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Eight U.S. athletes to carry WTC flag Posted: Thursday February 07, 2002 3:45 PM
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- Figure skater Todd Eldredge and ice hockey gold medalist Angela Ruggiero were among eight U.S. athletes picked Thursday to carry the ground zero flag into the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics. Others in the honor guard Friday night will be Kristina Sabasteanski, a biathlete who serves in the military; skeleton racer Lea Ann Parsley, a firefighter in Ohio; curler Stacy Liapis; luger Mark Grimmette; speedskater Derek Parra; and snowboarder Chris Klug, who is back in the games after a liver transplant. "I think it is awesome, just a great honor," Eldredge said. "It doesn't represent just the Americans in the World Trade Center, but all the people there, everybody who was involved." The athletes, one from each of the eight Winter Olympic sports, were chosen in voting by their teammates. "The delegation director came up to me and said, 'You were selected as the figure skating athlete to carry the flag from the World Trade Center,'" said Eldredge, who was in New York on Sept. 11 and wound up driving home to Michigan. "He asked if I would like to do it and I said it would be great, I would be more than honored." The tattered flag, recovered from the rubble of the World Trade Center, will be carried around Rice-Eccles Stadium after the parade of athletes. Weather permitting, the delicate flag will be raised beside the Olympic flame as the official U.S. flag.
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