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Plenty of reason to cheer — The Utah connection in Athens

Deseret News

Published: Thursday, Aug. 12, 2004 12:39 p.m. MDT

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ATHENS — In the second coming of the Olympic Games to Greece, both in the modern era and in perpetuity, there is a definite theme of "twos" for athletes with Utah connections entered in the historic competition.

At least 27 Olympians — among the nearly 10,000 about to represent 200 countries when the Games officially begin Friday — can claim some affiliation with the Beehive State, or vice versa. Only a handful are either native-born or currently reside within the state's boundaries, but using liberal adoption policies that qualify anyone who was born here, attended school here, played professional baseball at Franklin Covey Field, accepted a paycheck from Larry H. Miller or lives within rock-throwing distance in western Wyoming (the Rulon Gardner rule), the number of "Utahns" in the Athens Olympics easily hits 27, and that's just the ones we know about.

These athletes pair up in an interesting way.

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There are two wrestlers — Heber City's unbeatable (at least in college) Cael Sanderson and already legendary Rulon Gardner, of Afton, Wyo. There are two returning volleyball Olympians — 1999 Highland High School graduate Logan Tom, the heart and soul of the U.S. women's team that is considered a definite medal contender; and 1999 BYU graduate Ryan Millar, a leading force on the U.S. men's team also expected to contend for a medal. There are two, believe it or not, divers who were born and reared in landlocked Utah — Rachelle Kunkel of West Valley City (Hunter High School and BYU) and Justin Wilcock of Smithfield (Sky View High School and BYU). There are two women BYU graduates with hyphenated names who are both entered in the track-and-field heptathlon — Tiffany Lott-Hogan from Pleasant Grove and Marsha Mark-Baird from Trinidad & Tobago. And there are two guys named Carlos employed by the Utah Jazz — guard Carlos Arroyo, who will play in Athens for his native Puerto Rico, and forward Carlos Boozer, who will suit up for his native United States of America.