An update by the Deseret News staff of prominent figures from the 2002 Winter Games:
Jill Bakken and Vonetta Flowers — Gold-medal winners in the first-ever women's bobsled Olympic competition, Bakken and Flowers found themselves largely sidelined in the 2002-2003 season. Bakken, a resident of Park City, is sitting out the season due to back injuries. Flowers — the first black person ever to win a medal in the Winter Olympics — was off the U.S. team temporarily this season for the birth of her twin boys. For the last two races of the World Cup circuit, Flowers teamed with Olympian Jean Racine, Waterford, Mich. They finished in eighth and ninth places in the last two races of the circuit, Jan. 18-19 in Igls, Austria.
Alain Baxter — During the Games, Baxter became the first British skier to ever win an Olympic medal, the bronze in the men's slalom. Less than a month later, he was stripped of his medal after testing positive for the banned stimulant methamphetamine, which he said resulted from taking an over-the-counter nasal decongestant. His two appeals failed. Benjamine Raich of Austria, who finished fourth, at first refused to accept the medal, saying it belonged to Baxter. After speaking with Baxter, however, he capitulated, saying he would abide by the rules. This season, Baxter is currently 42nd in the World Cup slalom standings with 18 points and 113th in the overall standing.
Kelly Clark — Awards continued to pile up for Clark after she struck snowboard gold at the Olympics for the United States. ESPN handed her an ESPY in the action sports category. Clark underwent off-season surgery to repair a torn medial collateral ligament in her right knee. She is training and competing on her own this season after two years with the U.S. snowboard team. After dominating most events last year, she has struggled this year.
Olga Danilova — Russian cross-country skier Danilova was kicked out of the Winter Games on Feb. 24, the last day of competition, after failing a blood doping test. In June, the International Ski Federation suspended Danilova from competition for two years. Danilova subsequently filed an appeal with the Court Arbitration of Sport. The appeal was dismissed. She has been banned from competition until Feb. 21, 2004.
Casey FitzRandolph — He skated away with gold for the United States in the men's 500 meters, though long-track speedskating fans wonder what would have happened if Canadian friend and training partner Jeremy Wotherspoon hadn't slipped at the start. On July 20, FitzRandolph married Jennifer Bocher. He has not competed in the current season, and U.S. speedskating officials are uncertain of his plans for the future.
Tristan Gale — The sprightly Salt Lake resident won the first gold medal ever awarded to a woman skeletoneer during the 2002 Salt Lake Winter Games and made a solid showing in the World Cup circuit this year. At the end of the competition's seven races, Gale was in third place overall in World Cup standings.
Timothy Goebel — Goebel, the men's bronze medalist in Salt Lake City, suffered a difficult-to-watch meltdown at last month's 2003 nationals. Lucky for him, he was in good company. The "Quad King" landed fewer jumps than some of the junior ladies and still managed to place second. Injuries may have had something to do with Goebel's flopfest — he pulled out of competitive skating early in the current season, citing a hip injury. The 2003 nationals was his first major competition back. He also should be on the World Championships roster in Washington, D.C., next month.
Dave Johnson — Johnson was forced out as Salt Lake Organizing Committee vice president three years ago in the bribery scandal surrounding the city's Olympic bid. He and former SLOC President Tom Welch are awaiting a ruling from the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver on whether they will face a trial on federal felony charges in connection with the scandal. He said he's working hard at a new job he declined to specify. "I'm living my life and doing the best I can, just like everyone else," he said.
Sarah Hughes and Michelle Kwan — After a devastating bronze medal finish in Salt Lake City, Kwan roared back last month at the 2003 U.S. Figure Skating Championships. There, she claimed her seventh national title, soundly defeating reigning Olympic gold medalist Hughes. Kwan is still teasing fans with the possibility of another go at the gold three years from now in Italy. Based on her performance at nationals, the idea isn't so far-fetched. As for Hughes, well, Harvard wants her. The pro circuit wants her. She may still want to compete. Who knows? For now, immediate plans for her and Kwan should include a trip to the World Championships in Washington, D.C., in March.
Larissa Lazutina — Russian cross-country skier Lazutina was stripped of the gold medal she won in the 30 KM race after testing positive for a drug that stimulates red blood cell production. After the Games, the International Ski Federation (FIS) learned Lazutina had tested positive for the same drug during two World Cup races in December 2001. The FIS Council voted to ban Lazutina from competition for two years from Dec. 8, 2001. Lazutina protested the ruling, but the Court of Arbitration for Sport denied her appeal.
Marc Mayer and Achim Walcher — Mayer and Walcher, two Austrian cross-country skiers, were disqualified from the Games after blood transfusion materials were found in their Heber City lodgings. The Austrians said the equipment was used for ultraviolet radiation treatment of athletes' blood to treat and prevent sickness and not to enhance performance. The IOC considers any manipulation of the blood as a violation of its anti-doping laws. The athletes did not appeal the decision.
Walter Mayer and Volker Mueller — Mayer, the Austrian cross-country ski coach, and Mueller, the team's chiropractor, were both banned for the next two Olympic Games after blood transfusion equipment was found in the team's Heber City house. It was the first time the IOC has ever banned an athlete or coach from more than one Olympics. Mayer, who has no medical training, reportedly performed the transfusions and Mueller prescribed them.
Johann Muehlegg — Spanish cross-country skier Muehlegg was stripped of the gold medal he won in the men's 50 KM after failing a blood doping test. Muehlegg appealed the ruling to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, but his appeal was denied in December. He was banned from the sport for two years.
Apolo Ohno — The Seattle short-track speedskater who was thrilled with "just" a gold medal and a silver medal — he had been projected to win three or four at the 2002 Games — is back in Salt Lake City this weekend for World Cup competition at the Utah Olympic Oval. After a summer packed full of events and promotions for one of the biggest U.S. Olympic celebrities, Ohno has already captured six golds and two silvers in this season's World Cup circuit.
Derek Parra — Still sponsored by Home Depot, Parra is back in the Salt Lake area and trains at the Utah Olympic Oval in Kearns. He is one of 11 finalists for the Sullivan Award, which honors the top amateur athlete of the year. On New Year's Day he appeared in the Rose Bowl parade. After taking gold and setting a world record in long-track speedskating's 1,500 meters and then winning a silver in the 5,000 last February, Parra is now ranked first in World Cup standings in the 1,500, seventh in the 5,000/10,000 combined and 22nd in the 1,000.
Ross Powers — Powers soared higher in the halfpipe than possibly any snowboarder in history during his Olympic gold-medal run. The win propelled him to a host of other opportunities, including appearances on TV game shows and late-night talk shows and in a commercial. With endorsements and sponsors, Powers' income stands to exceed a million dollars. He intends to compete in big halfpipe contests like the X Games this season but wants to do more slopestyle and back-country riding as well as make videos.
Mitt Romney— Romney took over the helm of the scandal-scarred Salt Lake Organizing Committee in early 1999 and is credited with turning the 2002 Winter Games into an unprecedented success. He left Utah shortly after the closing ceremonies of the Paralympic Games in March for Massachusetts, the state he calls home. Within days, he was the Republican candidate for governor and won the office, his first election victory, in November. He is considered a possible future candidate for president of the United States, perhaps in 2008.
Jamie Sale and David Pelletier — Sale and Pelletier, the co-gold medalists in the scandalous Olympic pairs event, spent much of the last year trying to salvage momentum after plans for their own touring show fell through. Now professionals, they have joined the Stars on Ice tour and make motivational speaking appearances. The judge accused of scoring the Olympic competition to unfairly favor the Russian team over Sale and Pelletier, Marie-Reine Le Gougne, remains under a three-year ban from the sport, having dropped her appeal for suspension last summer.
Bill Schuffenhauer — Born in Salt Lake City and a resident of Ogden, Schuffenhauer was a vital part of the four-man bobsled team that took the silver medal in the 2002 Winter Games. The sled was piloted by Todd Hays. During the 2002-2003 season, Schuffenhauer has been off and on Hays' four- and two-man sleds. Heading into this weekend's last competition in the World Cup, Hays' sleds were in sixth place in both the four- and two-man bobsled World Cup competitions. But in combined points, because other teams are not in exactly the same order in both types of bobsleds, Hays' teams were up one notch, in fifth place.
Jim Shea Jr. — Son and grandson of Olympians, Shea made America's heart beat proudly when he took home the Olympic gold in February 2002. He had recently suffered a terrible loss: His grandfather, Jack Shea, was killed in an auto accident. Shea Jr., who has a home in Park City and one in Lake Placid, was not able to compete during the 2002-2003 season. He had vascular surgery on his left leg, performed in Salt Lake City after the Olympics. The left leg had only 50 percent blood flow. He kept the ailment secret from the media before the Games, only announcing it afterward.
Tom Welch— The former SLOC president and bid leader resigned in 1997 and pleaded no contest to a spouse abuse charge. He has remarried and lives in California but said he intends to spend more time in Utah on a new business venture. Like his former No. 2, Dave Johnson, Welch faces the possibility of a trial on federal fraud, conspiracy and racketeering charges in connection with the Olympic bribery scandal. Welch said he's grown as a person because of the difficulties he's faced. "The experiences in life test the mettle of the person, of the soul. It kind of seasons the steel," he said. "I'm pretty well seasoned."
Chris Witty — She fought through a bout with mononucleosis and slow times in the World Cup circuit to shock the long-track speedskating world with a gold and world record in the 1,000 meters. Witty is currently ranked second in World Cup standings in that distance and 16th for the 500. Recently, she finished 12th at the World Sprint Championships.
Contributing: Joe Bauman, Jesse Hyde, Jenifer K. Nii, Lisa Riley Roche, Dennis Romboy, Steve Speckman, Scott Taylor