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Paralympics were a learning experience for Leavitt
Utah governor says Games provide life lessons for anyone
By Amy Donaldson
Deseret News sports writer
As Gov. Mike Leavitt made his way across the courtyard of the Athletes Village on the campus of the University of Utah, he spotted the reason he'd made his way through tight, thorough security in the middle of a very busy day — Atle Haglund.
The Norwegian sled hockey player sat alone on a stage area where the night before officials handed out medals to Paralympic athletes. The governor and his wife made their way over to him, introduced themselves and began asking questions. As he has every time he meets athletes, Leavitt learned something interesting.
"He was contemplating the game, getting ready for it," he said of Haglund, whose team played Japan later Thursday night.
The governor is required to do many things during these Paralympic Games, all very similar to his duties during the Olympic Games. But wandering around the Athletes Village isn't one of them.
"I discovered the Athlete's Village in other Games," Leavitt said. "You get a chance not just to meet (competitors), but you get a chance to sit and talk with them. It's always a fun experience."
Leavitt had to host and attend between 80-90 events during the Olympics — mostly diplomatic in nature. For the Paralympics, his duties are lighter with about eight to 10 events that require his attendance.
But what he hopes to gain from the outings like the one he went on Thursday afternoon is more insight as a governor, a father and as a human being as to what the Games mean to the competitors and those who watch them.
"I have seen our community train and stretch and grow as we prepared to host these Games," he said. "And it seems to have made us better in almost every way. . . . I hope my children saw the growth in our community as the result of undertaking a difficult task."
Hosting the Olympics and Paralympics has changed the perception of others about Utah and its people. The Russian governor ate dinner with Leavitt on Wednesday night and said when he was asked what other place he might like to visit in the United States by his Washington, D.C., hosts, he said Utah.
"He wanted to see what he was feeling (when he watched events on television)," the governor said.
It's not just the opinions of outsiders that have been altered by the exposure of the Games. Leavitt's own perceptions have evolved, just as he suspects those of other Utahns have while watching Paralympic events. The night before last he presented the MVP award to a sled hockey player. He went into the locker room afterward to congratulate and converse.
"It was a serious locker room," he said. "With all the scents and intensity of a world-class competition. And today, as I sat with that athlete on the terrace and saw him mentally preparing for the game he was going to play. . . . this is about human performance. In a way, doing (this) type of competition is even more ennobling. It's something we can all relate to."
Competing at a professional or international level isn't something that most people will ever do or even understand. And many Utahns attending the Paralympics do not know what it's like to be blind or have to use a wheelchair.
"Frankly, I have a hard time relating to their disabilities sometimes," Leavitt said. "But the fact that I can be an athlete that does my best, I do understand. This is about the human spirit. The Paralympians' motto is 'No excuses, no limits.' I find that inspiring."
The governor said there are life lessons for anyone of any ability — athletically or otherwise — in the Paralympics. Take for instance the blind skier who races down a snow-covered mountain at 40 mph.
"That teaches us about faith," he said. "And the relationship between a skier and his guide. I came to understand relationships at a whole different level. There's just a lot to be learned."
E-mail: adonaldson@desnews.com
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March 17, 2002
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