2002 Salt Lake City

Salt Lake City 2002

Alpine Skiing

Biathlon

Bobsleigh

Cross-Country Skiing

Curling

Figure Skating

Freestyle Skiing

Ice Hockey

Luge

Nordic Combined

Short Track Speed Skating

Skeleton

Ski Jumping

Snowboard

Speed Skating

Australia

Austria

Belarus

Canada

Croatia

Czechia

Finland

France

Germany

Great Britain

Hungary

India

Italy

Japan

Korea

Nepal

Netherlands

Norway

P. R. China

Sweden

Switzerland

Ukraine

United States

Virgin Isl., US

Bill Schuffenhauer grew up in Salt Lake City in broken home but he overcame it winning a silver medal with the US Olympic bobsleigh team.

Bill SCHUFFENHAUER

Originals

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Bill Schuffenhauer: silver tale from Salt Lake City

Australia’s Alisa Camplin flipped her way to gold in aerials, even though she had never won a major event before and had two broken ankles.

Alisa CAMPLIN

Salt Lake 2002 | Olympic Winter games

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Alisa Camplin Jumps to Gold Despite Broken Ankles | Impossible Moments

A third generation Olympian, Jim Shea Jr. went to great lengths to win a skeleton gold medal that had eluded America for 74 years.

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Jim Shea Jr. Shouldering A Family's Olympic Legacy | Impossible Moments

"Flying Harry potter" Simon Ammann had never won a World Cup event but left the Salt Lake Winter Games in 2002 as a double Olympic champion.

Simon AMMANN

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Ammann Ski Jumping Sweeps Salt Lake City 2002

How five unassuming Scottish housewives won Great Britain's first Winter Olympic gold medal in 18 years at the 2002 Salt Lake Games.

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Team GB Women’s Curling Sweeps Gold | Impossible Moments

There's an underlying need for speed at the Olympic Winter Games.
Every event on snow and ice requires varying levels of velocity, from a precise shot to knock opposing stones away in curling to generating enough power to execute a triple Axel in figure skating.
But while there are a

Bobsleigh - Women's Bobsleigh

A history of the fastest performances at the Olympic Winter Games

Bode Miller is one of the greatest Alpine skiing stars of all time\. During a long career, which started with his d&eacute;but on the international FIS circuit in 1994 and ended at the World Championships in 2015, he made his mark in all five World Cup disciplines, racking up 33

Ted Ligety recalls how the Olympic flame was lit for him by Bode Miller in 2002

Clive Mason is remarkably self\-critical about the shot that helped to earn him the title of Sports Photographer of the Year from the Sport Journalists&rsquo; Association in 2002\.

Snapped: The moment Steven Bradbury skated to Olympic immortality  

Poised on a small stage that moved across an ice rink as dancers skated around them, all the while dressed in their iconic platform boots and make\-up, Kiss played their 1975 single, Rock And Roll All Nite, to a televised audience of billions at the Salt Lake City Closing Ceremony\.

Inside Kiss’ legendary performance at Salt Lake City 2002

The five\-man field for the men&rsquo;s 1,000m short track speed skating final at Salt Lake City 2002 was high on quality\.&nbsp;Lining up were the Republic of Korea&rsquo;s Ahn Hyun\-Soo \(who would later change his name to Viktor An and represent Russia with distinction at Sochi 2014\), American challenger Apolo Anton

Steven Bradbury, Australia’s last man standing

Hughes was not among the favourites when the eagerly awaited ladies&rsquo; figure skating competition got under way at Salt Lake City 2002\. With stars such as Michelle Kwan, Irina Slutskaya and Sasha Cohen in the field, few pinned their hopes on a skater who had yet to win a single

Sparkling Hughes skates to shock gold

Lillehammer in 1994 was my first Olympic Games and, oh my gosh, I don&rsquo;t think anything can ever prepare you for your first opening ceremony\. It was incredible\. And what made the Lillehammer Games even more special for me was that my brother, who was also an aerialist, was there

Tracy EVANS

Tracy Evans: “Nothing can prepare you for your first opening ceremony”

I went to the Opening Ceremony at my first Games, in Sarajevo in 1984, and at the time, I remember thinking that it was the most amazing few hours of my life \- it was so special\. The fact that I was there at all was quite strange because I

Mike Dixon: “Knowing that half of the people on the planet are watching you is just magnificent”

Khadka&rsquo;s story began in 1984, when a wealthy British entrepreneur, Richard Morley, was trekking in the Himalayas\. He climbed too high and fell victim to acute mountain sickness, suffering a pulmonary oedema that put his life in serious danger\. &ldquo;I was taken to a village coughing up blood,&rdquo; recounted Morley\.

The remarkable story of Nepal’s Olympic trailblazer Jayaram Khadka

In the lead\-up to the Opening Ceremony 2002, I&rsquo;d been unwell so, unfortunately, the medical team recommended that I shouldn&rsquo;t go\. But we came to a compromise: I was allowed to march in with the team and then I was whisked away straight afterwards\. I was really disappointed at the

TURIN, ITALY - FEBRUARY 9:  Rhona Martin is named as the athlete to carry the flag during the Opening Ceremony of the XX Winter Olympics on February 9, 2006 in Piazza Costello, Turin, Italy.  (Photo by Getty Images)

Curler Rhona Howie recalls ceremonies of Salt Lake City 2002 and Turin 2006

Along the way the Americans had to navigate their way through two titanic matches against Russia, drawing 2\-2 in the group stage and then winning 3\-2 in the semi\-final, despite throwing away a 3\-0 lead and having to resist an onslaught in the latter stages\.

Iginla helps end half a century of pain for Canada

Four years later he got his hands on his first Olympic gold when he was part of Canada’s victorious 5,000m relay team in Nagano, but, the medal he really craved was an individual Olympic gold\.

Gagnon makes individual gains

Slutskaya, meanwhile, had established herself as the best European skater, as evidenced by her four European titles, but in Salt Lake City she faced an American challenge that included not just the 21\-year\-old Kwan, but also a pair of talented teenagers Sasha Cohen and Sarah Hughes\.

Hughes turns teen talent into gold

The women who had played the stone was British skip Rhona Martin, who was in many ways an unlikely sort of Olympic star\. A 35\-year\-old housewife from Scotland, she had taken up curling when she was 16 years old and had represented her country in a few events, but had

Martin’s date with destiny

In that period, the Canadians had been the stronger of the two teams at the world championships, but the USA had invariably got the better of their head\-to\-head matches\.

Wickenheiser stars as Canada’s women begin gold rush

Shea Jr knew exactly what it meant to be an Olympian, as both his grandfather and father had both competed in the Olympic Winter Games\. &ndash; his grandfather, Jack, was an acclaimed speed skater who had won two gold medals at the 1932 edition of the Games, while his father,

Jim SHEA

Shea Jr lives up to his name

Gale had lived in Salt Lake City since the age of nine and it was on the local track that she got her first taste of skeleton\. That familiarity elevated her from being an also\-ran to one of the favourites, and her natural confidence and energy gave her the appearance

Gale force storms to gold

He had won two world titles in 1998 and thereafter embarked on a run of consistent success that continued through to the eve of the 2002 Winter Games\. By the time he arrived in the USA, he had taken the sprint world title four times in five years, so was

Gilt-edged Games for bionic Bjørndalen

The field was also packed with athletes who had made the switch from other sports\. The USA's best known bobsledder, Jean Racine, had recently signed up former heptathlete Gea Johnson as her brakewoman\. The Italians had Gerda Weissensteiner, a former luge champion, paired with track cyclist Antonella Bellutti, who won

Jill BAKKEN

Novice Flowers makes bobsleigh history

While his progress was impressive, he didn’t become a success overnight\. He just about qualified for the 1998 Games in Nagano but then lost his place due to an administrative error\. Rather than getting angry, Parra channelled his disappointment into a determination to improve and prosper\.

Parra glides to gold

The transition went extremely well\. She won the sprint title at the 2001 World Championships, though missed out on another medal in the combined pursuit due to some poor shooting\. In fact, that summed up her performances during much of her run\-up to Salt Lake City – great speed as

Born-again biathlete Wilhelm embarks on gold run

However, he was now 30, and some queried whether he could really maintain his position at the top, despite the fact that he had reigned supreme in the combined on the World Cup circuit in the preceding years\. Whatever happened, Aamodt was guaranteed to get plenty of attention\.

Aamodt silences the doubters with double gold

As a youngster the Australian was a talented gymnast, developing the flexibility and acrobatic prowess that would later help her freestyle skiing\. But her skiing career had to wait until longer, not least because she didn't even see snow until she was a teenager\.

Camplin secures southern hemisphere milestone

Langen was undisputedly one of the greats of bobsleigh sport, but there was one thing missing from his record: an Olympic gold in the two\-man bob\. He had competed at three editions of the Games with some distinction, amassing bronze medals in 1992 and 1998 in the two\-man, and a

Langen ends decade wait for gold

He took silver in the 1998 World Championships, and then in the Winter Games the same year repeated that feat in both the team and individual competitions\.

Lajunen completes golden clean sweep

His first appearance at the Olympic Winter Games came at Lillehammer 1994, where he won gold in the 30km and silver in the 4x10km relay\. Four years after that he picked up another relay gold and added the combined pursuit title to his tally, having beaten his countryman Bjørn Dæhlie

Alsgaard delivers golden swansong

Bradbury was quite fortunate even to be still competing in short track speed skating\. Eight years earlier, aged 20, he had sliced his leg open in a skating accident that led to him losing a huge amount of blood and needing more than 100 stitches in his leg\.

Steven BRADBURY

Wizard of Oz Bradbury’s magic moment

Yang Yang \(A\) was already an established competitor, having helped China win silver in the relay at Nagano 1998, and she had been steadily improving ever since\. He greatest achievements thus far had come outside the Olympic arena, as she had won six overall world championship titles in a row

Yang Yang (A) breaks China’s golden silence

However, after those Games his health began to deteriorate, with the possibility that his liver might fail completely, which could have been fatal\. Then, after nearly seven years on the waiting list, Klug was told that a suitable organ had become available\. On 28 July 2000, he underwent a liver

Klug’s incredible journey from operating table to Olympic podium

Her preparations for the 2002 Winter Games were hampered by a string of knee injuries, raising questions as to whether she would be able to produce her best form\. However, she returned from injury just over a month before the Games, shook off any signs of rustiness and arrived in

Four-medal Kostelić makes Alpine history

She represented the United States Virgin Islands, and was her tiny country&rsquo;s best\-known winter athlete, but her fame spread far beyond its borders\.

Amazing Abernathy pushes the limits

Then there was the supporting cast, which included French skier Carole Montillet\-Carles\. Now 28, she had spent 10 years on the World Cup circuit without winning a single downhill\.

Montillet-Carles turns tragedy into triumph 

Forsberg had been a cross country skier and a member of the Swedish team\. She had enjoyed plenty of success, winning silver as part of the relay team at the 1987 World Championships\. However, after coming home empty\-handed from the 1992 Winter Games in Albertville she decided to switch to

Forsberg ends her Olympic medal drought

Going into Salt Lake City, no Olympic athlete, in either Summer or Winter Games, had ever won a medal in the same individual event at five Games in a row\. So Hackl knew that he had the opportunity to make a piece of history\.

Georg HACKL

High five for old man of the luge Hackl

Ski jumper Simon Ammann, a 20\-year\-old from the Swiss town of Grabs, arrived in Salt Lake City with very little fanfare\. He had finished 35th at the 1998 Winter Games and had never come anywhere near to winning a World Cup event\. Just before the Games, he suffered concussion after

Ammann emerges from the shadows

Maier was no stranger to crashes\. His skiing style was all about throwing himself into courses with total effort\. Ironically, it was a crash that took place away from the slopes that put paid to his Olympic hopes\. In August 2001 he was involved in a serious motorbike accident that

Ice cool Strobl takes downhill gold

Known as &ldquo;the Tiny Tornado&rdquo;, due to her diminutive height, Belmondo combined natural talent with a determination and grit that had become the stuff of legends\. At her peak, she would ski some 10,000km a year in training\. Her stamina stood her in good stead and, once again, she was

Stefania BELMONDO

Belmondo bows out on a high

In January 2002, he won the European Championship title, which established him as one of the favourites for Salt Lake City\. His Olympic debut came in the 5,000m\. Even before he took to the ice it was clear that it would take a very fast time to win\. The Olympic

Uytdehaage comes of age

A year after the Nagano Games, she took silver medals in both the moguls and parallel moguls at the 1999 World Championships and over the next two years established herself as the best in the world\. Going into the 2001 Worlds, Traa was the clear favourite and she duly took

Traa turns on the style in women’s moguls 

Salt Lake City 2002 - Stories Mosaic

The new year is here and the Olympic Winter Games are just over 30 days away! Welcoming in the new year is all about celebrations - and we’ll see plenty of those just over a month from now when athletes begin winning medals at Beijing 2022. But before the stars

GANGNEUNG, SOUTH KOREA - FEBRUARY 22:  Gold medalists Shaoang Liu, Shaolin Sandor Liu, Viktor Knoch and Csaba Burjan of Hungary celebrate during the victory ceremony after the Short Track Speed Skating Men's 5,000m Relay Final on day 13 of the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic Games at Gangneung Ice Arena on February 22, 2018 in Gangneung, South Korea.  (Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)

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Some of the greatest celebrations in the history of the Olympic Winter Games 

Fiji, an exotic country in the Oceania region, has sent athletes to the Olympic Games since 1956. The nation’s greatest successes have come in rugby sevens, a sport in which teams from Fiji won gold at Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020.
However, despite the tropical climate of the country, there

Laurence THOMS

PARK CITY, UTAH - FEBRUARY 23:  Laurence Thoms #71 of Fiji competes in the men's slalom during the Salt Lake City Winter Olympic Games on February 23, 2002 at the Deer Valley Resort in Park City, Utah.  (Photo by Gary M. Prior/Getty Images)

Laurence Thoms

Olympic cinderellas: From white water rafting to alpine skiing

Daniela Ceccarelli achieved just one major victory in her extensive career in the sport of Alpine skiing: a gold medal in the Super-G competition at the Salt Lake City Olympic Winter Games in 2002.
However, the 46-year-old Italian is not a fan of her 16-year career simply being remembered for

17 Feb 2002:  Daniela Ceccarelli of Italy celebrates after winning gold in the women's super-G during the Salt Lake City Winter Olympic Games at the Snowbasin ski area in Salt Lake City, Utah. DIGITAL IMAGE. Mandatory Credit:   Gary M Prior/Getty Images

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Olympic cinderellas: The indomitable spirit of Daniela Ceccarelli 

Every edition of the Olympic Games seems to bring with it iconic moments without fail. So while the world eagerly anticipates which athletes will make history at the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games, let’s look back at some of the great athletes who blazed a trail and broke barriers at

PYEONGCHANG-GUN, SOUTH KOREA - FEBRUARY 24: Ester Ledecka of Czech Republic takes 1st place during the Snowboarding Men's and Women's Parallel Giant Slalom Finals at Pheonix Snow Park on February 24, 2018 in Pyeongchang-gun, South Korea. (Photo by Laurent Salino/Agence Zoom/Getty Images)

Ester Ledecka

Winter Olympic firsts: Six athletes who blazed a trail and made history at the Games

Up until the start of Beijing 2022, Olympics.com will unveil the secrets behind each of the 15 disciplines of the Winter Games through exclusive interviews with legends who accomplished greatness in their sports.
Despite having announced his retirement in 2014, Armin Zöggeler is still synonymous with adrenaline and victories in

CESANA PARIOL, ITALY - FEBRUARY 12:  Silver Medal winner Albert Demtschenko of Russia (L) and Bronze Medal winner Martins Rubenis of Latvia (R) hold up Gold Medal winner Armin Zoeggeler of Italy (C) after the Mens Luge Single Final on Day 2 of the 2006 Turin Winter Olympic Games on February 12, 2006 in Cesana Pariol, Italy.  (Photo by Sandra Behne/Bongarts/Getty Images)

Olympic Winter Games Salt Lake City 2002

Salt Lake City 2002Stories

All Stories

Some of the greatest celebrations in the history of the Olympic Winter Games

Olympic cinderellas: From white water rafting to alpine skiing

Olympic cinderellas: The indomitable spirit of Daniela Ceccarelli

Winter Olympic firsts: Six athletes who blazed a trail and made history at the Games

An Olympian explains: How to master luge with Armin Zöggeler