2002 Winter Olympics facts for kids

The 2002 Winter Olympics, also called the XIX Olympic Winter Games, took place in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. These exciting games happened from February 8 to February 24, 2002. Around 2,400 athletes from 77 countries competed in 78 different events. Utah was the fifth state in the United States to host the Olympic Games.

Countries that sent athletes to the 2002 Winter Olympics.

A total of 78 countries sent their best athletes to Salt Lake City. For some countries, like Cameroon, Hong Kong (China), Nepal, Tajikistan, and Thailand, it was their very first time at the Winter Olympics!

Exciting Moments and Firsts at the Games

The Olympic flame burning brightly at Rice-Eccles Olympic Stadium during the opening ceremony.

The 2002 Winter Olympics had many memorable moments and important firsts:

• The Olympic Flame was lit by members of the 1980 U.S. Olympic Hockey Team. This team famously won a gold medal in the "Miracle on Ice" game.
• For the first time ever, a U.S. President officially opened the Winter Olympic Games.
• These were also the first Olympic Games held with Jacques Rogge as the president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
• Janica Kostelić from Croatia made history. She won three gold medals and one silver medal. These were the first Winter Olympic medals ever for her country. She was also the first woman to win three gold medals in a single Winter Olympics.
• The sport of Skeleton returned to the Games. It had not been a medal sport since 1948, so its return was a big deal!
• The 2002 Games also introduced the Women's Bobsled Event for the first time.
• Yang Yang (A) from China won her country's first and second Winter Olympic gold medals. She achieved this in women's short-track speed skating.

Amazing Wins and Unexpected Victories

• One of the most talked-about stories was about Australian skater Steven Bradbury in men's short track. In his semi-final race, he was behind, but the leading skaters crashed. This allowed him to finish second and move to the final. In the final race, the same thing happened! All four other skaters crashed on the last turn, and Bradbury skated past them to win the gold medal. This was the first gold medal for Australia—and any country from the Southern Hemisphere—in the Winter Olympics.
• Australia won another gold medal when Alisa Camplin won in Women's Aerials. This was the first Winter Games gold won by a woman from the Southern Hemisphere.
• The Canadian men's ice hockey team won the gold medal by beating the American team 5–2. This was a huge win, as it ended a 50-year wait for Canada to win hockey gold. The Canadian women's team also won gold, defeating the American team 3–2.

Olympic Games
Summer Games: 1896, 1900, 1904, 1906, 1908, 1912, (1916), 1920, 1924, 1928, 1932, 1936, (1940), (1944), 1948, 1952, 1956, 1960, 1964, 1968, 1972, 1976, 1980, 1984, 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020, 2024, 2028
Winter Games: 1924, 1928, 1932, 1936, (1940), (1944), 1948, 1952, 1956, 1960, 1964, 1968, 1972, 1976, 1980, 1984, 1988, 1992, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018, 2022
Athens 2004 — Turin 2006 — Beijing 2008 — Vancouver 2010 — London 2012 — Sochi 2014 — Rio 2016 — Pyeongchang 2018 — Tokyo 2020 Games in italics will be held in the future, and those in (brackets) were cancelled because of war. See also: Ancient Olympic Games

Youth Olympic Games
Summer Games: 2010, 2014, 2018
Winter Games: 2012, 2016, 2020
Singapore 2010 — Innsbruck 2012 — Nanjing 2014

Images for kids

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  Countdown clock used for the games in the shape of an arrowhead

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  Salt Lake City during the 2002 Winter Olympics

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  Curling at The Ice Sheet at Ogden on February 22, 2002

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  2002 Olympic Winter Games $5 coin created by the U.S. Mint

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  Spc. Patrick Jean-Mary, of Warwick, R.I., inspects two forms of identification during the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City

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  Andrea Nahrgang competing at Soldier Hollow on February 18, 2002

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  Ski jumping medals being awarded at the Salt Lake Medal Plaza on February 13, 2002

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  Fireworks at the Salt Lake Medal Plaza

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  Vonetta Flowers and Jill Bakken during their medal ceremony at the Salt Lake Medal Plaza, after winning gold for the United States in the two-woman bobsleigh

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  Members of the US Olympic team at the Rice–Eccles Olympic Stadium holding the American flag that flew over the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001

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  The men's 10km sprint biathlon race at Soldier Hollow during the Games on February 13, 2002

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  The E Center during a hockey match on February 11, 2002

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  Utah Olympic Oval

See also

In Spanish: Juegos Olímpicos de Salt Lake City 2002 para niños