PARIS — Six young Utah athletes appeared alongside hundreds of other young athletes on the grassy Le Jardin d’Acclimatation, Paris’ oldest park, for the Sport dans la Ville’s Festival 24.
The event formalized a partnership between the French youth group Sport dans le Ville and the Utah bid committee and included speeches from Utah first lady Abby Cox, Utah Jazz owner Ryan Smith and Lindsey Vonn.
Over 500 youths from 36 nations gathered in a pep rally-like atmosphere, which the organizers called a celebration of Olympic values.
On hand from the USA delegation were Lindsey Vonn, legendary alpine skier; Utah Gov. Spencer Cox and first lady Abby Cox; Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall; Fraser Bullock, CEO of the SLC-Utah 2034 bid committee; Olympic speedskater Derek Para; Brittani Coury, Paralympic snowboarder; Paralympian Chris Waddell; Jimmer Fredette, Paris 2024 Olympic basketball player; Kaysha Love, Olympic medalist in the bobsled; and Ryan Smith, owner of the Utah Jazz and the NHL Utah Hockey Club.
Young Utah athletes from Utah also attended, including Orson Colby Luge, Riverton; Kate Pressgrove, a figure skater, Heber; Victoria Rosales, a skier, Park City; Tyson Adamson, a golfer, Lehi; Harun Ahmed, basketball player, West High School; Ellie Finlinson, a soccer player and journalist, Moroni; Jazmin Solis, a tennis player, Mount Pleasant; and Raymond Soto, Junior ROTC member, West High School.
The trip was the first time being overseas for Finlinson, Solis and Soto, and it was Ahmed’s first time flying.
A small marching band played spirited music and got the 500-strong crowd in a festive mood before the speeches began. Utah first lady Abby Cox championed sports activities as a way to bring people together and break down political and geographic boundaries.
“Sport can be a catalyst to energize communities and foster positive connections,” the first lady said. “That’s what I see in these young ambassadors from Utah.”
Park City High school student Victoria Rosales said she has had an inspiring trip to France.
“I absolutely love it,” Rosales said. “When I leave, I am going to be so sad. I’m probably going to cry. I am going to miss everybody. I just love the diversity so much.”
Rosales said she made many new friends from Germany, Poland, Pakistan, Brazil and Italy. She got a chance to try wheelchair basketball. That was “pretty cool,” she said.
Olympian Derek Para said the rally was energizing.
“I think sports are very unique. My life has been 100% guided by my time in sports,” Para said. “I don’t know where I would have been if I hadn’t gotten into roller skating as a young child. There was crime, corruption and violence in my neighborhood in southern California. Sports saved my life. I.t brought me into a new arena. … It taught me to be a better citizen of this world, a better resident of the communities I was in and making great relationships. If we can teach the blending of our cultures, in our athletes and kids at a young age, I hope we can grow up in a better place, more easily acceptable to change and to working with each other.”
The group leader and chaperone is Delegation Leader Chief Sara Bowles, of Herriman, who is also an administrator for U.S. Speedskating. She said one of the goals for the trip was to unite kids through sport and offer a chance to travel and meet kids from other parts of the world who would not have that opportunity.
A private donor funded the trip.
