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SALT LAKE CITY -- Retracing the torch path from the 2002 Utah Olympic Games, one sees some popular names on the route, but that of Karl Malone may especially stand out to Utah sports fans.
Malone still looks like he could play basketball professionally. His competitive spirit also burns, especially when the Games begin. Malone won two Olympic gold medals as a member of the Utah Jazz, first in Barcelona with the original "Dream Team" and a second in Atlanta in the 1996 summer games.
When it was Utah's turn to host the Games, "The Mailman" wanted his torch route to include a special delivery.
"If we're going to do it, we should do it with a bang," he said during the route's planning. "I don't think running it (a leg) here in Salt Lake means a lot but if we run it into the Olympic stadium, that's impressive."
Malone ran the torch in Sandy on the day of Opening Ceremonies.
Malone kept the torch as a souvenir, but ran into some trouble when his family was looking at it. His kids dropped the torch, breaking the glass, but Malone says he kept the rest of the torch.
