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Shea welcomed in Lake Placid
Associated Press
LAKE PLACID, N.Y. — Returning to his adopted hometown for the first time since he won Olympic gold in skeleton, Jimmy Shea was greeted like some long-lost rock star on Saturday.
Even the governor showed up for a parade and ceremony to honor Shea and other Winter Olympians who train in Lake Placid.
"It's very humbling," Shea said, sounding just like his grandfather, Jack. "There are so many other athletes around here. To be recognized is very nice.
"But I also realize that I am just one of hundreds of tremendous people in this community. That's what I like about this community. I'm just one of the guys, one of the normal people, and I like that they treat me that way."
Not on this day. Hundreds lined Main Street for a brief parade, waving miniature American flags, pleading for his autograph, and screaming in adulation as Shea, skeleton silver medalist Lea Ann Parsley and Andrea Kilbourne, a silver medal-winner with the U.S. women's hockey team, marched by.
"We're proud of all of you," New York Gov. George Pataki told a crowd that assembled afterward in front of the Olympic Center. "We're proud of those who have inspired us since September 11th, and we are certainly all proud of the great Olympians this great Olympic village produces. If New York state were taken alone, in Salt Lake City we would have been the 15th country in the world in medals."
Pataki then presented Shea with new license plates for his car. Jack Shea's car had Gold 32 plates. Jimmy Shea's car will have Gold 02 plates.
Jimmy Shea's life has become a whirlwind in the last three months. When he qualified for the U.S. skeleton team in December, his family became the first to produce three generations of Winter Olympians. Jack Shea won two speedskating gold medals at the 1932 Lake Placid Games, and Jim Shea Sr. competed in nordic skiing events in 1964 at Innsbruck.
A fairy tale was unfolding and everybody was noticing. At 91, Jack Shea was America's oldest living Winter Olympic gold medalist, a man who practiced the Olympic ideals of peace and friendship.
Suddenly, the three were inseparable, appearing on television and in advertisements, to make an entrance together into the Olympic stadium holding aloft the torch during the opening ceremonies.
But the fairy tale ending didn't happen. Jack Shea died Jan. 22 from injuries he suffered in a car accident, never realizing one of his fondest wishes — to see his grandson compete.
Jimmy Shea didn't disappoint, though. With a picture of his grandfather tucked inside his helmet, he won the skeleton gold, coming from behind on the final turn. He said he felt his grandfather's presence on that day, and he repeated that sentiment Saturday.
"He would be real happy," said Shea, who grew up in West Hartford. Conn., before moving to Lake Placid in 1988. "Community, people together, families. This type of thing was very important to him. He would have been very proud."
Jack Shea's 90-year-old widow, Elizabeth, watched the special day on television with tears in her eyes.
"To have this honor has been just wonderful, in my book," she said. "It's gratifying. I'm grateful for everything I have, and for the wonderful life I had with Jack. And he's with us today, I'm sure."
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March 3, 2002
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