US President Bush Formally Opens Winter Olympic Games

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Saturday, February 09, 2002

US President Bush Formally Opens Winter Olympic Games

U.S. president George W. Bush declared the opening of the Games, which will run through February 24, with a record entry of 2,531 athletes from 77 countries and regions to compete in the 78 events of 15 sports.

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With fresh heavy snows falling over the backside of Wasatch Mountain overnight, the 19th Winter Olympic Games raised its curtain here at the Rice- Eccles Olympic Stadium in a freezing night on Friday.

U.S. president George W. Bush declared the opening of the Games, which will run through February 24, with a record entry of 2,531 athletes from 77 countries and regions to compete in the 78 events of 15 sports.

Boosted by a record budget of more than 300 million U.S. dollars for security following the September 11 terror attacks in New York and Washington and the on-going U.S. military actions in Afghanistan, security for the Games is being directly manned by the Secret Forces and becoming the priority issue for the Salt Lake City Organizing Committee (SLOC).

After Salt Lake City won the hosting right in 1995, two U.S. bidding chiefs casted clouds over the Winter Games as they triggered off a one-million-dollar vote-buying scandal that rocked the International Olympic Committee (IOC), forced the critical changes to the Olympic bidding process and the expulsion of 10 IOC members.

At the opening ceremony, IOC president Jacques Rogge said that "Your nation is overcoming a horrific tragedy, a tragedy that has affected the whole world. We stand united with you in the promotion of our common ideals and hope for world peace."

In addressing the athletes for the Games, Rogge said that "it takes more than crossing the finish line first to make a champion. A champion is more than a winner. A champion is someone who respects the rules, rejects doping and competes in the spirit of fair play. A champion is someone who surpasses personal limits. This means that all of you can be champions regardless of your final ranking."

Hosting the Winter Olympics for a record fourth time, the Americans tried to "Light the Fire Within" people's heart, with a personified Child of Light being introduced at the ceremony and to be shared with the world in every medal-awarding night as the Child is depicting the power to inspire and the hope for humanity.

"All Olympians, you skate and ski and our hearts quicken with your dream, we find ourselves hoping for you, praying for you," said SLOC president Mitt Romney at the ceremony.

In Salt Lake City, the Americans are hoping to achieve their greatest feat by winning some 20 medals from the fortnight sports gala to surpass their previous most medals of 13 accumulated in a single Winter Olympics.

After 11,500 people completed a 13,500 mile (21,600 kms) torch relay that crossed 46 U.S. states, even including Alaska for the first time in history, Mike Eruzione led the U.S. Olympic hockey team in lightening the Olympic Cauldron of Fire and Ice that literally burns with the Fire Within as it was constructed of stainless steel and glass.

An array of artistic talents gathered on the icy stage, including big names in the music world such as Dixie Chicks, Rita Coolidge, Sting, Robbie Robertson, R. Kelly, providing the shivering audience a world-class entertainment.

Seven months ago, Beijing won the hosting right for the 2008 Olympic Games, and China is sending its record 71 skiers and skaters here to compete in seven sports of figure skating, short- track speed skating, speed skating, biathlon, freestyle skiing, ice hockey and cross-country skiing.

To beat a disappointing six-silver and two-bronze finish in Nagano, Japan in 1998, the strongest Chinese delegation is surely and eagerly harboring a decade-long dream of winning China's first- ever Winter Olympic gold medal in Salt Lake City.

And the epoch-making hopes for the Chinese, who attended the Winter Olympics only since 1980, are being pinned upon their world champion-packed short-track speedskating squad and their best-ever figure skating pair Shen Xue/Zhao Hongbo.

Since the inaugural Winter Olymics in 1924, Britain, France and Switzerland become the only three countries to participate in every Summer and Winter Olympics while Cameroon, China's Hong Kong, Macedonia, Nepal, Tajikistan, Thailand are making their debuts at the quadrennial international sports gala.

In Salt Lake City, skeleton is returning to the Olympic agenda for the first time since the 1948 Games in St. Moritz, Switzerland and 10 more events are entering the official competition schedule, with the first gold medal of the Winter Olympic Games to be decided from the women's cross-country skiing on Saturday.

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