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The 2002 Winter Olympic Games are being held in Utah. Park City, a suburb of Salt Lake City, will host alpine’s giant slalom and snowboarding events.
Soldier Hollow, the venue for cross-country skiing, biathlon and Nordic combined, is located in nearby Heber City.
Other events are going to be held at the new Utah Olympic Oval, which at 4,675 feet, is almost a mile high in altitude.
The altitude worries some of the athletes because it is such a drastic change from the 1998 Nagano Games. For example, the biathlon course was at 2,034 feet in 1998, as compared with a high point of 5,882.5 feet at Soldier Hollow. For some, the altitude will be better it allows ice to be denser for quicker ice skating-but for others such as Nordic skiers, the altitude will make the course much more strenuous. More training is necessary and many participants have been in Utah for weeks, training for their events.
The Olympic torch started out for Utah almost 60 days ago. It has traveled by hot air balloon, sled dog, snow cat, horse, canoe and has been held by many amazing people, all with different stories.
The torch was carried by a DU High School student, Ariella Rojhani, on Jan. 31. The torch will travel an average of 208 miles every 12 hours and will usually stop for two city celebrations a day. The flame will be kept in a lantern traveling with the relay, guarded closely to ensure that the flame will not be extinguished. A torch will be lighted from the flame each morning to start that day’s relay.
The torch weighs about 3 pounds and is in the shape of a mountain icicle. The Salt Lake City Olympic Cauldron design will be kept from public view until the opening ceremony tomorrow.
The Salt Lake City cauldron will sit atop Rice-Eccles Olympic Stadium, where the opening and closing ceremonies will be held.
The Olympics’ closing ceremony is Feb. 24. Different sporting events are scheduled every day, with some going more than one day, such as ice hockey. There are also semi-finals and finals for the events. NBC and MSNBC will provide coverage.
To find out information on the Olympics or to purchase tickets visit the official website www.olympics.com.
