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 Full 2002 table

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A&E airs Paralympics

Shelley Osterloh
KSL-TV

      For the first time ever, a major cable network is airing the competition in the United States.
      The Arts and Entertainment channel isn't known for sports coverage.
      A&E is a cable network known for its compelling biographies, documentaries and drama series.
      The folks at A&E know how to tell a good story, and there's plenty of those at the paralympics.
      It's a first for the network and first for the games to have major coverage.
      Each day, at 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., the cable network broadcasts features, interviews and edited competition of the Paralympics.
      Harry Smith: "Hello everyone I'm Harry Smith."
      Joan Lunden: "And I'm Joan Lunden. Welcome to A&E's coverage of the 2002 Paralympic Winter Games."
      The program originates from here, in the KSL studios. Coverage of the Games may be groundbreaking, but these two longtime network news anchors have covered more than a half-dozen Olympics.
      Now with A&E, Smith hosts "Biography," and Lunden, "Behind Closed Doors."
      Not so different they say, from the compelling stories about remarkable athletes.
      Joan Lunden: "These are a lot of biographies about some of the most interesting people that just have such determination and fortitude, that we can all learn from."
      Harry Smith: "In a lot of ways they have used a disability or an accident or misfortune to enhance their lives as opposed to take away from their lives."
      Both say they have been touched by the athletes way of looking at life, and hope their coverage reflects that.
      Harry Smith: "It's really about a philosophy of life. It's about a philosophy of participation, about competiton about reaching for the higher rung. All of the lessons we have learned from this week of Paralympic Games are lessons each of us can benefit from."
      Smith and Lunden say they have enjoyed meeting the athletes and watching the intense competition, and hope their coverage leaves a lasting impression with viewers.
      Harry Smith: "I think, if anything, in my conversations with the Paraylmpians we've met this week, perhaps this coverage on a major cable network will be a vehicle for people with disabilities to say, 'Maybe that's something I want to do.' "
      Joan Lunden: "I also think it will open people's minds to how they look at disabled people, not up on the mountain, but in everyday life. and that's the extra bonus that I think comes out of this kind of coverage."
      Lunden and Smith are very complimentary about how Salt Lake City has hosted the Olympics and Paralympics.
      The world wide audience is growing too.
      28 of the 35 participating countries are airing segements of the Paralympic games.