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Olympics

A pair of Tom Jager's Olympic medals
Spring 2012

Let him swim: The Tom Jager story

On a Friday evening in August 1989, Tom Jager is about to race in a 50-meter freestyle event at the U.S. National Championships in Los Angeles.

The race marks the return of Olympic gold medalist Matt Biondi, who dueled with Jager in the same event at the 1988 Olympic Games less than a year earlier.

The capacity crowd of 2,500 is settling in for what promises to be a memorable race when Jager is called for a false start and disqualified, though TV replays indicate otherwise.

Jager’s reaction is immortalized in a New York Times photo taped to his Gibb Pool office window. His arms … » More …

Summer 2002

Olympic torchbearer

About 7 p.m. January 24, John Tarnai accepted the Olympic Torch and braved chilly winds along an eighth-mile leg of the Olympic Torch Relay in downtown Spokane. He said he was “honored and humbled” by the people who lined both sides of the street cheering and waving American flags. “A part of me said, ‘don’t trip.’ ”

More than 11,500 Torchbearers were selected to carry the Olympic flame from Atlanta to Salt Lake City, site of the 2002 Olympic Winter Games. The journey began December 4, 2001 and concluded with the February 8 lighting of the cauldron in Rice-Eccles Olympic Stadium. The torch passed through … » More …