2002 Winter Olympics Torch Relay Site - Lehi, Utah - Olympic Memorabilia on Waymarking.com

This monument is situated outside the Lehi Legacy Center. It commemorates the Torch Relay that began in Olympia Greece, traveling across the United States and wound its way through Utah before the 2002 Winter Olympics. It passed through Lehi on February 6, 2002; two days before the opening ceremonies in Salt Lake City. This monument was completed as an Eagle Scout project by A. Dallan Harris of BSA Troop 109.

"The 2002 Winter Olympics torch relay was a 65 day run, from December 4, 2001 to February 8, 2002, prior to the 2002 Winter Olympics. The runners carried the Olympic Flame throughout the United States - following its lighting in Olympia, Greece to the opening ceremony of the 2002 games at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City, Utah. The 2002 torch relay was also the 50th anniversary of the Winter Olympic torch relay, which was first run during the 1952 Winter Olympics.

On November 19, 2001 the first 2002 Olympic torch was lit at the birthplace of the Olympic Games in Olympia, Greece. Greek actress, Thalia Prokopiou, played the role of High Priestess and lit the torch using a flame kept in a clay urn. Usually the torch is lit using a parabolic mirror and the sun's rays, but for the third-straight games in a row, cloudy conditions prevented that from happening during the ceremony. The weekend prior to the lighting ceremony the flame held in the clay urn had been lit using the parabolic mirror and sun's rays in case of this situation. Following the ceremony a two day Greek torch relay carried the flame to the Panathenian stadium in Athens, Greece, where it burned in a cauldron for two weeks.

On December 3, 2001 a Greek skier, Thanassis Tsailas, lit a 2002 Olympic torch from flame in the cauldron, which in turn was used to light a ceremonial lantern. This lantern was then flown aboard the Soaring Spirit to Atlanta, Georgia where it arrived the morning of December 4. The lantern was unloaded and Bonnie Blair used its flame to light a temporary cauldron to be used at the celebration in Atlanta. During this celebration Muhammed Ali lit a 2002 Olympic torch from the flame in the temporary cauldron, which he then passed to Olympians Peggy Fleming and Bob Paul, who began the 2002 Winter Olympics torch relay.

As with all the Olympic Torch Relays the goal is to share the Olympic Spirit with as many people as possible and promote that torch's particular games; in this case the Salt Lake 2002 Olympic Winter Games. The Salt Lake Organizing Committee (SLOC) contracted with Além International Management, Inc. to plan the torch relay route, including security and marketing plans. The plan produced by SLOC and Além was announced to the public on December 4, 2000. It would have the torch cover 13,500 miles (21,700 km) passing through 46 of the 50 states in the United States, and be carried by 12,012 Torchbearers. The torch would pass through 300 communities, stopping twice-a-day: once for a mid-day celebration and then in a larger populated city for the night. 120 of the 300 communities would host the special celebrations, which would allow large groups of people to participate in the Olympic Spirit. It also allowed each community to show off local talent, its people, and history. Atlanta, New York City, and Salt Lake City were all selected as special Signature Cities, and they would host large relay celebrations which would be paid for, planned, and controlled by SLOC. Later plans for special commemorations of September 11, 2001, along the relay route in Washington, D.C. and New York City, would be added to the route plan. The torch and all relay marketing would be designed to closely follow the 2002 Olympic theme Light the Fire Within and the look of the games theme Land of Contrast - Fire and Ice." SOURCE

You must have visited the site in person, not online. Please post at least one original photo of the waymark and describe your visit and any recollections you may have from the games or athlete. It is not required to include your GPSr or yourself in the photo, but you are free to do so, if desired.