boulder, and at the 2016 Rio Olympics she won a bronze medal in the 1500-meter race. She thinks the law will help a lot of future athletes.

"Any time in any way that we can incentivize and make the path towards education easier, that's a really positive thing to do, especially for athletes that are really committing a large section of their life to competing for the Olympic team."

Utah has a similar law, however unlike this one it doesn't apply to Paralympic athletes.

Schools wouldn't be required to offer instate tuition; it just paves the way for it.  It's estimated the law could impact about 350 athletes training here.