| Salt Lake City |
 |
 |
| GER |
12 |
16 |
7 |
35 |
 |
| USA |
10 |
13 |
11 |
34 |
|
| NOR |
11 |
7 |
6 |
24 |
|
| CAN |
6 |
3 |
8 |
17 |
|
| RUS |
6 |
6 |
4 |
16 |
|
| AUT |
2 |
4 |
10 |
16 |
|
| ITA |
4 |
4 |
4 |
12 |
|
| FRA |
4 |
5 |
2 |
11 |
|
| SUI |
3 |
2 |
6 |
11 |
|
| NED |
3 |
5 |
0 |
8 |
|
|
|
|
Soldier Hollow is the ace in U.S. nordic future
By Donna Kemp Spangler and Jerry D. Spangler
Deseret News staff writers
Nordic sports are king in northern Europe, its Olympians national heros.
But in the United States, cross country and biathlon have, for the most part, been lost in the glitter and glamour of short-track speedskating and snowboard halfpipes, bobsledders and aerial acrobatics.
So how do you explain the golden glimmer in the eyes of U.S. nordic officials?
It's called publicity, the kind they never dreamed possible and the kind they hope will catapult nordic sports in this country from obscurity.
"You can't underestimate the importance of television cameras showing 15,000 people cheering and waving banners for every single (cross country and biathlon) event at Soldier Hollow," says Courtland Nelson, director of the Utah Division of State Parks, which owns and operates Soldier Hollow.
Indeed, never before in this country have as many people gathered together to watch nordic competitions as each of the cross country and biathlon events held every day over the past 10 days at Soldier Hollow. And the reviews from athletes and fans alike have been glowing.
"I wouldn't have expected it to be this much fun to watch," said Mark Wade of Salt Lake.
"I had no idea how exciting it would be," gushed Kim Wetsel of Vancouver, Wash. "It was unbelievable, the crowds and everything."
Added Mark Silver, also of Salt Lake, "it was so much fun. It gets me fired up to go out and buy a gun and skis and do this on weekends."
Those are the kind of reviews that have U.S. officials hoping the future of nordic sports in this country is golden, though they admit it may be a long time before that level of public interest happens again.
But, Nelson said, it is the start of big dreams that could culminate in America's first Olympic medal in the 2010 Winter Olympics.
Officials with the associations that manage biathlon and cross country have teamed with state parks to develop a youth outreach program with the basic goal of "getting our kids up there and teaching them how to ski."
Every year, they plan to involve 20,000 Utahns, mostly kids, in a low-cost learn-to-ski program, from which 200 to 300 will be groomed for nordic competitions.
"Our objective is that we will have an Olympian from the program compete in the 2010 Winter Games," Nelson said.
To this point, the best American finish in Olympic biathlon was 13th, which happened just last week at Soldier Hollow, setting off thunderous celebrations among the American team.
Soldier Hollow represents the cream of the U.S. facilities, but others have been built in Maine, Michigan and Minnesota.
"There's a groundswell of interest," said Jerry Kokesh, marketing director for the U.S. Biathlon Association, the local governing body for biathlon. "But that's a small piece of the pie."
Media coverage is the key to long-term success, he added.
During the 2002 Winter Games, NBC has provided live coverage of the biathlon and cross-country events, something never done before, Kokesh said. "The fact every Olympic biathlon event is going to be on NBC and MSNBC, that's huge."
E-MAIL: donna@desnews.com; spang@desnews.com
|
|
February 18, 2002
|
