Relive the 2002 Winter Olympics with these 5 key moments

For 17 days in February 2002, Salt Lake City and the state of Utah played host to the world for the first time in their history. Thousands of athletes from 78 different nations slid, skated and skied through the Wasatch Mountains and Utah’s lightning-fast ice. And there was plenty of drama and excitement included.

As the world prepares to turn its attention again to Utah in 2034, here are five of the most memorable moments from the 2002 Winter Olympics.

A miracle Opening Ceremony

The events of September 11, 2001, cast a shadow over the Games, which were due to commence in only five months. Many wondered if the Games would go ahead as scheduled. Then-CEO Mitt Romney recalls other national Olympic committees expressing hesitation of participating in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks.

Nevertheless, the Games went ahead as scheduled, with a massive increase in security and preparation. The Opening Ceremony was adjusted to reflect the somber backdrop, with Team USA athletes carrying an American flag that had been recovered at the World Trade Center into Rice-Eccles Stadium.

The ceremony was capped off with another miracle of sorts. The 1980 United States men’s hockey team, famous for defeating the Soviet Union juggernauts in Lake Placid, N.Y., was last to touch the Olympic torch on its way to the cauldron, with captain Mike Eruzione waving in his teammates from offstage to complete the relay.

Apolo Anton Ohno’s introduction

The 2002 Olympics marked the beginning of the reign of Apolo Anton Ohno’s dominance in short track speed skating, but his breakthrough gold medal needed to wait for one of the most enthralling moments of the Games.

The 1000 meter race pitted the greats of the sport, with Ohno going against China’s Li Jiajun and South Korea’s Ahn Hyun-soo in the A final. With three laps to go, Ohno took the lead and seemed poised to take gold. However, in the final corner, Li committed a fault trying to pass Ohno and caused a chain reaction, which took out Ahn and Ohno, leaving the lead pack crashing against the wall.

That allowed Australia’s Steven Bradbury, who was nearly a quarter lap behind, to shockingly skate across the line first. It was Australia’s first gold medal in any Winter Olympics. Ohno collected himself just enough to snatch silver.

Ohno would be redeemed the following day, claiming gold in the 1500 meter event. He eventually would become the United States’ most decorated winter Olympian ever.

A judging scandal

Controversy abounded in the Salt Lake Ice Center, the name given to the Delta Center, during the ‘02 Games.

The pairs figure skating competition saw the Canadian duo of Jamie Sale and David Pelletier hold second place after the short program, despite a fall at the end of their routine. However, despite a crowd-pleasing — and many would argue winning — final performance, they failed to surpass Russians Elena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze in the long program.

The story didn’t end there. A subsequent investigation of the judging process revealed that French judge Marie-Reine Le Gougne had fraudulently lowered the scores of the Canadian pair. In a monumental decision, the International Olympic Committee decided to upgrade Sale and Pelletier’s silver to a gold, sharing the medal with the Russians, who were determined to be uninvolved with the scandal.

The episode would eventually lead to a complete overhaul of how figure skating is judged.

Snowboarding slides into the mainstream

Known as an “extreme” sport a generation ago, snowboarding took center stage during the 2002 Winter Olympics. It even captivated the then-president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Gordon B. Hinckley.

The Americans dominated the sport, with Ross Powers, Danny Kass and Jarret Thomas winning gold, silver and bronze, respectively for the men. The medal trio was the United States’ first winter podium sweep since Cortina d’Ampezzo in 1956, according to NBC.

In the women’s competition, Kelly Clark claimed gold for the United States.

Canada’s return to hockey glory

A rumor of a little luck helped Canadians ascend to the top of the ice hockey world at the 2002 Olympics.

After not winning gold since 1952, the Canadians assembled a verifiable all-star team with greats Mario Lemieux, Martin Brodeur, Eric Lindros, Scott Niedermayer and tournament MVP Joe Sakic. In the finals, Team USA was level with Canada until the third period, when goals by Sakic and Jarome Iginla propelled them to victory.

For the women’s tournament, another USA-Canada final went the way of the North, with hall of fame goalie Kim St-Pierre saving 27 shots to give Canadian women their first gold medal.

And the element of luck? Legend says when the E Center, now known as the Maverik Center, was being prepared, a Canadian ice worker placed a Loonie, a Canadian dollar coin, under center ice.

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