Countdown clock used for the games in the shape of anarrowheadSalt Lake City during the 2002 Winter OlympicsCurling atThe Ice Sheet at Ogden on February 22, 20022002 Olympic Winter Games $5 coin created by theU.S. Mint
The2002 Winter Olympics, officially theXIX Olympic Winter Games and commonly known asSalt Lake 2002, were an international wintermulti-sport event that was held from February 8 to 24, 2002, in and aroundSalt Lake City,Utah, United States.
Salt Lake City was selected as the host city in June 1995 at the 104thIOC Session. They were the eighth Olympics to be hosted by the United States, and the most recent to be held in the country until 2028, when Los Angeles will host the34th Summer Olympics. The 2002 Winter Olympics andParalympics were both organized by theSalt Lake Organizing Committee (SLOC), the first time that both events were organized by a single committee, and inspiring other Olympic and Paralympic Games to be organized by such since then.[1] These were the first Olympic Games under theInternational Olympic Committee (IOC) presidency ofJacques Rogge.
The Games featured 2,399 athletes from 78 nations, participating in 78 events in 15 disciplines. Norway topped the medal table, with 13 gold and 25 medals overall, while Germany finished with the most total medals, winning 36 (with 12 of them gold). The hosting United States was third by gold medals and second by overall medals, with 10 and 34 respectively. Australia notably became the firstSouthern Hemisphere country to ever win gold medals at the Winter Olympics.
The Games finished with a budgetary surplus of US$40 million; the surplus was used to fund the formation of the Utah Athletic Foundation—which has continued to maintain the facilities built for these Olympics. The venues have continued to be used for national and international winter sports events after the Olympics. In 2023, the IOC's Future Host Commission invited Salt Lake City to participate in targeted dialogue with the IOC as preferred host of the2034 Winter Olympics; the Games were officially awarded to Salt Lake City–Utah in July 2024.
Salt Lake City was chosen over Québec City, Canada; Sion, Switzerland; and Östersund, Sweden, on June 16, 1995, at the 104thIOC Session inBudapest, Hungary.[2] Salt Lake City had previously come in second during the bids for the1998 Winter Olympics, awarded toNagano, Japan, and had offered to be the provisional host of the1976 Winter Olympics when the original host,Denver, Colorado, withdrew. The 1976 Winter Olympics were ultimately awarded toInnsbruck, Austria.
There was ascandal involving allegations of bribery used to win the rights to the Games. Prior to its successful bid, Salt Lake City had attempted four times to secure the games, failing each time. In 1998, members of theInternational Olympic Committee (IOC) were accused of taking gifts from theSalt Lake Organizing Committee (SLOC) during the bidding process. The allegations resulted in the expulsion of several IOC members and the adoption of new IOC rules. Although nothing strictly illegal had been done, it was felt that the acceptance of the gifts was morally dubious. In addition, legal charges were brought against the leaders of Salt Lake's bid committee by theUnited States Department of Justice.[3] Investigations were also launched into prior bidding process by other cities, finding that members of the IOC received bribes during the bidding process for both the1998 Winter Olympics and2000 Summer Olympics.[4] In response to the scandal,Mitt Romney was hired as the new president and CEO of the Salt Lake Organizing Committee in February 1999.[5][6]
The torch relay ceremonially began on November 19, 2001, with the traditional kindling of an Olympic flame in Olympia, Greece.[8] On December 3, Greek skier Thanassis Tsailas lit the first torch from the cauldron, and transferred its flame to a ceremonial lantern for transport to Atlanta, where it arrived on December 4 to officially launch the U.S. leg of the relay.[9][10] The route of the relay covered 13,500 miles (21,700 km), passed through 300 communities and 46 U.S. states, and was carried by 12,012 torchbearers.[11]
The torch was modeled after an icicle, with a slight curve to represent speed and fluidity. The torch measures 33 inches (84 cm) long, 3 inches (7.6 cm) wide at the top, 0.5 inches (1.3 cm) at the bottom, and was designed by Axiom Design of Salt Lake City.[12][13] It was created with three sections, each with its own meaning and representation.[12]
In February 1999, in response to thebid scandal and a financial shortfall for the Games,Mitt Romney, then CEO of the private equity firmBain Capital (and futureU.S. presidential candidate,U.S. Senator, andGovernor of Massachusetts), washired as the new president and CEO of the Salt Lake Organizing Committee.[5] Romney, Kem C. Gardner, a Utah commercial real estate developer, and Don Stirling, the Olympics' local marketing chief, raised "millions of dollars from Mormon families with pioneer roots: the Eccles family, whose forebears were important industrialists and bankers" to help rescue the Games, according to a later report.[14] An additionalUS$410 million was received from the federal government.[15] U.S. federal subsidies amounted to $1.3 billion (for infrastructure improvements only), compared to $45 billion of federal funding received by the organizing committee of the2014 Winter Olympics from the Russian government.[16][17] The Games were financially successful, raising more money with fewer sponsors than any prior Olympic Games, which left SLOC with a surplus of$40 million. The surplus was used to create the Utah Athletic Foundation, which maintains and operates many of the remaining Olympic venues.[18]
The Oxford Olympics Study established the outturn cost of the Salt Lake City 2002 Winter Olympics at US$2.5 billion in 2015-dollars and cost overrun at 24% in real terms.[19] This includes sports-related costs only, that is, (i)operational costs incurred by the organizing committee to stage the Games, e.g., expenditures for technology, transportation, workforce, administration, security, catering, ceremonies, and medical services, and (ii)direct capital costs incurred by the host city and country or private investors to build, e.g., the competition venues, the Olympic village, international broadcast center, and media and press center, which are required to host the Games. Indirect capital costs arenot included, such as for road, rail, or airport infrastructure, or for hotel upgrades or other business investment incurred in preparation for the Games but not directly related to staging the Games. The cost and cost overrun for Salt Lake City 2002 compares with costs of US$2.5 billion and a cost overrun of 13% for Vancouver 2010, and costs of US$51 billion[16] and a cost overrun of 289% for Sochi 2014, the latter being the most costly Olympics to date. The average cost for Winter Games since 1960 is US$3.1 billion, average cost overrun is 142%.
Spc. Patrick Jean-Mary, of Warwick, R.I., inspects two forms of identification during the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City
The 2002 Winter Games were the first Olympic Games to take place since theSeptember 11 attacks, which meant a higher level of security than ever before provided for the Games. As a result, theOffice of Homeland Security (OHS) designated the Olympics aNational Special Security Event (NSSE). Aerial surveillance and radar control was provided by theU.S. Marines of Marine Air Control Squadron 2, Detachment C, fromCherry Point, North Carolina. TheFBI and NSA arranged withQwest Communications to use intercept equipment for a period of less than six months around the time of the 2002 Winter Olympics.[20]
When he spoke during the opening ceremonies,Jacques Rogge, presiding over his first Olympics as the IOC president, told the athletes of the United States:[21]
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.
Work on venues for the 2002 Winter Olympics began as early as 1989, following the passing of a state referendum that authorized the use of taxpayer money to publicly fund the construction of new facilities for a Winter Olympics bid in 1998 or 2002. Their construction was overseen by the Salt Lake Olympic Bid Committee and the Utah Sports Authority—a body created under the referendum.[22][23]
Delta Center hosted figure skating and short track speed skating; it was renamedSalt Lake Ice Center for the duration of the Games due to IOC sponsorship rules.[28]Rice-Eccles Stadium at theUniversity of Utah hosted the opening and closing ceremonies.[29] TheOlympic Village was built at historicFort Douglas, whose land had been acquired by the University of Utah to construct new residences. The SLOC provided funding to the project in exchange for its use during the Olympics.[30]
Main Street inPark City was converted into a pedestrian plaza during the Games, with festivities such as concerts, firework shows, and sponsor presences.[31][32] Medal presentations took place in downtown Salt Lake City; the stage for the ceremony featured theHoberman Arch, an arch-shaped metal "curtain" designed byChuck Hoberman.[33]
The Olympic cauldron being lit by the 1980 U.S. men's hockey team.
The opening ceremony of the 2002 Winter Olympics was held at Rice–Eccles Stadium at the University of Utah on February 8, 2002. The facility was renovated and expanded for the Games.[29] The Games were officially opened by PresidentGeorge W. Bush, who was standing among the US athletes (previous heads of state opened the Games from an official box), while the Olympic cauldron was lit by members of the gold medal-winningU.S. men's ice hockey team from the1980 Winter Olympics inLake Placid, New York (as made famous by the "Miracle on Ice").[46]
The Olympic cauldron was designed to look like anicicle and was made of glass, allowing the fire to be seen burning within, reflecting the Games' slogan "Light the Fire Within" and an overarching "fire and ice" theme. The actual glass cauldron stands atop a twisting glass and steel support, is 12 feet (3.7 m) high, and the flame within burns at 900 °F (482 °C).[50] Together with its support, the cauldron stands 117 feet (36 m) tall and was made of 738 individual pieces of glass. Small jets send water down the glass sides of the cauldron to keep the glass and metal cooled (so they would not crack or melt) and give the effect of melting ice.[51] The cauldron was designed byWET Design of Los Angeles, its frame built by roller coaster manufacturerArrow Dynamics ofClearfield, Utah, and its glass pieces created by Western Glass ofOgden, Utah. The cauldron's cost was $2 million, and it was unveiled to the public when originally installed at Rice–Eccles Stadium on January 8, 2002.[52]
Production for the opening and closing ceremonies was designed by Seven Nielsen, and music for both ceremonies was directed byMark Watters.[53]
Confirmed in 1997, this edition's sports program featured seven sports divided into 15 disciplines, totaling 78 events, an increase of 10 events over the 1998 Winter Olympics.Skeleton made its return to the Winter Olympic program for the first time since1948, while a women's doubles event was contested for the first time in bobsleigh. A fourth distance was introduced in short track speed skating for men and women, and the pursuit events were added to biathlon and cross-country skiing. The sprint event was also added to the Nordic combined program.
A total of 78 teams qualified at least one athlete to compete in the Games. Five NOCs made their Winter Olympic debut in Salt Lake, including Cameroon, Hong Kong, Nepal, Tajikistan, and Thailand.[54] Costa Rica and Lebanon returned to the Winter games after a 10-year absence, and Fiji, Mexico and San Marino returned after 8 years. Four countries, Luxembourg, North Korea, Portugal and Uruguay which were at the 1998 Games, did not participate in 2002.
Andrea Nahrgang competing atSoldier Hollow on February 18, 2002
In the following calendar for the 2002 Winter Olympic Games, each blue box represents an event competition, such as a qualification round, on that day. The yellow boxes represent days during which medal-awarding finals for a sport are held. The number in each box represents the number of finals that were contested on that day.[55]
Ski jumping medals being awarded at the Salt Lake Medal Plaza on February 13, 2002Fireworks at the Salt Lake Medal PlazaVonetta Flowers andJill Bakken during their medal ceremony at the Salt Lake Medal Plaza, after winning gold for the United States in the two-woman bobsleigh
At the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City, the "medal plaza" was popularized as a way for the public to see presentations that would have otherwise taken place at far-flung, low-capacity or high-altitude venues and to have an evening program that often included musical performances.
Departing fromJuan Antonio Samaranch's tradition of declaring each Olympics the "best ever", IOC president Jacques Rogge began a tradition of assigning each Games their own identity in his comments, describing the 2002 Winter Olympics as having been "flawless".[64]
The 2002 Cultural Olympiad, which ran from January to March 2002,[65] was an arts festival that accompanied the 2002 Winter Olympics. It included specially commissioned works, such asAlvin Ailey American Dance Theater's workHere...Now inspired by the life of OlympianFlorence Griffith Joyner, accompanied by music byWynton Marsalis.[66] An art exhibition was held atSpringville Museum of Art that celebrated 150 years of Utah's art history.[67] The programme also featured many other performances, including dance, theatre, singing, and literature, as well as the glass art ofDale Chihuly.[65]
composed byJohn Williams for the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. Performed by theMormon Tabernacle Choir and theUtah Symphony Orchestra. The choir sings the Olympic motto"Citius, Altius, Fortius" which is Latin for "Faster, Higher, Stronger."[68]
Members of the US Olympic team at theRice–Eccles Olympic Stadium holding the American flag that flew over the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001The men's 10km sprint biathlon race atSoldier Hollow during the Games on February 13, 2002TheE Center during a hockey match on February 11, 2002
Competition highlights included biathleteOle Einar Bjørndalen of Norway, winning gold in all four men's events (10 km, 12.5 km, 20 km, 4 x 7.5 km relay),Nordic combined athleteSamppa Lajunen of Finland winning three gold medals,Simon Ammann of Switzerland taking the double in ski jumping. In alpine skiing,Janica Kostelić won three golds and a silver (the first Winter Olympic medals ever for an athlete from Croatia), whileKjetil André Aamodt of Norway earned his second and third career golds, setting up both athletes to beat the sport's record with their fourth golds earned at the nextWinter Olympics near Turin (Aamodt also set the overall medal record in the sport with eight).
Ireland reached its best-ever position and came close to winning its first winter medal whenClifton Wrottesley (Clifton Hugh Lancelot de Verdon Wrottesley, 6th Baron Wrottesley) finished fourth in the men's skeleton event.
A feature of these Games was the emergence of extreme sports, such as snowboarding, moguls, and aerials, some of which appeared in previous Olympic Winter Games but subsequently captured greater public attention.
AmericanSarah Hughes won the gold medal in ladies' singles figure skating. Her team-mateMichelle Kwan fell during her long program and received the bronze medal.
China won its first and second Winter Olympic gold medals, both by women's short-track speed skaterYang Yang (A).
In themen's 1000m competition in short-track speed skating, AustralianSteven Bradbury (who had won a bronze in1994 as part of a relay team) became both the first-ever Australian, and the first-ever athlete from a country in theSouthern Hemisphere, to win a gold medal at the Winter Olympics. Despite being off their pace, Bradbury benefitted from crashes involving his opponents in both the semi-finals and finals, with the latter occurring coming out of the final turn.[69][70] A few days later inwomen's aerials, Australian skierAlisa Camplin won Australia's second gold medal.[71] After the Games, the phrase "doing a Bradbury" would become a localidiom for an unexpected victory in a sporting event at the expense of one's opponents, and was added to the second edition ofThe Australian National Dictionary in 2016.[72]
Belarus'sVladimir Kopat scored agame winning goal from center ice against Sweden in the men's ice hockey quarterfinals, getting Belarus to their best place in international hockey so far.
TheCanadian men's ice hockey team defeated the United States team 5–2 to claim the gold medal, ending a 50-year drought without hockey gold. The Canadian women's team also defeated the American team 3–2 after losing to them inNagano. In a post-game press conference after the men's gold medal game, Team Canada's executive directorWayne Gretzky revealed that aCanadian $1 coin (colloquially known as a "Loonie") had been secretly placed at center ice by one of the ice technicians. The "lucky Loonie" subsequently became a notable symbol of Canada's victory in the tournament.[73][74]
The overall branding of the 2002 Winter Olympics was based on a concept entitled "Land of Contrast — Fire and Ice", which featured a palette of warm and cool colors to contrast the warmer, rugged,red-rock areas of Southern Utah from the colder, mountainous regions of Northern Utah.[75]
The emblem for the 2002 Winter Olympics was unveiled in August 1997, consisting of a stylized snowflake with segments colored in blue, orange, and yellow. The emblem was designed to resemble an Olympic cauldron and flame, as well as a sun rising from behind mountains. The orange center section of the flame was intended to reflect traditionalNavajo weaving.[75] The official event pictograms were inspired bybranding irons, and the line thickness and 30-degree angles mirrored those of the emblem.[75]
The designs of the mascots of the 2002 Winter Olympics were unveiled on May 19, 1999, during an event marking 1,000 days until the opening ceremony.[76] The mascots represent three animals native to thewestern United States — asnowshoe hare,coyote, andAmerican black bear respectively, with each mascot symbolizing a character from the legends of local Native Americans, and wearing a charm around their neck with an originalAnasazi orFremont-stylepetroglyph. For the first time in Olympic history, the names of the mascots were determined by a public vote, using name suggestions submitted by local students; on September 25, the names of the mascots were officially announced as Powder, Copper, and Coal respectively.[77]
International Sports Broadcasting (ISB) served as the host broadcaster for the 2002 Winter Olympics; theSalt Palace convention center served as theInternational Broadcast Centre and press center for the Games.[78] The IOC estimated that the 2002 Winter Olympics were viewed by over two billion people worldwide, with 13 billion viewer-hours watched.[18]
In the United States, the 2002 Winter Olympics were broadcast byNBC-owned networks. They were the first Winter Olympics under a multi-year rights agreement between NBC and the IOC, under which it would hold exclusive rights to all Olympic Games from1996 through2008. The contract had excluded the 1998 Winter Olympics, asCBS Sports had an existing deal to exclusively televise the Winter Olympics from1992 through 1998.[79]
NBC partnered withHDNet to produce an eight-hour block of daily coverage inhigh definition, which was carried by HDNet and on thedigital signals of participating NBCaffiliates.[80][81] Despite being held in atime zone only one hour ahead ofPacific Time, NBC stilltape delayed much of its coverage for the west coast, although Salt Lake City's local NBC affiliateKSL-TV was given permission to air the live, east coast broadcasts to ensure their availability in the Games' host city.[82][83]
The 2002 Winter Olympics brought a huge amount of success to the Utah skiing industry. Since hosting the Winter Games, Utah has seen a 42% increase in skier and snowboarder visits as of 2010[update]–11. This increase resulted in direct expenditures from skiers and snowboarders growing 67% from $704 million in 2002–2003 to $1.2 billion in 2010–2011.[85]
Fourteen venues were constructed or expanded in preparation for the Winter Games. One of the venues constructed for the Games was theUtah Olympic Park, which has proven to be one of the most successful venues to date because it has been maintained in top competition form. Owing to the routine maintenance of the park, Utah has been able to host a large number of winter competitions since 2002, including more than 60 World Cup events (e.g. theFIS Freestyle Skiing World Cup), as well as seven world championships, and various other sporting events. Hosting these high-profile competitions has resulted in approximately $1 billion being injected into the local economy.[86] During 2013–2014, Utah held 16 various winter sport events, bringing $27.3 million to the economy of Utah.[87] After holding the Olympics, Utah became home to two National Governing Bodies of Sport.[88] TheU.S. Ski and Snowboard Association is headquartered inPark City, Utah and the U.S. Olympic speed skating team is based out of theUtah Olympic Oval.
TheUniversity of Utah was one of the hosts of the 2002 Winter Olympics; the planning committee approached the University of Utah and asked them to build several student dormitories which would serve as athletes' accommodation during the Games. It was agreed that the university would pay approximately $98 million out of the total required amount of $110 million to complete the construction. As a result, students of the university have benefited as almost 3,500 of them would be housed here after the Games. This was a great economic benefit to the university since the amount of money used to complete such dormitories could take long to be afforded. The university was also asked to expandRice Eccles Stadium to accommodate 50,000 people up from 32,000. The university would then be refunded almost $59 million and be given an extra $40 million for its maintenance.[89]
The 2002 Olympic Games also benefited the university economically since theSalt Lake 2002 Olympic Cauldron Park was elevated by the renovations that took place. Ice rinks were very scarce in Utah, but they became plentiful and offered several entertainment and training opportunities for hockey players and figure skaters due to the Olympic Games. The Cauldron Park located at the University of Utah which was built with $6.5 million in profits and had the following features: a visitors' center which had a theater that showed a thrilling movie about the Olympic Games of 2002 and a "park" which had a dazzling pool and a V-shaped stone wall with the names of all the medalists of the 2002 Olympic Games. Besides, the park had 17 plates that hung on the stadium's fence celebrating the highlights of each day of the Olympics. All these features acted as tourist attraction that boosted the economic development of the university. In addition, it is indicated that the approximate value of media exposure through print during the Games was equated to $22.9 million. Mainly, this was a huge economic benefit to the university as more and more people got to know about the educational establishment, and this also boosted enrollment and future development.
Holger Preuss in his bookThe Economics of Staging the Olympics: A Comparison of the Games 1972–2008 argues that "The export of the 'Olympic Games' service results in an inflow of funds to the host city, causing additional production which, in its turn, leads to employment and income effects."[90] According to the study "2002 Olympic Winter Games, Economic, Demographic and Fiscal Impacts", the estimated creation of new job years of employment was 35,424, and additional earnings of $1,544,203,000.[91] It was noted that the increase of Olympic related job started in 1996 and continued until 2003. These effects can be estimated on the ground of historical relationship between job and corresponding population growth. A lot of people migrated into the future place of theOlympic Games for expanding and favorable employment opportunities that the Olympics ensured. Although residents occupied many of the higher paying jobs created by the Games, many of the vacated jobs were filled by immigrants who relocated for the better employment opportunities.
Basically, the immigration rate was even larger because the employees immigrated with their families. The additional people paid diverse taxes and fees from their income, creating additional revenue on the state and local levels.
Olympic related jobs in Utah started in 1996 with slight job opportunities of less than 100. However, from the job measurement conducted from 1996 to 2002, steady attainment of job opportunities established and a maximum level was noted in 2001 where there were 12,500 job opportunities attained yearly, and approximately 25,070 jobs created in 2002.[92] Therefore, from 1996 to 2002 the sum of employment equated to 35,000 jobs which lasted a year. February 2002 is when the highest employment opportunities were created compared to other years. There were around 25,070 job opportunities created compared to 35,000 created from 1996 to 2001.
It is difficult to quantify the impact of the 2002 Olympics on theunemployment rates in Utah, due mostly to the effect of theearly 2000s recession. In 1996, the unemployment rate in Utah was approximately 3.4%, while the U.S. national average was 5.4% and by the end of 2001, the unemployment rate in Utah was around 4.8%, while the national average had risen to 5.7%.[93] There was a high percentage of visitors to the Games, which raised the number of tourists whose consumption and demand prompted the establishment of job opportunities to meet the demands.[citation needed][94]
In 2017, an exploratory committee was formed to consider a Salt Lake City bid for a future Winter Olympics.[95] In December 2018, the United States Olympic Committee (USOC, now theUnited States Olympic & Paralympic Committee [USOPC]) named Salt Lake City as its preferred candidate to bid for a future Winter Olympics, citing that its experience and existing venues could be leveraged.[96] In February 2022, amid the2022 Winter Olympics and the 20th anniversary of the Games in Salt Lake City, the USOPC stated that it was "already in dialogue with the IOC, not yet for a specific year but as part of their evolving process", and acknowledged that there was "very high excitement and support from the local population."[97]
In November 2023, the IOC's Future Host Commission recommended that Salt Lake City–Utah be invited to engage in "targeted dialogue" with the IOC Executive Board, as preferred host for the2034 Winter Olympics; the Future Host Commission cited the bid's reliance on private funding, as well as plans to reuse much of the infrastructure that was originally built for the 2002 Games.[98]
On July 24, 2024, during the142nd IOC Session in Paris just before the2024 Summer Olympics in that city, Salt Lake City–Utah was selected to host the 2034 Winter Olympics andParalympics. IOC PresidentThomas Bach said: "Salt Lake City and Utah are long-time friends of the Olympic Movement, and we are confident that they will organize exceptional Olympic and Paralympic Games, just as they did years ago. The legacy of 2002 is tangibly and passionately alive in Utah. The legacy of 2034 starts today."[99] With the 2034 Winter Olympics, Salt Lake City will become the fourth city to host multiple Winter Games after Innsbruck (1964 and1976), Lake Placid (1932 and1980), and Cortina d'Ampezzo (1956 and2026).
The 2002 Winter Olympics were the first Winter Olympics held after the formation of theWorld Anti-Doping Agency, resulting in the first instances of athletes being disqualified for failing drug testing.[100] Athletes incross-country skiing were disqualified for various reasons, includingdoping by two Russians and one Spaniard, leading Russia to file protests and threaten to withdraw from the competition.[101]
A major scandal emerged during thepairs figure skating competition; the Canadian pair ofJamie Salé andDavid Pelletier narrowly lost to the Russian pair ofElena Berezhnaya andAnton Sikharulidze, despite the Canadians being deemed the favorites to win after their free skate program. The French judgeMarie-Reine Le Gougne alleged that the head of theFrench Federation of Ice Sports,Didier Gailhaguet, had pressured her to judge the competition in favor of Russia regardless of performance. Amid criticisms of the incident by both Canadian and American media outlets, and suspicions that this was part of avote swapping scheme with Russia to benefit the French ice dance team, theInternational Skating Union (ISU) voted to suspend Le Gougne for failing to immediately inform officials of Gailhaguet's actions. They also recommended to the IOC that the gold medal be jointly awarded to both pairs. An IOC panel voted in favor of the motion, resulting in both Salé and Pelletier, as well as Berezhnaya and Sikharulidze, being jointly awarded gold medals.[102][103]
In the final race A, with one lap remaining and currently in second place,Apolo Ohno of the United States attempted to make a pass on the leaderKim Dong-Sung of South Korea, who then drifted to the inside and as a result, Ohno raised his arms to imply he was blocked. Kim finished first ahead of Ohno, but the Australian refereeJames Hewish disqualified Kim for what appeared to be impeding, awarding the gold medal to Ohno.[104][105]
The disqualification of Kim upset South Korean supporters, many of whom directed their anger at Ohno and the IOC. A large number of e-mails protesting the race results crashed the IOC's email server, and thousands of accusatory letters, many of which contained death threats, were sent to Ohno and the IOC.[106][108][109][110][111] South Korean media accused Ohno of simulating foul, using theKonglish word "Hollywood action".[112] The controversy continued at the2002 FIFA World Cup, held jointly in South Korea and Japan several months after the Olympics.[113] When theSouth Korean soccer team scored a goal during thegroup stage match against theU.S. team, South Korean playersAhn Jung-Hwan andLee Chun-Soo made anexaggerated move imitating the move Ohno had made during the speed skating event to imply the other athlete had drifted into his lane.[113]
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^Karl, Jonathan,[1]Archived January 14, 2020, at theWayback Machine, "EXCLUSIVE: In '02 Romney Touted D.C. Connections, Federal Funds",ABC News, web pp. 1, March 2, 2012. Retrieved July 27, 2012.
^Flyvbjerg, Bent; Stewart, Allison; Budzier, Alexander (2016).The Oxford Olympics Study 2016: Cost and Cost Overrun at the Games. Oxford: Saïd Business School Working Papers (Oxford: University of Oxford). pp. 9–13.SSRN2804554.
^Siobhan Gorman; Jennifer Valentino-Devries (August 20, 2013)."New Details Show Broader NSA Surveillance Reach: Programs Cover 75% of Nation's Traffic, Can Snare Emails".Wall Street Journal.Archived from the original on December 27, 2014. RetrievedAugust 21, 2013.. "For the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, officials say, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and NSA arranged with Qwest Communications International Inc. to use intercept equipment for a period of less than six months around the time of the event. It monitored the content of all email and text communications in the Salt Lake City area."
^강훈상 (February 21, 2002).동계올림픽 쇼트트랙 판정에 네티즌 분노 '폭발' [Netizens explode their anger over short track ruling at the Winter Olympics].Yonhap News Agency.Archived from the original on August 22, 2021. RetrievedAugust 22, 2021 – viaNaver.
