Salt Lake 2002 was the 19th Olympic Winter Games, and Utah was the fifth U.S. state to host the Games since Pierre de Coubertin organized the first modern Olympic Games in 1986.
The Games took place from February 8 to 24, 2002, in Salt Lake City, Utah, and the surrounding Wasatch Mountains. During the 17 days of competition, 2,399 athletes — including 886 women — from 77 delegations participated in 78 events.
Utah drew on its spirit of volunteerism and welcomed the world with 22,000 volunteers. To cover the action, 8,730 members of the media came to Salt Lake City to report on history in the making.
On February 8, President George W. Bush officially opened the Games at the Opening Ceremony in Rice-Eccles Olympic Stadium. Skeleton athlete Jim Shea Jr. took the Olympic Oath and alpine skier Allen Church took the Official’s Oath. The honor of lighting the Olympic Cauldron went to members of the 1980 U.S. Olympic “Miracle on Ice” hockey team.
Salt Lake 2002 set many new marks in the history of the Olympic Winter Games. Here, 18 nations won gold, setting a new record. Estonia and Croatia each brought home their first Olympic Winter Games medals; and China and Australia won their first Olympic Winter Games gold medals. Skeleton returned as a discipline for the first time since 1928; and women competed in bobsleigh for the first time ever. Nordic combined athlete Samppa Lajunen from Finland was the first-ever individual athlete to win three gold medals at a single Games.
When Georg Hackl of Germany won a silver medal in singles luge at Salt Lake 2002, he became the first Olympian to win a medal five times in five consecutive Games in the same individual event. U.S. women’s bobsleigh athlete Vonetta Flowers became the first black Olympic Winter Games champion; and Canadian Jarome Iginla was the first black male Olympic champion in ice hockey.
Salt Lake 2002 was among the most successful Games in history, both in sport and business. More than 2 billion people worldwide watched the Games and with the $40 million surplus from fundraising, officials created the Utah Athletic Foundation to maintain the competition venues for perpetuity.
Arts and Culture
A dazzling glass sculpture by Dale Chihuly. The improbable positions of Pilobolus. Notes from jazz legend Billy Taylor. These were just some of the sights and sounds that complemented the Salt Lake 2002 competitions and celebrations.
The Salt Lake 2002 Olympic Arts Festival highlighted the achievements of artists alongside the accomplishments of athletes. Recognizing culture as the second pillar of the Olympic Movement, Salt Lake 2002 honored U.S. contributions to the arts and humanities, explored the theme of the American West, and embraced Utah’s heritage as a crossroads of worldwide pioneers. The Salt Lake 2002 Olympic Arts Festival featured talented artists from tap prodigy Savion Glover to Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky, and celebrated the Olympic Movement’s contribution to humanity.
