Michael O. Leavitt Center for Politics & Public Service

Project Prologue

Olympic Torch

On a crisp early morning just as the sun was rising, Utah welcomed the Olympic flame to state soil at the base of Utah’s oldest icon, Delicate Arch.  As an elder from the Ute Tribe waved an eagle feather and tossed red Utah dirt to the four winds, another Ute elder chanted a prayer to Deity and passed the Olympic torch to his granddaughter, a high-school soccer player, who got the flame started on its 1,050 mile run through the state.  The ceremony took about five minutes.  It was magnificent.

Michael O. Leavitt Center for Politics and Public Service