| 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 |
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Utahns sew some Oly spirit for Iranian team
Family heeds call for help and sews insignias on jackets
By Linda Thomson
Deseret News staff writer
SANDY — LuAnne Gustafson, who owns an embroidery business, was heading to an evening wedding reception Feb. 7 when she got a desperate call for help.
The Iranian ski team, which had arrived for the 2002 Winter Games at the last minute, had some attractive, but unmarked, royal blue ski outfits purchased in Austria.
Would Gustafson please sew "IRAN" and ski insignias on the jackets?
The man on the phone said he had tried other places but they either refused or were closed.
Gustafson, who runs Classy Threads Embroidery, a custom embroidery business with her husband, Eric, said she'd take on the project after a quick stop at the reception.
When she got back, her husband was there with a representative of the Iranian team, their English-speaking driver and five of the seven team members.
Although this was a last-minute rush, LuAnne Gustafson was able to piece together what she believes was their situation. She concluded that the team at first was not going to compete after President Bush in his State of the Union address termed Iran part of an "axis of evil" that supports terrorism along with Iraq and North Korea.
But she understood that the Iranian team got a last-minute call from the State Department inviting the team to participate and telling them that politics shouldn't keep them from competing in their alpine and cross country events.
However, there wasn't time to assemble outfits that match the Iranian flag with its colors of red, white and green.
"Their concern was that no one was going to know where they were from. It's not that they were unhappy with their coats, but they said, 'People won't know who we are,' " LuAnne Gustafson said.
They were willing to pay cash, and Eric Gustafson assured them they would not be gouged on the price.
She and her husband ran their computerized sewing machine from 9:30 p.m. to 3 a.m. to complete the work.
By chance, the Gustafsons recently ordered seven royal blue ski caps for their own family that were a perfect match for the Iranian ski jackets. "We sewed the Iranian patch onto the hats," LuAnne Gustafson said.
When the outfits were collected on the morning of the opening ceremonies, LuAnne Gustafson said their driver told her, "You have no idea what you have done tonight. These guys said nowhere in the world but America would someone do that for us."
"It's nice they said that because technically they're not our friends," she said.
The Gustafsons and their five children cheered the Iranian athletes when they spotted them on television during the opening ceremonies, at which the Iranians got somewhat subdued, but polite, applause from the crowd at Rice-Eccles Olympic Stadium.
"When they marched onto the field at the opening ceremonies, they looked perfectly put together," LuAnne Gustafson said.
She understands the United States' war on terrorism and its need to be wary of certain governments, but she also appreciates that athletes are not the people running the governments.
"I don't stay up all night embroidering for everybody, but when it's the Olympics, I felt these guys needed some help. Because they're from Iran, we wanted to show we're friendly with everybody. They felt they had a problem because they felt they were not going to feel welcome.
"I hope they felt they were welcome and we were all glad to have them here."
For their part, the Iranians do feel welcome, according to a spokesman.
"The American people and especially the people of Utah have been extremely kind and generous to the Iranian delegation and the athletes," said Eisa Shemshaki, acting chef de mission for the Iranian National Olympic Committee.
"The team sincerely appreciates the work that the Gustafsons had done at the 11th hour before the opening ceremonies," Shemshaki said. "The people on the streets also have been extremely kind and generous, taking pictures with the athletes, and the athletes are having a fantastic time here in Utah."
E-MAIL: lindat@desnews.com
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February 21, 2002
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