The U.S. government has put together a security plan that Salt Lake City Olympic Organizing Committee chief Mitt Romney calls “unprecedented in completeness and scope.” The federal government has committed $200 million to ensure that the plan works at the 2002 Winter Olympics Feb. 8-24 in Utah.
“All those plans have to be re-evaluated in light of [Tuesday’s] horrific events,” Romney said. “Nothing will be of higher priority.”
Yet Romney does not think any foreign athletes will be frightened away from Salt Lake City by Tuesday’s devastating terrorist attacks.
“Our hearts are overwhelmed with tears, but not with fear,” Romney said. “My expectation is that every single Olympian will come to the Winter Games.”
Salt Lake City expects 2,500 athletes from 80 countries.
“What happened today was not targeting an event but a people,” Romney said. “The Olympics are not about a people but humankind, and yet we have to rethink everything we are doing.”
A similar number of countries are expected for the World Wrestling Championships Sept. 26-29 in New York City. That is the next major international sporting event scheduled for the United States.
“We have had no conversations with our international federation or the host committee in New York about any possible changes in the event,” USA wrestling spokesman Gary Abbott said Tuesday.
Also upcoming is the Oct. 7 LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon, which draws elite and recreational runners from worldwide. To the question of how Tuesday’s events could affect the race, LaSalle Bank chief administrative officer Mark Nystuen said: “We will continue to monitor the situation in the coming days. To speculate on any changes in our plans for race weekend would be entirely premature.”
At a period of the year when few U.S. athletes are competing abroad in Olympic-related events, U.S. Olympic Committee President Sandy Baldwin was more concerned about “making the athletes at our Olympic training centers feel secure and well taken care of.”
There are 250 athletes currently at the main OTC in Colorado Springs. Numbers were unavailable for the other three training centers, in Chula Vista, Calif., Marquette, Mich., and Lake Placid, N.Y.
