2002 Winter Paralympics

Opening ceremony

The opening ceremony was held on 7 March 2002 at Rice-Eccles Stadium, with more than 40,000 spectators. Muffy Davis and Chris Waddell jointly lit the Paralympic cauldron.

Closing ceremony

The closing ceremony with more than 25.000 tickets sold was held on 16 March 2002 at the Olympic Medals Plaza in downtown Salt Lake City.

Sports

The games consisted of four disciplines in three sports, with 92 medal events in total.

• [[File:Alpine skiing (paralympics) pictogram.svg|20px]]
• [[File:Biathlon - Paralympic pictogram.svg|20px]]
• [[File:Cross-country skiing - Paralympic pictogram.svg|20px]]
• [[File:Ice sledge hockey - Paralympic pictogram.svg|20px]]

Venues

In total 5 venues were used at the 2002 Winter Olympics around 4 cities and towns.

Salt Lake City

• Rice-Eccles Olympic Stadium – opening ceremonies
• 2002 Olympic Medals Plaza – closing ceremonies

Weber County, Utah

• Snowbasin: Alpine skiing

Wasatch County, Utah

• Soldier Hollow: Biathlon and Cross-Country

West Valley City, Utah

• E Center: Ice sledge hockey

Medal table

Main article: 2002 Winter Paralympics medal table

The top 10 NPCs by number of gold medals are listed below. The host nation (United States) is highlighted.

Participating National Paralympics Committees

36 nations qualified athletes for the games. Six countries:Andorra, Chile, China, Croatia, Greece and Hungary all made their debut appearances. Slovenia was the only nation who did not send a delegation after having participated in the previous games.

Symbol and mascot of the games

Paralympic Emblem

The logo of the Salt Lake 2002 Paralympic Winter Games is made up of three distinct marks. The sphere on the top represents the head of the Paralympic athlete and also symbolizes the global unity of the Paralympic Movement. Two broad fluid lines represent the athlete in motion. The three taegeuks beneath the athlete reproduce the green, red and blue marks on the Paralympic Flag.

Mascot

Main article: Powder, Copper, Coal and Otto

The mascot for the Paralympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City 2002 was Otto the otter. Indigenous peoples of the Americas consider otters to be fast swimmers, though in some stories a bit of a show-off. After being nearly wiped out by pollution and over-trapping the river otter has been reintroduced to Utah and can be seen along the banks of the Green River and near Flaming Gorge. The otter was chosen as the official mascot of the Salt Lake 2002 Paralympic Winter Games because he embodies vitality and agility, and represents the spirit of every Paralympian.

References

References

1. [http://www.vancouver2010.com/fr/OrganizingCommittee/MediaCentre/NewsReleases/2007/12/13/76537_0712131208-140 "Possibilité de médaille d’or : Vancouver 2010 annonce la recherche d’un concepteur pour les médailles olympiques et paralympiques"] {{Webarchive. link. (12 September 2008 , official website of the 2010 Vancouver Games, 13 December 2007)
2. "Salt Lake City 2002 Paralympic Winter Games".
3. (2008). "Salt Lake 2002 – General Information". [[International Paralympic Committee]].
4. "Schedule".
5. Erdoes, Richard and Ortiz, Alfonso. ''American Indian Myths and Legends.'' p. 312
6. Jerry Spangler. (26 September 1999). "Mascots are Coal, Powder, Copper". Deseret News.
7. Salt Lake Organizing Committee. (2001). "Reach: An Educators Guide to the Olympic Winter Games and Paralympic Winter Games of 2002".
8. Salt Lake Organizing Committee. (2001). "Reach: An Educators Guide to the Olympic Winter Games and Paralympic Winter Games of 2002".