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SALT LAKE CITY -- Viewers around the world used the word "spectacular" to describe the Opening Ceremonies of the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. One of the most memorable moments featured a single skater called "The Child of Light."
Ten years ago, 13-year-old Ryne Sanborn waited in anticipation for his starring role in Opening Ceremonies. He was about to grab the world's attention, and those memories remain to this day. To see and hear the spectacle brings goose bumps of excitement.
Rice-Eccles Stadium became a magical place, and along with the grand crescendos of music and parades of people Salt Lake City sent a message of peace to the world, in the image of a boy carrying a lantern amid darkness, stylized demons and then eventually leading a procession. He was the not only a phenomenal skater, but also a potent symbol of hope.
A few years later, in 2007, Ryne Sanborn remembered that he never got nervous.
I wasn't even thinking about all the people. I was just worried about what I was supposed to do and just to go out there and do it. I was in the zone.
–Ryne Sanborn
"I wasn't even thinking about all the people. I was just worried about what I was supposed to do and just to go out there and do it," Sanborn said. "I was in the zone."
Now, Sanborn admits that it completely changed his life, opening up all kinds of opportunities.
"I don't think it can ever get any bigger, you know. I met so many amazing people. It was an amazing, huge, live show," he said.
KSL caught up with him a few weeks ago, maneuvering through a charity hockey match against some tough NHL players.
He was a skilled skater, but also an actor. Opening Ceremonies director remembered Sanborn and cast him in the High School Musical series of films. Ryne played Jason Cross, and realized he could now dream big.
"The whole high school musical thing, you know, the trilogy was awesome. I loved doing that. (I) made a lot of friends," he said.
But to the world, Ryne Sanborn's legacy will always be those precious moments in 2002. He brought the light - which in 2002 also stood the triumph of the human spirit.
"I was pretty little and I didn't understand it as much but now when I look back on it, I understand the whole meaning of it and everything. It was cool," he said in 2007.
Ryne is studying here at the University of Utah and majoring in architecture. He hopes to add directing and even screenwriting to his film experiences, and, of course, he's still skating.
