SALT LAKE CITY — Not everyone can say they've met an Olympic athlete. For students at the Guadalupe Center, Friday was a dream come true.
Alpine skier Doug Lewis (two-time Olympian, 1984 and 1988), luge athlete and 2018 Olympic medalist Chris Mazdzer and Salt Lake City native Tristan Gale — the first woman to ever win Olympic gold in skeleton — stopped by to pass along lessons that go far beyond sports.
After a schoolwide assembly, the Olympians visited the fourth-grade classrooms, inspiring the students who will one day welcome the Games home.
"We are going to graduate and be seniors when they have the Olympics," said 10-year-old Abi.
These fourth graders are the class of 2034, the same year the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games return to Utah.
"These kids just got the seed planted within them about, 'I can do this, I can be a part of it, I may even be in the Olympics in eight years.' And that's just going to be amazing," Lewis said.
The athletes also signed the students' Utah 2034 hats and helped them decorate their own gold medals.
"When I'm older, I want to be in the Olympics, so I made this gold medal so if I can get a gold medal, I'll never forget this day," said 9-year-old Brandon.
A reminder that the Olympic journey doesn't always start on the world stage. Sometimes, it starts in a classroom.
"Olympians, we're not superheroes," Mazdzer said. "We just set goals, we're determined. We get nervous, we crash, we get back up. Failing is a normal thing, especially in sports. I don't want them to be deterred by that."
Organizers said this is just the beginning of efforts to connect today's students with Utah's Olympic future ahead of the 2034 Games.
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Emma Benson
