Bob Helmick, president of the U.S. Olympic...

Bob Helmick, president of the U.S. Olympic Committee, said that the USOC has “much further to go” in elevating minority and female athletes to executive positions.

He was responding to charges by Dr. Evie Dennis, USOC second vice president, who told the Denver Post that the organization discriminates against blacks and women.

Dennis, who is black, called the USOC racist after she lost an election to become a first vice president in October.

“I believe I deserved the opportunity to fill the vacancy when it occurred,” she said. “I didn’t get the chance for two reasons: I’m black and I’m female.”

Helmick said: “Evie Dennis and myself have been fighting for years, working together with the other officers, to increase representation of minorities, women and the handicapped in the USOC.”