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A magical ride for Jim Shea
Deseret News editorial
The sentimental favorite now has a gold medal to complete an Olympic trilogy.
If ever an event transcended the moment it was Wednesday's skeleton competition at Utah Olympic Park. There, Jim Shea Jr., who read the Olympic Oath during the Opening Ceremony, sped down the track twice to finish first in 1 minute, 41.96 seconds. Martin Rettle of Austria took the silver in 1:42.01 and Switzerland's Gregor Staelhil the bronze in 1:42.15.
Jack Shea, the first double gold medalist in the history of Winter Games — he won two speedskating events in 1932 — was supposed to be watching his grandson along with Jim Sr., who competed in the Nordic combined and cross country in the 1964 Winter Olympics at Innsbruck. At 91, Jack Shea was America's oldest living Winter Olympian, and the Shea trio was the first three-generation family to compete in the Winter Olympics.
The Shea family became one of the heartwarming stories of the 2002 Winter Olympic Games. In late January Jack Shea was killed by a drunken driver, preventing the three-generation reunion in Salt Lake City.
Through the trauma Jim Shea Jr. was able to concentrate on his event, knowing what the Olympics has meant to his family. As noted in the various wire service reports, Shea carried a picture of his grandfather tucked inside his helmet for Wednesday's competition.
Even his opponents were pulling for him. Ireland's Clifton Wrottesley, who finished fourth, hugged him just after Shea's triumphant run, showing no animosity even though Shea's performance knocked him out of a medal, which would have been Ireland's first-ever Winter Olympic Games medal.
"I told him, 'Live the dream.' I think it's a fitting tribute to Jack. I'm sure he's up there with my dad doing cartwheels in the sky."
Shea's run was not only a tribute to his grandfather, but also to the Olympic spirit.
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February 21, 2002
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