The President of the International Olympic Committee ends his visit to Salt Lake City

Park City, Utah – Thomas Bach, the president of the International Olympic Committee, concluded his visit to Salt Lake City on Saturday afternoon.

Bach has not returned to Utah since the 2002 Winter Games.

“We see the legacy being used for the future generations, which is really exciting,” he remarked.

On Saturday afternoon, Bach and his accompanying delegation went to the Utah Olympic Park and the Utah Olympic Oval. While there, they spoke with coaches and athletes and took a tour of the facilities.

Bach gave the museum a bust of Olympic Games founder Pierre de Coubertin and a picture given to benefactor Spencer Eccles, as well as signing a commemorative 2034 torch within the 2002 Olympic Winter Games Museum.

Meeting the athletes was Bach’s favorite aspect of the trip when asked. Olympic medalists Audrey Sexton and Brooke Hunsaker, who compete in the skeleton, expressed that talking with the president was inspiring.

Hunsaker stated, “It kind of gives you that extra push.” Sexton remarked, “(His visit) definitely makes it feel real.”

Athletes both look forward to 2034 with excitement.

The next step for the Games is to organize the organizing committee; according to Bach, this must be done by December.

The main task ahead of us is “to maximize the opportunity that we’ve been given,” according to Fraser Bullock, president of the Salt Lake City-Utah Committee for the Games.

“We are quite certain that we can successfully host the Games. However, Bullock questioned, “How can we go to the next level and do something even more meaningful for our communities, inspire our entire nation and eventually the world, and foster unity in our communities, state, and nation?”

Even though the 2034 Olympics are ten years away, Bach is not concerned that Utah’s Olympic spirit will fade.

He claimed that the public still believed in the momentum that had existed since 2002.