Relighting the fire within Day 15: 2002 Winter Olympics were influential, inspiring

EDITOR'S NOTE: This is the 15th and last in a series of articles looking back on the 2002 Winter Games in conjunction with the event's 10-year anniversary.

SALT LAKE CITY — Organizers of the 2002 Games didn't have to rely on anecdotes when determining the success of their efforts to host the 2002 Winter Olympics.

A Deseret News/KSL-TV poll conducted by Dan Jones & Associates in 1997 showed that only 53 percent of Utah residents approved of Utah's effort to host the 2002 Winter Olympics. By the time the 17-day event concluded, 83 percent of Utahns favored hosting the Games.

For those who were unsure what hosting the Games would bring, the experience was convincing.

Despite controversies such as the IOC bribery scandal and the figure skating double gold medal in pairs, the feeling about the Games was overwhelmingly positive.

It remains that way 10 years later with state officials forming a committee that will explore the possibilities of bidding on the Games as soon as 2022. Despite the cost associated, public sentiment is on the side of Olympic sport.

Many cite the volunteers and positive energy of the games as reasons they enjoyed the Olympics. But there is no doubt about it that the athletes gave us moments that continue to inspire us.

In many sports, for many athletes, the Salt Lake City Games laid the groundwork for so many future accomplishments.

For example, in snowboarding alone the jump in popularity was almost unbelievable. In Nagano's Olympics the sport, newly admitted to the Olympic family, received just 40 minutes of television time. In 2002, the sport was on television for eight hours, and those who watched saw Americans dominate.

"I really believe that Olympic event, that venue really helped establish snowboarding with the public," said Kelly Clark, who won a gold medal on the women's side and earned a bronze in Vancouver in 2010.

"I definitely think having it in the Olympics has helped make it more accepted with the public," she said.

And Park City resident Jill Bakken, who won a gold medal in bobsledding with Vonetta Flowers, will be inducted into the U.S. Bobsled and Skeleton Federation (USBSF) Hall of Fame this Saturday.

Bakken was just 16 when she and Flowers made history by winning the inaugural women's bobsled event at the Utah Olympic Park.

Their success set a high expecation for women in the sport that still exists today.

Flowers became the first African-American to win a Winter Olympic gold medal, while the duo inspired women in and out of the sport.

The Games have repeatedly been called the best by U.S. coaches, organizers and athletes, but also by those athletes who competed here, even for other countries.

EMAIL: adonaldson@desnews.com