International Olympic Committee President wraps up visit to Salt Lake City
Sep 28, 2024, 10:29 PM | Updated: 10:37 pm
PARK CITY — International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach wrapped up his visit to Salt Lake City on Saturday afternoon.
It was Bach’s first time back in Utah since the 2002 Winter Games.
“What I see here is a really exciting because we see the legacy being used for the future generations,” he said.
Bach and the delegation that traveled with him visited the Utah Olympic Oval and the Utah Olympic Park Saturday afternoon, meeting with athletes and coaches as touring the facilities.
Inside the 2002 Olympic Winter Games Museum, Bach signed a commemorative 2034 torch, presented the museum with a bust of the founder of the Olympic Games Pierre de Coubertin as well as a photograph gifted to philanthropist Spencer Eccles.
International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach signed a commemorative 2034 torch at the 2002 Olympic Winter Games Museum. (KSL TV)
When asked what his favorite part of the trip was, Bach said meeting with the athletes. Skeleton athletes like Audrey Sexton and Brooke Hunsaker said it was motivating to speak with the president, who is also an Olympic medalist.
“It kind of gives you that extra push,” Hunsaker said. “(His visit) definitely makes it feel real,” Sexton said.
Both athletes are excited for what’s to come in 2034.
The next step
The next step for the Games includes the formation of the organizing committee which Bach said the deadline to do so is in December.
Fraser Bullock, president of the Salt Lake City-Utah Committee for the Games said the biggest challenge between now and the start of the Games is “to maximize the opportunity that we’ve been given.”
“We are very confident in our ability to host the Games. But how can we level up and do something even more impactful for our communities, create unity in our communities, create unity in our state, inspire our entire country and eventually the world,” Bullock said.
Despite the 2034 Games being 10 years away, Bach is not worried about Utah losing the Olympic spirit.
“This momentum was alive since 2002 and it’s in the minds of the people,” he said.
Bach is scheduled to travel to Los Angeles, host of the 2028 Summer Games, on Sunday.
