James Edmound Shea Jr. (born June 10, 1968) is an American

skeleton racer Skeleton is a winter sliding sport in which a person rides a small sled, known as a skeleton bobsled (or -sleigh), down a frozen track while lying face down and head-first. The sport and the sled may have been named from the bony appearance of ...

who won the gold medal at the

2002 Winter Olympics The 2002 Winter Olympics, officially the XIX Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Salt Lake 2002 ( arp, Niico'ooowu' 2002; Gosiute Shoshoni: ''Tit'-so-pi 2002''; nv, Sooléí 2002; Shoshoni: ''Soónkahni 2002''), was an internation ...

in Salt Lake City. Shea also was chosen by fellow athletes to recite the Athlete's Oath during the

Opening Ceremonies An opening ceremony, grand opening, or ribbon-cutting ceremony marks the official opening of a newly-constructed location or the start of an event.

. Along with his father, Jim Shea Sr., he passed the

Olympic Torch The Olympic flame is a symbol used in the Olympic movement. It is also a symbol of continuity between ancient and modern games. Several months before the Olympic Games, the Olympic flame is lit at Olympia, Greece. This ceremony starts the Olym ...

Cammi Granato Catherine Michelle Granato (born March 25, 1971) is an American former ice hockey player and one of the first women to be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in November 2010. She currently works as an assistant general manager for the Vancou ...

and

Picabo Street Picabo Street (; born 3 April 1971) is an American former FIS Alpine Ski World Cup, World Cup Alpine skiing, alpine ski racer and Olympic gold medalist. She won the Super-G, super G at the Alpine skiing at the 1998 Winter Olympics, 1998 Winter O ...

who then passed it to the 1980 U.S. Men's Hockey Team, who then ignited the

Olympic Cauldron The Olympic flame is a symbol used in the Olympic movement. It is also a symbol of continuity between ancient and modern games. Several months before the Olympic Games, the Olympic flame is lit at Olympia, Greece. This ceremony starts the Olympic ...

. Shortly before the Olympics he was a guest of Laura Bush in the First Lady's Box at the

2002 State of the Union Address The 2002 State of the Union Address was given by the 43rd president of the United States, George W. Bush, on January 29, 2002, at 9:00 p.m. EST, in the chamber of the United States House of Representatives to the 107th United States Congress. ...

Biography

Shea was the third generation of his family to take part in

Winter Games ''Winter Games'' is a sports video game developed by Epyx (and released in Europe by U.S. Gold), based on sports featured in the Winter Olympic Games. A snow-and-ice themed follow-up to the highly successful '' Summer Games'', ''Winter Games'' ...

. His father competed in

Nordic combined Nordic combined is a winter sport in which athletes compete in cross-country skiing and ski jumping. The Nordic combined at the Winter Olympics has been held since the first ever Winter Olympics in 1924, while the FIS Nordic Combined World Cup ...

and cross-country skiing events in the

1964 Winter Olympics The 1964 Winter Olympics, officially known as the IX Olympic Winter Games (german: IX. Olympische Winterspiele) and commonly known as Innsbruck 1964 ( bar, Innschbruck 1964, label=Austro-Bavarian), was a winter multi-sport event which was celebr ...

, and his grandfather, Jack Shea, won two gold medals in the

1932 Winter Olympics The 1932 Winter Olympics, officially known as the III Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Lake Placid 1932, were a winter multi-sport event in the United States, held in Lake Placid, New York, United States. The games opened on February ...

at Lake Placid in

speed skating Speed skating is a competitive form of ice skating in which the competitors race each other in travelling a certain distance on skates. Types of speed skating are long track speed skating, short track speed skating, and marathon speed skatin ...

. His grandfather also recited the athlete's oath at the 1932 opening ceremony. He was born and raised in

West Hartford, Connecticut West Hartford is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States, west of downtown Hartford, Connecticut, Hartford. The population was 64,083 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. The town's popular downtown area is colloquially ...

, and moved to

Lake Placid, New York Lake Placid is a village in the Adirondack Mountains in Essex County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,303. The village of Lake Placid is near the center of the town of North Elba, southwest of Plattsburg ...

, in his late teens. He became the first American to win a World Cup race and a World Championship in the sport, and has won more World Cup victories than any other American. He retired in October 2005. At the

FIBT World Championships The IBSF World Championships (known as the FIBT World Championships until 2015), part of the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation, have taken place on an annual basis since 1930. Starting with 2002, championships of non-Winter Olympi ...

, Shea earned a complete set of medals in the men's skeleton event with a gold in

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...

, a silver in

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...

, and a bronze in

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...

(tied for bronze with

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

's Alexander Müller). His best overall seasonal finish in the men's

Skeleton World Cup The Skeleton World Cup season is a yearly competition first organized by the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation The International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation (IBSF), originally known by the French name ''Fédération Internatio ...

was third twice (1998–99, 2000–01). Shea's efforts and World Championship status assisted in the reintroduction of skeleton as a medal sport. Shea has since founded The Shea Family Foundation which raises money to help kids in sports. He currently serves on the Utah Board of Economic Development. Shea has two daughters and a son and lives in

Park City, Utah Park City is a city in Utah, United States. The vast majority is in Summit County, and it extends into Wasatch County. It is considered to be part of the Wasatch Back. The city is southeast of downtown Salt Lake City and from Salt Lake Cit ...

References

External links

*
CBS Sports profile

FIBT profile

IOC 2002 Winter Olympics

Shea's official 2002 Olympic website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shea, Jimmy 1968 births Living people Sportspeople from Hartford County, Connecticut American male skeleton racers Olympic gold medalists for the United States in skeleton Olympic skeleton racers of the United States Skeleton racers at the 2002 Winter Olympics Medalists at the 2002 Winter Olympics People from Park City, Utah People from West Hartford, Connecticut Oath takers at the Olympic Games

Biography

See also

References

External links