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Olympic Advance
by
Mike Morrow
You can see
it...
The
Olympics are here, Utah!
Sometime in
the next couple of days, the Olympic Torch will cross from Idaho
into Utah and with it the eyes of international sport. To those
of us whose exposure to snow is limited to a snocone or ball of
coconut atop a hot fudge sundae, the Winter Olympics is somewhat
of a mystery. I mean, the Skeleton? Super G? Moguls?
Okay, so most
of the world knows what you're talking about, and this is good because
it is going to be an opportunity to gauge the benefits of computer
timing vs. hand-held timing in luge, where races are clocked to
1/1000th of a second.
Mitt Romney,
chairman of the Salt Lake City Olympic Committee and the charge
d'affaires of the whole event, says it will be one of the most spectacular
Winter Olympics ever. He may be correct. One thing for certain is
this: the event is going to be done right.
FYI
Amid the spectacular setting that is Salt Lake City in the winter,
the Olympics will be contested from Feb. 8-Feb 24. No vacations
for anyone on the sports desk. Be sure to run a spell check on names
like Tchernyshev (he's an ice dancer), Dybvig (he does freestyle
moguls) and Picabo (that's pronounced Peek-a-Boo).
You'll also
want to know that the United States men's team repeated as champion
and the U.S. women's team was second in the World Cup of Skeleton.
Names to remember are Lea Ann Parsley of Grandville, Ohio, silver
medalist in the World Cup, and Lincoln DeWitt of Park City, Utah,
the men's World Cup champion a year ago.
And, how could
you not pull for Jim Shea, Jr.? He's the grandson of Jack Shea,
America's oldest living Olympic Winter Games gold medalist who died
recently of injuries from a car accident. Jim Shea, Jr. is a favorite
in the Skeleton event. His grandfather, who was 91 when he died,
won gold medals in the 500 and 1500-meter speed skating events in
the 1932 Games in Lake Placid, N.Y. He refused to compete in the
1936 Olympics in Germany.
Not counting
the dozen or so athletes who list Park City, Utah, as their hometown,
no one is quite sure how many LDS athletes will be among those participating,
but, according to Romney, it doesn't matter. These are not the Mormon
Olympics, he says.
But no matter
what you call them, the Winter Olympics are here, a grand celebration
to the beauty of the season.
Previewing
the inevitable
Here, after consulting with a couple of neighborhood ground
hogs, are a few things guaranteed to happen over the next couple
of weeks:
·
Someone will irritate curling purists and question why sweeping
the floor is an international sport?
·
The United States will win more friends than medals (which is
the way it should be).
·
American journalists will look over the shoulder of the guy (or
gal) next to him, hoping to glean more information, only to see
that the other person is taking notes in Swedish.
·
Gea Johnson, of Arizona-who was added to the favored
American bobsled team after a personnel shuffle-and other Church
members will handle themselves with dignity, class and professionalism…without
even trying.
·
Fans at some venue will do the wave, proving to the world that
even Utahans are human.
·
The Utah Jazz will not improve their standing in the NBA.
·
Salt Lake Olympic Committee president Mitt Romney will
deny he is running-or is that skiing?--for governor.
·
Among the most-watched segments of the television coverage will
be the various interviews with President Gordon B. Hinckley.
No, President Hinckley is not running for governor.
·
Hot chocolate will be the most popular evening drink.
You see, Mom
was right. Park City will be known as the winter sports capital
for several weeks after the Olympics.
If
you are aware of an LDS athlete that deserves recognition in Meridian
Sports, please e-mail the sports writer at sports@meridianmagazine.com
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