NEW YORK CITY, Feb. 27 /PRNewswire/ -- Rudy Giuliani, former Mayor of New
York City named the women's gold medal bobsled team of Vonetta Flowers and
Jill Bakken, and bronze medal snowboarder, Chris Klug as the 2002 recipients
of the U.S. Olympic Spirit Award on NBC's Today Show in New York City.
Giuliani also thanked Nu Skin, a Utah-based company for sponsoring the award.
    "The purpose of the award is to show what the true spirit of the Olympics
is all about," said Giuliani.  "You look at them [the award winners] and say,
if they can do that, I can overcome my problems.  This award goes to the
athletes that inspire us as a nation."
    Giuliani confirmed that the award winners don't necessarily have to win a
medal to win the competition, but they have to show the commitment and courage
to overcome obstacles -- characteristics that winners down through years have
shown.  Previous U.S. Olympic Spirit Award winners have included Kerri Strug,
Dan Jansen and Greg Louganis.
    Chris Klug, the male award winner, received a liver transplant only
18 months ago, but refused to let the surgery dash his hopes of competing in
Salt Lake City.  A pioneer in the sport of women's bobsledding, Bakken went
through her worst professional year in 2000-2001 because of knee injuries, but
persevered to place third in the second World Cup finals, refusing to give up
her Olympic dream.  Vonetta Flowers showed outstanding commitment to Bakken
and declined an offer from gold-medal heir apparent, Jean Racine to join her
team.
    "I'm a loyal person, and I knew that Jill and I could win a gold medal,"
said Flowers.  "It's an honor to receive this award from Nu Skin."  When asked
what she would like to see happen as an outcome of her Olympic experience,
Flowers said "I hope I can be an example for other African American athletes
to get involved and branch out into different sports."
    "I wasn't really ready for this," Bakken said of capturing the gold medal.
When asked what she hoped it would accomplish she said, "I hope that kids will
see that if they have a dream and believe in it that they can achieve it."
    Nu Skin, the award sponsor for the 2000, 2002, and 2004 Olympic Games will
contribute $10,000 in the name of Chris Klug and the Flowers/Bakken team to
the Olympians for Olympians Relief Fund which provides financial aid for
Olympians who have encountered hardship through illness, injury or death.
    The U.S. Olympic Spirit Award was created in 1968 and is given to athletes
who exhibit outstanding levels of Olympic values such as courage, commitment
and perseverance.

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