Celebrate 2002! Utah celebrates the Winter Olympics, plus Utah athletes to root for at Beijing Games

But another great reason to turn your attention to the action is in support of the 75 athletes on Team USA with ties to Utah. More than one third of the 223 U.S. athletes competing in Beijing were either born in Utah, live and train full-time in here or were educated in Utah.

Thirteen athletes were born in Utah, and overall, Utah-related athletes will compete in 16 different events including aerials, alpine skiing, bobsled, cross-country skiing, figure skating, freestyle halfpipe, luge, moguls, Nordic combined, short track speed skating, skeleton, ski jumping, slopestyle/big air skiing, snowboarding and speed skating.

Team USA athletes born in Utah:

Isabella Wright, alpine skiing, Salt Lake City
Kaysha Love, bobsled, Herriman
Rosie Brennan, cross-country skiing, Park City
Nathan Chen, figure skating, Salt Lake City
Ashley Farquharson, luge, Park City
Cole McDonald, moguls, Park City
Nick Page, moguls, Park City
Jared Shumate, Nordic combined, Park City
Stephen Schumann, Nordic combined, Park City
Colby Stevenson, slopestyle/big air skiing, Park City
Marin Hamill, slopestyle/big air skiing, Park City
Faye Gulini, snowboard cross, Salt Lake City
Casey Dawson, speed skating, Park City

What’s more, 55 athletes live and train in Utah at least six months a year and 41 were educated at Utah high schools or universities. Additionally, 120 athletes on Team USA regularly visit Utah for short-term training camps and competitions, and Utah routinely hosts athletes from more than 40 international countries for training, education and winter sport competitions including Beijing 2022 Olympic athletes from Argentina, American Samoa, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Estonia, Great Britain, Iceland and Ireland.

For a full schedule of Olympic competition and more, visit the Beijing 2022 website at Olympics.com.

20th ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION OF 2002 WINTER OLYMPICS

The Utah Olympic Legacy Foundation is leading the 20th anniversary celebration of the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics with local events and activities starting with a social-media giveaways. Visit the 20th anniversary events around Utah, follow the Utah Olympic Park on Instagram and Facebook and the Visit Salt Lake Instagram and Facebook page, and tag them in posts for chances to win summer and winter activity passes and several grand prizes including a private bobsled experience, speed skating and biathlon lessons, and a private Flying Aces summer show.

Park City Events:

The Utah Olympic Park, downtown Park City and more places around town have a full lineup of events planned that are sure to help you relive the memories and make new ones as we look forward to perhaps another opportunity to play host to the world.

Monday, Feb. 7: NBC Olympic Rings tour at Utah Olympic Park; 9 a.m. –6 p.m.
Thursday, Feb. 10: Watch Party at Utah Olympic Park, hosted by Park City Ski & Snowboard, 6–8 p.m. This event is FREE, but VIP ticket options are available. Watch a livestream of the men’s snowboard halfpipe finals (featuring gold medalist Shaun White, of course!) and the women’s Super-G finals, enjoy food trucks, hot drinks and music. Register for the event.
February 5–6, 11–13, 19–20: The Winter Sports Festival at City Park, 10 a.m. –4 p.m.. Try your hand in “learn-to” programming for figure skating, hockey, sled hockey, speedskating, curling and wheelchair curling. Stay cozy in warming huts with free hot beverages, snacks and surprise athlete appearances. All needed equipment/rentals is FREE and will be provided on-site. Free skate is Feb. 5–6 and “Learn-To” clinics begin Feb. 11. Registration opens Feb. 2 (visit toyotawintersportsfestival.com to sign up). The festival will also be held March 12-13!
Saturday, Feb. 12: 20th Anniversary Celebration of the 2002 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games in downtown Park City, 2–5 p.m. at the Bob Wells Plaza. Enjoy live streaming of Olympics competitions and highlights from 2002, food and drinks, pin trading, athlete appearances, Winter Olympic sport demos/experiences, National Ability Center demos, climbing wall, caricature drawings, DJ/music, a live broadcast by KPCW and more.
Feb. 4-20: Team USA Store at Kimball Terrance on Historic Park City Main Street, open daily; 10 a.m.–8 p.m., Sunday through Thursday; and 10 a.m.–10 p.m., Friday and Saturday. Check out Team USA apparel from Nike and Ralph Lauren, as well as an exclusive line of Salt Lake City anniversary products. (Times subject to change.)
MARK YOUR CALENDARS! Friday, April 1, is the Youth Sports Alliance Olympic & Paralympic Homecoming Parade, 5–7 p.m., on Historic Park City Main Street.

Salt Lake City/Kearns Events:

Visit 2002 Olympic venues including the Gallivan Center, Rice-Eccles Stadium and the Utah Olympic Oval for some serious nostalgia.

Tuesday, Feb. 8: Take in the Cauldron Lighting Ceremony at Rice-Eccles Stadium from 5:45–6:30 p.m., then head to the Gallivan Center for $5 skate night.
Friday, Feb. 18: Enjoy an Ice Show at the Olympic Oval, 6 p.m., and stick around for discounted public skate ($2) and rentals.
MARK YOUR CALENDARS! Celebrate Team USA athletes who competed in Beijing on Thursday, April 14, at the Athlete Homecoming Celebration at the Utah Sports Commission’s Governor’s State of Sport Awards.

Heber Valley/Soldier Hollow Nordic Center Events:

Friday, Feb. 4: Free Nordic Ski Day, 9 a.m.–2 p.m.
Tuesday, Feb. 15: Tuesday Night Lights XC Race Series offers a fun, low-key opportunity to bring the local Nordic community together.
Feb. 22 (through March 3): Watch the world’s future Olympians and world-class junior athletes compete at the IBU Youth and Junior World Championships Biathlon.

Ogden Events:

Feb. 2 & March 2: Learn to Curl at the Weber County Sports Complex, 6–8 p.m., presented by the Ogden Curling Club; $20.02 per day. To sign up, send an email to ogdencurlingclub@gmail.com, and for additional information click here.

Orem/Provo Events:

Feb. 14-26: The University Place Celebration, open daily from 10 a.m.–9 p.m., will feature a display of flags, memorabilia and photos from 2002 Olympics.
Feb. 12: Skate like an Olympian at Peaks Ice Arena, 1:30-4:30 p.m.; also watch past Olympic highlights and Disney’s “Miracle” while on the ice. Olympic memorabilia will be on display, and the afternoon will include photo ops, raffles and goodie bags (while supplies last). Regular rates apply for public skate admission and skate rental.
Feb. 19: Meet-and-greet with 2002 gold medalist Derek Parra, 2-5 p.m.; visit the University Place website for details.