Salt lake city 2002

The 2002 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XIX Olympic Winter Games, were held in 2002 in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. Other candidate cities were: Quebec City, Quebec, Canada; Sion, Switzerland; and Östersund, Sweden. Salt Lake City was selected as the host city during the summer of 1995. Olympic venues were scattered around Salt Lake City, as well as in the mountains at Park City, Ogden, Provo and West Valley City. Athletes were housed in the Olympic Village at the University of Utah.

The 2002 Salt Lake City games became the most populated area to have ever hosted a Winter Olympics, at the time of the Olympics its metropolitan population was 1,516,227[1]. NOC*NSF - Salt Lake 2002.

Controversies

Prior to these Olympic Winter Games, a number of IOC members were forced to resign after it was uncovered that they had accepted inappropriately valuable gifts in return for voting for Salt Lake City to hold the Games. IOC President Dr. Jacques Rogge and new CEO of the Salt Lake Games Mitt Romney then staged the Games and contended with the public opinion backlash due to the scandal.

In the first week the figure skating competition resulted in the French judge's scores being thrown out and the Canadian team of Jamie Salé and David Pelletier being awarded a second gold medal.

Athletes in short-track speed skating and cross-country skiing were disqualified for various reasons as well (including doping by two Russians in the cross-country skiing), leading Russia to file protests and threaten to withdraw from competition.