Olympic Athletes
By Alexander Burkemo
Back in June of 1995 Utah won the bid to host the winter Olympic games of 2002. The ambition of the Salt Lake City Bid Committee led to bringing the worlds most talented winter athletes here to Utah. Some athletes were already given the title of Olympian, but for many this was their first Olympics. They got to show the world what they were capable of, and in doing so they not only fulfilled their dreams of competing in the Olympics, but also passed that dream onto the next generation, inspiring younger athletes to strive to be the best they could be.
One of the individuals who did this was Kikkan Randall. She’s an American cross-country skier from Alaska who began her Olympic journey in 2002. These Olympics was the start to a fulfilling career. By showcasing what she was capable of, she inspired not only her teammates but the next generation of skiers as well. She showed that Americans were capable of competing with Scandinavian countries that dominated the sport until this point.
Randall used her influence in the sport to create a program called “Fast and Female”. The goal of this program is to inspire young female athletes around the country. Randall and other U.S ski team female athletes host events where they teach and connect with girls who look up to them. Through efforts like this she was able to grow the skiing community to be the biggest and strongest it’s ever been. Our junior skiers have been strongly influenced by the success our world cup athletes have had in the last few years. In particular Luke Jager, a cross country skier from Alaska who now skis for the University of Utah, trained with Kikkan Randall through the APU ski team. Luke was a part of the American junior worlds team the past 3 years, and in that time our juniors have gotten 1 silver and 2 gold medals. As a whole the U.S. has become far more successful in international races, with Kikkan setting the bar with her achievements. She retired in 2018 following the Olympics were she and Jessie Diggins won a gold medal in the team sprint. After her retirement she passed the torch to Diggins who then became the face of cross-country skiing in America. This was all due to Randall’s efforts from the 2002 Olympics.
There are individuals like Kikkan Randall throughout the 2002 Olympics. Marit Bjørgen being one of them, she is the most decorated winter Olympian in history. She has no doubt be a big influence in Norwegian athletics and culture. However, you don’t need to be the greatest athlete, or even compete to have an impact. All these individuals have people who support them such as coaches, dietitians, and teammates who make it possible for the athletes to achieve their goals. Even though the athletes are the faces of inspiration it’s really an entire support team that drives the individual.
Alexander Burkemo
I am Alexander Burkemo, I grew up around Soldier Hollow, and cross-country skiing has been a major part of my life. The Olympics has affected my life personally which inspired me during this capstone project.