NPR Special Coverage
The 2002 Winter Olympics

From Salt Lake City, NPR News provided coverage of the athletes, coaches, sports and atmosphere surrounding the 2002 Winter Olympic Games. Because of International Olympic Committee restrictions on Internet rights, npr.org is unable to offer audio of some Olympics reports heard on NPR radio shows.

U.S. figure skater Sarah Hughes reacts after the women's free skating program. She won the gold medal. Feb. 21, 2002. REUTERS/Kimimasa Mayama (L). Jim Shea of the United States jumps on his sled during the first heat of the men's skeleton finals, Feb. 20, 2002. Shea won the gold medal. REUTERS/Peter Andrews (R). Photos copyright 2002 Reuters Limited.

Olympic Essays
NPR's Elizabeth Arnold, Howard Berkes and Tom Goldman followed the competition, celebrations and controversy of the Winter Games over the past two-and-a-half weeks. They share some final reflections. Feb. 25, 2002.
Staging the Games

The U.K.'s Golden Curlers
Four Scottish housewives won Britain's first gold medal in the Winter Olympics since pairs figure skaters Torvill and Dean in 1984. Morning Edition's Lynn Neary talks with T.R. Reid, the Washington Post's London bureau chief about Britain's curling craze.
Athletes and Coaches

Detecting Drug Doping
Noah Adams talks to Frank Shorter, chair of the United States Anti-Doping Agency. Shorter, who won the gold in the 1972 Olympic marathon and silver in the 1976 games, talks about the drugs involved in doping, and says it has become much easier to detect their use.
Staging the Games

Games End With Fireworks, Rock 'n' Roll
NPR's Howard Berkes reports for Morning Edition on the closing ceremonies of the 19th Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, and the newest doping scandal among the athletes.
Staging the Games

U.S. Skier Miller Falls Short
On the next-to-last day of the Olympics, American ski star Bode Miller falls short in his quest for a third medal. NPR's Tom Goldman gives Weekend All Things Considered an update.
Athletes and Coaches

Olympians and Commercial Endorsements
All Things Considered senior host Robert Siegel talks with Wall Street Journal sports writer Stefan Fatsis about the prospects of Olympic stars turning their gold medals into endorsement gold. Stefan says success in the Olympics does not always translate into success in the commercial marketplace. Feb. 23, 2002.
Olympic Money and Politics

Putin: Russia Won't Pull Out of Olympics
Russian President Vladimir Putin says Russia will not boycott the remainder of the Winter Olympics, despite complaints over how events are being judged. All Things Considered guest host Jacki Lyden talks with NPR’s Howard Berkes.
Olympic Money and Politics

Russians Protest Hughes' Surprise Skating Gold
Russian officials formally protest the upset win by American Sarah Hughes in women's figure skating at the Winter Olympics, saying biased judging denied Irina Slutskaya a gold medal. Elizabeth Arnold reports for NPR News.
Olympic Money and Politics

American Hughes Skates to Gold Over Kwan
American Sarah Hughes tops favorite Michelle Kwan and Russian Irina Slutskaya to win the women's figure skating gold medal at the Winter Olympics. Slutskaya wins the silver medal; Kwan takes the bronze. Howard Berkes reports for NPR News.
Athletes and Coaches

Olympic Ideals Intact
Commentator Diana Nyad doesn't think that recent Olympic scandals or athletes' post-Games salaries have dampened audiences' enthusiasm for the Games. On Morning Edition, Nyad says the Olympic spirit is alive and well with fans.
Olympic Money and Politics

1968 Protest Remembered
John Carlos was one of the two African Americans runners who stood with a clenched fist raised high at the medal podium at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City. On the Tavis Smiley Show, Carlos says he doesn't regret his civil rights protest and hopes that today's athletes will become more involved in issues of social justice.
Athletes and Coaches

Women's Bobsled Makes Olympic Debut
Tuesday at the Winter Olympics, women will race down bobsled ice for the first time ever. NPR's Howard Berkes reports for All Things Considered.
The Sports

Mormonism and the Games
The Mormon church says it's in bad taste to preach to the throngs of Olympic spectators during the Games, but it is focusing its attention on another large group of visitors.
WBUR's Only A Game

Attention Turns from 'Skategate' to Skiing
As the controversy over the figure skating gold medal appears to have been resolved, other sports -- like skiing -- are now back in the limelight. Elizabeth Arnold talks with Weekend All Things Considered host Lisa Simeone.
Olympic Money and Politics

Olympic Skalpers Find Business Risky
Even though Olympics tickets are officially sold out, it's not hard finding a scalper with some seats to sell. NPR's Robert Smith reports on Weekend All Things Considered.
Olympic Money and Politics

Canadian Skaters to Get Gold Medal After All
Canadian figure skating pair Jamie Sale and David Pelletier will share the gold medal with their Russian rivals, Elena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze, the International Olympic Committee decided. A French judge involved in the initial decision to award the Canadians a silver medal has been suspended for misconduct. NPR's Tom Goldman reports for All Things Considered.
Olympic Money and Politics

Scandals Not New to Olympics
The flap over the figure skating pairs medals pales when compared to past Olympic controversies. All Things Considered host Robert Siegel talks with Olympic historian David Wallechinsky about some of the greatest Olympic scandals.
Olympic Money and Politics

Adopting the Jamaican Bobsled Team
An unlikely relationship developed between the Jamaican bobsledders competing at the Winter Olympics and a rural town in Wyoming. Renny McKay reports for All Things Considered.
Athletes and Coaches

Former Rollers Give Speed Skating a New Look
The once solidly northern sport of speed skating has headed south as in-line skaters take to the ice. The transition has brought ethnic diversity to the U.S. Olympic squad in Salt Lake City. NPR's Elizabeth Arnold reports for Morning Edition.
Athletes and Coaches

Kenyan Distance Runners Shift to Snow
Even though snow is scarce in their country, some Kenyan distance runners are following their Olympic dreams as cross-country skiers. NPR's Howard Berkes reports for All Things Considered.
Athletes and Coaches

U.S. Men Sweep Halfpipe Snowboarding
American men sweep the halfpipe snowboarding event at the Winter Olympics, bringing gold, silver and bronze home to the nation where the sport began. NPR's Howard Berkes reports for All Things Considered.
Athletes and Coaches

Snowboarder Rides 'The Zone' to a Gold Medal
Even though she had rock music blaring on her headphones, Kelly Clark could hear the crowd cheering. Both sounds helped put the American into a "zone" and lifted her to a gold medal in the women's halfpipe snowboard competition. NPR's Tom Goldman reports for Morning Edition.
Athletes and Coaches

From Roller Skates to Speed Skates
Shani Davis traded in his roller skates for ice skates when he was six years old. In a Tavis Smiley Show interview, Davis discusses why he took up the sport and what it's like to be one of the few black athletes at the Winter Olympics.
Athletes and Coaches

Record Breakers Launch Olympic Games
By Day Two of competition at the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, there were already spills, tears and upsets. Ten countries won medals and a world record was twice broken. The U.S. Olympic team delivered on its promised fast start, winning a pair of silver medals, in women's moguls and speed skating. NPR's Elizabeth Arnold reports for Weekend Edition Sunday.
Athletes and Coaches

Politics and the Olympics
Only A Game's Bill Littlefield looks at how the Olympics have long been used for political purposes, both violent and peaceful.
WBUR's Only A Game