The Salt Lake City 2002 Olympic Winter Games set attendance records for a Winter Games, selling more than 1.5 million tickets and attracting a daily average of more than 70,000 fans per day.
Chris Waddell, who had previously won five Paralympic gold medals and four Paralympic silver medals, added to his collection with one silver and two bronze medals in the Salt Lake City 2002 Paralympic Winter Games.
Guided by his dog, Eric Weihenmeyer, the first blind person to successfully climb Mount Everest, carried the Paralympic Torch to the podium, where he handed it off to top American sit-skiers Muffy Davis and Chris Waddell to light the Paralympic Flame. That Opening Ceremony, before a crowd of more than 40,000, set the tone for an exciting Paralympic Winter Games. The U.S. Men’s Sled Hockey Team won the gold medal in a shootout over Norway.
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