Super PAC ad uses Olympians to tout Romney's Salt Lake experience

11 hours ago CNN Political Unit (CNN) – A television ad from the pro-Mitt Romney super PAC Restore our Future uses the presumptive GOP nominee's experience running the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics as evidence of his leadership ability and financial expertise.

The ad, which the group said would air in battleground states during television broadcasts of the London Games, features gold-medal winning figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi and other Olympians praising Romney for his work on the 2002 Games.

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"As an athlete, you're training your whole life for that one moment at the Olympics," Yamaguchi says in the ad. Later, she adds: "Mitt Romney brought a huge sense of hope."

Fraser Bullock, the chief operating officer of the 2002 Games, says in the ad that Romney "faced a $400 million budget deficit and turned that around to a $100 million surplus."

Jimmy Shea, who won a 2002 gold medal for ice sledding sport of skeleton, asserts that "Mitt gets things done. He changed my life."

Restore our Future said the ad was part of a previously announced $7.2 million ad buy for spots running during the Olympics.

Romney's campaign often points to his handling of the 2002 Olympics as an example of his leadership qualities and financial acumen. Romney attended Friday's opening ceremony in London, a move that highlighted his work on the Salt Lake City Games.

Last week, a rival super PAC released a spot using the Olympic "parade of nations" to mock Romney's reported overseas investment accounts. The group, Priorities USA, pulled the ad after the U.S. Olympic Committee registered a complaint because of copyright concerns.

The U.S.O.C. said Monday they would not take legal action against the Restore our Future ad, but that they prefered the Olympics not be used in political advertising.

"While we obviously prefer that that the Olympic Games would not be referenced in any political advertisement, as neither the Olympic symbols, nor Olympic footage is used in this ad, we are not going to take legal action. However, we continue to ask that the Olympic Games not be part of political advertisements," Patrick Sandusky, a U.S.O.C. spokesman, wrote in a statement.

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