BEAR HOLLOW — Olympic gold-medalist Jimmy Shea returned to the scene of his 2002 Winter Games victory to announce his family has established a foundation to fund a sports program for vulnerable youths.
"I had a lot of help. I didn't get there by myself," Shea said during a Thursday news conference held at the Utah Olympic Park, where he won his medal in skeleton nearly a year ago. "I also realized there are a lot of other kids out there who need help."
Shea, whose family is the first to produce three generations of Olympians, never had to look far for role models as he trained in the obscure sport that involves sliding head-first down an icy track.
His father, Jim Sr., competed in the Nordic combined event in the 1964 Winter Games in Innsbruck, Austria. His late grandfather, Jack, won gold medals in speedskating in the 1932 Winter Games in Lake Placid, N.Y.
During his winning run down the park's bobsled, luge and skeleton track last year, Shea carried a picture in his helmet of his grandfather, who had died from injuries suffered in a car accident less than a month earlier.
Thursday, with his father by his side, Shea said he hopes to share some of the lessons he's learned from his family with aspiring young athletes from along the Wasatch Front through the Shea Family Foundation's "Sport for Development" program.
"My perseverance and dedication to skeleton racing sparked from my father's and grandfather's commitment to sports," Shea said. "Through the Shea Family Foundation, we strive to share those qualities to 'vulnerable' youth."
The foundation will fund some 200 participants between the ages of 12 and 18 from along the Wasatch Front this year, Shea said. The program's first sports camp is set to start on Jan. 25 for members of several area organizations, including the Utah Boys Ranch.
The participants will spend at least 24 hours over a month learning about a variety of winter and summer sports ranging from skeleton to mountain biking as well as about nutrition and safety.
Shea said the foundation is just starting to raise money and hopes to be able to fund programs in Lake Placid next year. The first fund-raiser, a dinner held Thursday in Park City, sold out, he said.
Although Lake Placid is still home for the Shea family, father and son are spending more time here. Jimmy Shea said he plans to build a home in the area and train at the park once an injury is healed.
His father said Utah is a special place for the family because of the 2002 Games. "This is where dreams came true for the Shea family," he said. "When I drive up that canyon now, that's all I think about.
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