2002 Salt Lake City Olympics

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The Salt Lake City Games

The Vancouver Olympics are on many winter sports fans' minds right now, but they are just the next set in a series of some great Olympic games. The Salt Lake City Olympics were the last games to come to the United States, and will be for the foreseeable future. There were some outstanding moments in Salt Lake City, from figure skating to short track speed skating to luge and skiing. Some events that are in the current games, like Snowboardcross, weren't even a part of the Olympics yet! No matter what your favorite event was in Salt Lake City, or even if you watched the games at all, take a look back at what was the Salt Lake Olympics in 2002.

Sports 

The Olympics evolve over the years. Some sports are added, while others are removed. Here were the sports that athletes competed in in 2002:

Alpine skiing

Figure skating

Short track speed skating


Biathlon

Freestyle skiing

Skeleton


Bobsleigh

Ice hockey

Ski jumping


Cross country skiing

Luge

Snowboarding


Curling

Nordic combined

Speed skating



Opening Ceremonies 

The Opening Ceremonies began with skaters bearing flags and tribute to the Winter Olympics of the past. When Salt Lake City came in, fireworks burst.

The Salt Lake City Winter Olympics were the first games since the 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. Some of the symbolism from the opening ceremonies reflected this. Both the flag that flew over the World Trade Center and the Challenger flag were a part of the ceremony.

The Salt Lake City games also held a tribute to the Native Americans that had once inhabited the land that Utah used to sit on.

Fiber optics helped create a technologically-advanced display. In the end, the gold-winning hockey team from 1980, the last year that the United States hosted a Winter Olympics, lit the Olympic Cauldron.

Photo by US Navy employee. In the public domain.

Light The Fire Within 

Theme Song and Motto

LeAnn Rimes sang the theme song to the Olympics at the opening ceremonies.
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Videos of the Opening Ceremonies 


Salt Lake City 2002 Opening Ceremony Beginning

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Salt Lake City 2002 OC - The Star-Spangled Banner

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Salt Lake City 2002 OC - Native American Welcome

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Salt Lake City 2002 OC - The Lighting of Olympic Cauldron

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Salt Lake City 2002 OC Finale - Ode to Joy and Fireworks

Runtime: 265
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First Post 9/11 Games 

The Salt Lake Winter Olympics occurred just five months after the September 11th terrorist attacks. The world was a different place than it is now, or would be several years later. When George Bush was announced prior to opening the games, the stadium cheered. Although some later said that the opening ceremonies had excessive patriotism, the IOC had no problems, at the time, with the World Trade Center flag being presented during the games.

Security was tight for the games, with aerial surveillance. Jacques Rogge, the IOC president, stated

"Your nation is overcoming a horrific tragedy, a tragedy that has affected the whole world. We stand united with you in the promotion of our common ideals, and hope for world peace."

Photo by cbcs.

Participating Nations 

78 Nations participated in this Winter Olympics. This year was the first time that Cameroon, Hong Kong (China), Nepal, Tajikistan, and Thailand participated in the Winter Olympics.

Andorra

Denmark

Kenya

San Marino


Argentina

Estonia

South Korea

Slovakia


Armenia

Fiji

Kyrgyzstan

Slovenia


Australia

Finland

Latvia

South Africa


Azerbaijan

France

Lebanon

Spain


Belarus

Georgia

Liechtenstein

Sweden


Belgium

Germany

Lithuania

Switzerland


Bermuda

Great Britian

Macedonia

Sweden


Bosnia and Herzegovina

Greece

Mexico

Tajikistan


Brazil

Hong Kong

Moldova

Thailand


Bulgaria

Hungary

Monaco

Trinidad and Tobago


Cameroon

Iceland

Mongolia

Turkey


Canada

India

Nepal

Ukraine


Chile

Iran

Netherlands

United States


Chinese Taipei

Ireland

New Zealand

Uzbekistan


China

Israel

Norway

Venezuela


Costa Rica

Italy

Poland

Virgin Islands


Croatia

Jamaica

Puerto Rico

Yugoslavia


Cyprus

Japan

Romania


Czech Republic

Kazakhstan

Russia



Figure Skating 

Figure skating is one of the most popular events at the Winter Olympics. In 2002, there was plenty to keep viewers interested. A figure skating scandal made the news when one of the French judges admitted to being pressured to give high marks to the Russians. The United States performed well, with Sarah Hughes winning the gold and Michelle Kwan earning bronze.

This was the last Olympics where judging was based on the 6.0 point system. The judging problems resulted in changes to the scoring system that were put in place before the Torino Olympics.

Sarah Hughes 

Sarah Hughes took home gold in ladies' figure skating. She was in fourth place after the short program. In the long program, she impressed the judges by landing seven triple jumps. There were three competitors in front of her, but they all made mistakes, which gave her the opportunity to jump from fourth to first place.

Sarah retired from skating after the 2002-2003 season in order to pursue her education at Yale University. She graduated in 2009. Her sister, Emily Hughes, skated in Torino, but did not place.

Michelle Kwan 

After receiving the silver medal in the Nagano Olympics, Michelle Kwan was America's hope for taking away the gold in the 2002 Olympics. Her biggest competitor was considered to be Irina Slutskaya, the Russian skater. After skating in the long program, Kwan was in the lead. Unfortunately, she fell in the free skate. She was passed by Hughes and Slutskaya, who went away with the gold and silver medals.

Injury kept Kwan out of the Torino Olympics. She chose to focus on her education, and will not be returning to skate in the Vancouver Olympics.

Figure Skating Scandal 

For 42 years, the Russians had dominated pairs figure skating. The Canadian favorite, Jamie Salé and David Pelletier, had hopes of ending the Russian domination. The Russian pair, Yelena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze, were talented, but the Canadians were the favorite. The Russian pair skated first, making a technical error. When Salé and Pelletier skated a flawless performance, many thought they would win. Scott Hamilton announced "the gold is theirs."

It didn't work out that way. Berezhnaya and Sikharulidze were given the gold, and the Canadians were awarded the silver. People thought they had been robbed.

The French judge, Marie-Reine Le Gougne, was later confronted about her vote. She confessed that the head of the French Skating Organization had pressured her to vote for the Russians, no matter how they skated compared to the others.

Some felt that the Russians had skated better, because their program was more difficult. Because of the apparent judge tampering, Salé and Pelletier were awarded a gold medal on February 15th. The Russians were allowed to keep their gold medals, however.

Le Gougne, along with the French Skating Organization head, Gailhaguet, were suspended from judging for three years, and were barred from judging at the Torino Olympics. This scandal later resulted in a change to the figure skating scoring system.

Photo of Salé and Pelletier by Vesperholly.

Just Move 

Nike Commercial from the 2002 Olympics
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Salt Lake Souvinirs 

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Snowboarding 

The United States dominated the Olympics in Snowboarding at the 2002 Olympics. They swept the medal stand in the men's halfpipe event, took a bronze in the men's parallel giant slalom, and received a gold in the women's halfpipe. The last time the United States swept a Winter Olympics event was in 1956, when the men's figure skaters accomplished that feat.

France took the top two positions in the women's giant slalom event, along with a silver medal in the women's halfpipe.

There were 12 snowboard medals up for grabs in the 2002 Olympics. Snowboardcross was introduced in 2006, adding six more chances to win a medal.

Illustration by Parutakupiu.

Speed Skating 

In speed skating, skaters race against the clock to see who can skate the fastest. In 2002, the United States, Germany, and the Netherlands all came away with eight medals. All three countries earned three gold medals each, but the Netherlands took home the most silver medals, and Germany earned more silver medals than the United States did.

Casey FitzRandolph became the first American to win the men's 500m race since Eric Heiden in 1980. Derek Perra, who took the gold in the men's 1500m and the silver in the 5000m, became the first Mexican-American to medal in any Winter Olympic games. Chris Witty, who is also an Olympic cyclist, took the gold in the women's 1000m race. Jennifer Rodriguez, who won the bronze in both the 1000m and 1500m women's races, hopes to compete in 2010 Olympics in Vancouver.

Short Track Speed Skating 

Short track speed skating is a fast-paced, competitive skating competition, in which skaters race around a track and vie for first place. Short track is different than regular speed skating, as skaters are racing against each other, and not against the clock Although purposeful contact is not allowed, sometimes it happens. When skaters bump into each other, chaos can ensue, and upsets sometimes happen. This is what happened in 2002.

Steven Bradbury 

First Winter Gold for the Southern Hemisphere

It took a lot of skill, and a little bit of luck, for Steven Bradbury to take home the gold in the 1000m men's Short Track Speed Skating race. Bradbury's first bit of luck came in the quarterfinals. He placed third, but Marc Gagnon was disqualified, and he was promoted to second place, which allowed him to move forward. In the semifinals, he was in fifth place, but a crash between the racers in front of him allowed him to pass and advance to the finals.

In the finals, Bradbury was in fourth place. The race was coming to an end, when all of a sudden, the skaters in the top three places collided. Bradbury took the opportunity to sail into first place. Apolo Ohno ended up in second place, and Canada's Mathieu Turcotte took third.

Bradbury's gold medal was the first ever for an Australian athlete in the Winter Olympics, or for any athlete in the southern hemisphere, for that matter.

The Crash, and Australia's First Winter Win 

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Yang Yang 

If you were watching short track speed skating during the 2002 Winter Olympics, you may have gotten confused. There were two Chinese short track skaters with the name Yang Yang! They were originally dubbed Yang Yang (L) and Yang Yang (S) for large and small, but Yang Yang (L) didn't like this, so she requested to be called Yang Yang (A) instead.

Both Yang Yangs took home short track medals in 2002. Yang Yang (A) took home gold in the 500m and 1000m races. Yang Yang (S) received a bronze in the 1000m race. Both skaters participated in the 3000m relay for the Chinese team, which earned them both silver medals.

Yang Yang (A)'s achievement was notable in that she earned the first (and second) gold medals in a Winter Olympics game for China. Yang Yang (A) also participated in the 2006 Torino games.

Canadian Men's Ice Hockey 

Is the Loonie Lucky?

The Canadians, known as a hockey powerhouse, had gone for 50 years without a gold medal hockey win in the Olympics. They finally broke their streak in 2002, where they beat the United States on February 24th. The Russian team placed third.

There is a little bit of superstition to the Canadian win. Wayne Gretzky, executive director for the Canadian team, knew the person who was responsible for maintaining the ice, and asked him to bury a Canadian Loonie (one dollar bill) under the ice. After the Canadian team won, the legend of the "lucky loonie" began. Gretzky later recovered the loonie from under the ice, and it is now located in the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Freestyle Skiing 

In the freestyle skiing events, skiers try to ski with great technique. In the moguls event, skiers fly down a course full of moguls, have to perform two aerial jumps, and have to speed down the course as quickly as possible. In the aerial events, the skiers have to perform two aerial jumps, which are judged on how they look and how the skier lands.

Aleš Valenta took the gold for the Czech Republic in the men's aerials, after Eric Bergoust, the gold medalist from the Nagano games, fell on the second jump. Joe Pack walked away with the silver for the United States.

Janne Lahtela took the gold in men's moguls for Finland. Travis Mayer took silver for the United States. The defending champion, the United State's Jonny Moseley, placed fourth.

Alisa Camplin took the gold in women's aerials for Australia, but she was originally not scheduled to skate. Jacqui Cooper was supposed to ski for Australia, but she was injured. Veronica Brenner and Deidra Dionne took silver and bronze for Canada.

Kari Traa took gold in women's moguls for Norway, while Shannon Bahrke took the silver for the United States.

Illustration by Parutakupiu.

First Croatian Winter Olympics Medal Winner 

Janica Kostelić became the first Croatian to win any medals in a Winter Olympics. Not only did she win a medal, she won gold. She didn't just win one gold medal, she won gold in Slalom, Giant Slalom, and Combined. She also won the silver medal in Super-G.

Kostelić would continue skiing through the Torino Olympics, where she won a gold in the Combined and a silver in the Super-G. She retired in 2007, and will probably not make an appearance in the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

Photo by ESPN.

Vonetta Flowers 

First Black Person to Win a Winter Gold Medal

The 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics was an Olympics of firsts. Vonetta Flowers, racing with Jill Bakken, raced in the two-woman bobsled event. They took gold, making Flowers the first black person to ever win a gold medal in a Winter Olympic event.

Flowers returned to the Olympics in 2006 with a new driver, Jean Prahm, and placed sixth. She retired from bobsledding after the 2006 Olympics.

Photo by US Navy Employee, and in Public Domain.

Skeleton 

Skeleton, a fast-paced event where sledders go down a track with a tiny sled that contains no braking, returned to the Olympics in 2002 after a 54 year absence. Sledders go down the course twice, and the times are added to come up with the final score.

The men's skeleton winners for 2002 were Jim Shea for the United States, who took gold, Martin Rettl who took silver for Austria, and Gregor Stähli, who took bronze for Switzerland. The women's skeleton medalists were the US's Tristan Gale for gold, Lea Ann Parsley, who won bronze for the United States, and Alex Coomber, who won bronze for Great Britain.

Closing Ceremonies 

Fireworks, stars, and cute kids singing "Happy Trails to You" filled Rice-Eccles stadium during the 2002 Olympics closing ceremonies. Skaters skated around in a ring, and images from the games appeared on the flags. The Olympic cauldron was snuffed out, and the Olympic flag was passed on to Italy, who would host the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino.

Several prominent American musicians performed at the closing ceremonies, including KISS, R Kelly, Christina Aguilera, Sting, Harry Connick Jr., the Dixie Chicks, and Charlotte Church.

Videos from the Closing Ceremonies 


Salt Lake City 2002 CC - March of the National Flags

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Salt Lake City 2002 CC - Happy Trails and the Highlights

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Salt Lake City 2002 CC - Exit of Olympic Flag and Hymn

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The Games in Review 

This is a great video collage of many of the events that occurred during the 2002 Olympics.
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Medal Count 

The games would not be complete without the medal count:

Country

Gold

Silver

Bronze

Total


Norway

13

5

7

25


Germany

12

16

8

36


United States

10

13

11

34


Canada

7

3

7

17


Russia

5

4

4

13


France

4

5

2

11


Italy

4

4

5

13


Finland

4

2

1

7


Netherlands

3

5

0

8


Austria

3

4

10

17



For More Information... 

To find out more information about the 2002 Winter Olympics, visit the following web sites.
IOC Web Site on the 2002 Games
Where else to start your exploration of the games but on the official site?
2002 Olympics by Sports Illustrated
The Sports Illustrated Site looks like it's been untouched since 2002, so you can really get a feel for what it was like to be there.
The 2002 Olympics at Time.com
Photos of the games broken up by days. Seems untouched since 2002.

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What People Say 

Going for Gold on Stolen Land: A Roundtable on Anti-Olympic ...
In 2005, she wrote her Masters thesis comparing the exploitation of undocumented Latino migrant workers at Salt Lake City's Olympics construction sites to Iraqi refugee construction workers in Athens, Greece leading up to the 2004 games ...
Beijing 2008 - Crosby, Brodeur to lead Canada's Olympic team
Then, executive director Wayne Gretzky brought back many of the players who won the country''s first gold medal in 50 years at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics. But that left off rising players such as Crosby, whose talent and fresh ...
Just Read It: The Top 25 Stories of the Decade, #19: Salt Lake ...
... was as picturesque as one would want for the Winter Games. The success of those games re-stored the idea that America can host a highly successful games. Posted by Rising Sun at 2:18 PM. Labels: 2000's, 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics ...
This Decade
2002: financial market faces partial meltdown; Firefox browser introduced; Washington DC sniper attacks; Moscow theatre siege; Salt Lake City Olympics. 2003: United States invades Iraq; space shuttle Columbia disintegrates upon reentry, ...
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by Brookelorren

Homeschooler, professional content producer, and work at home mom. My interests are Christianity, current events, education, scrapbooking, and more. (more)

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