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James Edmound Shea Jr. (born June 10, 1968) is an American skeleton racer who won the gold medal at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.


Biography

Shea was the third generation of his family to take part in Winter Games. His father competed in
Nordic combined Nordic combined is a winter sport in which athletes compete in cross-country skiing (sport), cross-country skiing and ski jumping. The Nordic combined at the Winter Olympics has been held since the first 1924 Winter Olympics, Winter Olympics in ...
and
cross-country skiing Cross-country skiing is a form of skiing whereby skiers traverse snow-covered terrain without use of ski lifts or other assistance. Cross-country skiing is widely practiced as a sport and recreational activity; however, some still use it as a m ...
events in the
1964 Winter Olympics The 1964 Winter Olympics, officially known as the IX Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Innsbruck 1964 (), were a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated in Innsbruck, Austria, from January 29 to February 9, 1964. The city was a ...
, and his grandfather, Jack Shea, won two gold medals in the 1932 Winter Olympics at Lake Placid in speed skating. 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 town is part of the Capitol Planning Region, Connecticut, Capitol Planning Region. The population was 64,083 at the 20 ...
, and moved to
Lake Placid, New York Lake Placid is a Administrative divisions of New York#Village, village in the Adirondack Mountains in Essex County, New York, Essex County, New York (state), New York, United States. In 2020, its population was 2,205. The village of Lake Placid ...
, 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, Shea earned a complete set of medals in the men's skeleton event with a gold in
1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...
, a silver in 1997, and a bronze in 2000 (tied for bronze with
Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
's Alexander Müller). His best overall seasonal finish in the men's Skeleton World Cup was third twice (1998–99, 2000–01). Shea 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. In 2021, he was sentenced to two years of court-supervised probation for sexual misconduct.


2002 Olympics

Along with his father, Jim Shea Sr., he passed the Olympic Torch to Cammi Granato and Picabo Street who then passed it to the 1980 U.S. Men's Hockey Team, who then ignited the Olympic Cauldron.


See also

* List of Olympic medalist families


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 American male skeleton racers American people convicted of child sexual abuse Olympic gold medalists for the United States in skeleton Olympic skeleton racers for the United States Skeleton racers at the 2002 Winter Olympics Medalists at the 2002 Winter Olympics Sportspeople from Park City, Utah Sportspeople from West Hartford, Connecticut Oath takers at the Olympic Games 21st-century American sportsmen 20th-century American sportsmen