The flame that symbolically presided over the 2002 Paralympic Winter Games for nearly two weeks was doused March 16. The memories and lessons of the Salt Lake City Games, say organizers and athletes, may never be extinguished.

Photo by Scott G. Winterton

Fireworks were fired from several downtown buildings, including the Church Office Building and the Conference Center, during festive Paralympic closing ceremony.

Photo by Jason Swensen

LDS alpine skier Lacey Heward claimed a pair of bronze medals in the super-G and giant slalom. She capped off her Paralympics experience by joining singer Patti LaBelle, and singing with her during the closing ceremony.

Thousands of spectators traveled to Utah's Soldier Hollow, Snowbasin and the E Center to watch an army of elite athletes with disabilities from 36 countries ski race or propel themselves across the ice in sledge hockey matches. The contests were competitive, often decided by a single point or mere hundredths of a second.

But the Paralympics likely will be remembered for more than hockey tournaments or slalom ski medals. Competitors demonstrated once again that the term "disabled athlete" is perhaps an oxymoron. Spectators cheered the grit of the competitors and the tightly contested games and races. More than 4,000 volunteers came together, sometimes performing the most mundane, transparent tasks to ensure operations ran smoothly.

Many Church members helped stage the Paralympics, assuming both visible and behind-the-scene roles. Mitt Romney, a Church member and leader of the Salt Lake Organizing Committee, successfully shifted the enthusiasm lingering from the 2002 Winter Olympics to the Paralympic Games. LDS athletes Keith Barney and Lacey Heward found themselves on the receiving end of Paralympic cheers.

Photo by Johanna Workman

Patriotic Canadian athletes and officials gather to enjoy the closing ceremony.

Brother Barney, a cross country skier and biathlon competitor, lost the use of his legs when he was a teenager. The sting of a recurrent elbow injury may have blocked him from making a serious run at the Paralympic medal podium. But dozens of friends and family members gathered at Soldier Hollow, whooping and hollering when he finished his races as if he had struck gold.

A crowd of Lacey Heward fans chanted "Racey Lacey" as the young alpine skier zipped down Snowbasin's Wildflower run en route to a pair of bronze medals. The 22-year-old suffered a disabling, freak accident when she was just 18-months old. But years of hard work and a rush of race-day adrenaline resulted in Paralympic hardware for the affable skier.

"I've always had a lot of drive to be the best that I can," she said after she placed third in her category in the women's Super-G. She won a second bronze in the giant slalom.

During the closing ceremony, International Paralympic Committee President Phil Craven called the 2002 Paralympic Winter Games "the best ever."

"The Games will end tonight," he said. "But the spirit will travel on."

As a grand finale to the Paralympic Games, fireworks displays were launched from several buildings in the downtown area of Salt Lake City, including the Church Office Building and the Conference Center.

E-mail: jswensen@desnews.com