salt lake city — Two short track speed skating coaches at the Utah Olympic Oval in Kearns were eagerly awaiting the arrival of Utah's International Olympic Committee delegation Friday, which is visiting the site for the 2034 Winter Olympics. It was to catch up with his former teammate in China. Currently an IOC member.
“We competed together. They are all my sisters. I'm very happy to see my friends,” Hong Jiang said as she hugged Fu Tianyu and Li Geng and spoke in Chinese. After the conversation, he told reporters. They continue to train with Zhang, who turned 36 on Friday, switched to long track speed skating at the age of 10 and won China's first gold medal at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.
Zhang, a member of the IOC's Future Hosts Commission that assesses Utah's readiness to host the Olympics again, hasn't had a chance to try the ice at the Oval, where she currently remains. He set a record for Chinese athletes in the 500m race. . She has been an IOC member since 2018. She said: “I promise she will come back.”
Fu and Geng, who raced on the oval at the 2002 Winter Olympics, have coached at the venue for several years. Geng, who coached Eunice Li, the youngest speed skater on the U.S. team at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, said the prospect of hosting the Olympics in Utah again is “excellent.”
The IOC delegation, which included IOC members, executives, staff and sports officials, was given a closed-door briefing on the oval as a six-year-old figure skater twirled on the central ice sheet, before being given a private briefing on the oval, which will become the playing field. I headed to the place. Long meetings about the financial aspects of hosting.
The oval was the IOC delegation's final stop early Friday after a three-day ferry ride between venues, including Huntsville's Snowbasin. They rode the chairlift to the top of the Grizzly Downhill course at the ski resort where all alpine skiing events will be held in 2034.
“Wow, that's amazing.”
“Oh. Just say 'wow'.” It brought back all the memories of 2002,” said Austrian IOC member Karl Stoss, chairman of the future host committee. As president of the Austrian Olympic Committee in 2002, he watched from his home as one of his compatriots won a gold medal in snowbasin.
“It's so steep up here that I don't feel like I'm in front of the TV,” Stoss said. “It's really amazing to see in the natural world. This is a beautiful area. It's amazing.”
Fraser Bullock, president and CEO of the Salt Lake City-Utah Convention Committee, which is leading the bid effort, was clearly pleased with the outcome of the trip.
“In my view, the IOC likes everything about this visit,” Block told reporters. “Nothing is certain, but I can say we are on a very, very strong trajectory.”
Venue maintenance
He credited the state's “ready-to-go” venues, which have been maintained for elite and regional athletes for more than 20 years with the help of surplus money from the 2002 Olympics and taxpayer funding. But Block said that while the IOC delegation liked the venue, the Utahns they met there left an even bigger impression.
“They see the passion of the people that are there. Every venue we go to, there are people who were there in 2002 and people who are going to be there. And there are young athletes as well.” the leader said. “They love seeing people’s heritage and passion.”
He joked that the only mistake the bid committee made during the trip was not displaying the Stoss Austrian flag at one of the venue's stops. “We're going to fix it,” Block said, pointing to the red and white Austrian flag that flew alongside the U.S. flag and the newly designed Utah state flag in front of the distinctive oval-shaped building. I did,” he said.
Salt Lake City, which has already been selected as a preferred host site for 2034 under a new, less formal selection process being used for the first time, will receive a final vote by full members scheduled for July 24. , it will be up to the IOC Executive Board. It is celebrated as Pioneer Day in Utah.
To contribute: Alex Cabrero
