For Olympic Attendees Only
FOR RELEASE: February 10, 2002 Jean-Claude Killy is Named 10th Greatest Olympian of All-Time
Greenspan Reveals His Selection at Park City Celebration
PARK CITY – Award-winning Olympic historian and filmmaker Bud Greenspan, in partnership with General Motors, today honored Jean-Claude Killy as the 10th Greatest Winter Olympian of all-time in a celebration at the Chevy Hot Zone at the Kimball Art Center in Park City, UT.
As part of the event, Greenspan premiered a short film on Killy, who attended the ceremony and was presented with a replica of the GM Eternal Flame Sculpture, which was commissioned by GM to symbolize the Olympic Spirit.
Killy was one of the greatest skiers in history, topping his career with an unfathomable performance at the 1968 Olympic Games in his home country of France. Under heavy pressure and expectations, Killy did not let his countrymen down, capturing the gold in the downhill, slalom, and giant slalom.
“Jean-Claude has given so much to the sport of skiing and to the Olympic Movement,” said Greenspan. “His three gold medal sweep in Grenoble has remained an inspiration to all who seek perfection in alpine skiing. The legendary success of the Albertville Games was the result of his excellent stewardship and today his continued service to the IOC is one of the reasons the Games endure.”
General Motors Presents Bud Greenspan’s 10 Greatest Winter Olympians was conceived as a platform for Greenspan, in his 50th year of chronicling the Olympic Games, to celebrate Olympians and help mark his legacy to the Olympic Movement. Greenspan announced his selections for the 25 Greatest Winter Olympians in January, culled from the more than 20,000 athletes who have competed in the Olympic Winter Games.
Who’s Next?
Killy is the first athlete to be revealed on the Greenspan’s list of the 10 Greatest Winter Olympians. The next athlete – the 9th Greatest Winter Olympian – will be revealed on February 12th at the Chevy Hot Zone at 3 p.m. The event is open to the public and admission is free.
Other celebration dates include:
| Olympian #8: | Thurs., Feb. 14 | Olympian #4: | Wed., Feb. 20 |
| Olympian #7: | Fri., Feb.15 | Olympian #3: | Thurs., Feb. 21 |
| Olympian #6: | Sun., Feb.17 | Olympian #2: | Fri., Feb. 22 |
| Olympian #5: | Mon., Feb. 18 | Olympian #1: | Sat., Feb. 23 |
Announced in early January were Greenspan’s following selections for the 25 Greatest Winter Olympians of all-time:
Myriam Bedard, Canada, Biathlon; Bonnie Blair, United States, Speed Skating; Dick Button, United States, Figure Skating; Lee-Kyung Chun, Republic of Korea, Short Track Speed Skating;Deborah Compagnoni, Italy, Alpine Skiing; Bjorn Daehlie, Norway, Cross Country Skiing; Peggy Fleming, United States, Figure Skating; Gillis Grafstrom, Sweden, Figure Skating; Eric Heiden, United States, Speed Skating; Sonja Henie, Norway, Figure Skating; Dan Jansen, United States, Speed Skating; Jean-Claude Killy, France, Alpine Skiing; Johann Olav Koss, Norway, Speed Skating; Andrea Mead Lawrence, United States, Alpine Skiing; Eugenio Monti, Italy, Bobsled; Irina Rodnina, Russia, Figure Skating; Birger Ruud, Norway, Ski Jumping; Toni Sailer, Austria, Alpine Skiing; Vreni Schneider, Switzerland, Alpine Skiing; Lydia Skoblikova, Russia, Speed Skating; Alberto Tomba, Italy, Alpine Skiing; Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean, Great Britain, Figure Skating; Vladislav Tretiak, Russia, Ice Hockey; Ulrich Wehling, Germany, Nordic Combined; Katarina Witt, Germany, Figure Skating.
Bud Greenspan has been called the foremost writer/producer/director of sports films and one of the world’s leading sports historians. He has received a George Foster Peabody award and a Director’s Guild of America award for lifetime achievement, seven Emmy Awards, and the Olympic Order from the International Olympic Committee. Both the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) and the United States Track & Field Association have honored him with Lifetime Achievement Awards for his commitment in capturing the humanity of sport on film. Greenspan will produce the Official Film of the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympic Games, and this will mark the seventh in a series of Official Olympic films, which include the Nagano, Lillehammer and Calgary Olympic Winter Games and the Sydney, Atlanta and Los Angeles Olympic Games.
General Motors, the world’s largest vehicle manufacturer and official domestic automotive partner of the U.S. Olympic Team through 2004, designs, builds and markets cars and trucks worldwide. By providing transportation solutions for the 2002 Olympic Winter Games through its significant commitments to the USOC and the SLOC, General Motors is helping bring the Olympic Spirit to communities everywhere.
