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American Morning

Olympic Gold Medalist Jimmy Shea Will be Getting a Hero's Welcome

Aired March 06, 2002 - 07:50   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: In Washington this morning Olympic gold medalist Jimmy Shea will be getting a hero's welcome. Shea, as you might remember, is the third generation Olympian who took his family's Olympic legacy to new heights in Salt Lake City with his victory in the men's skeleton competition.

And he joins us now from Washington, Jimmy Shea, along with his friend and a congressman representing his district John Sweeny, also of Lake Placid. And I think one of the two of them is there now - actually neither one of them - look now, I see both. It's the magic of live television. Good morning gentlemen, nice to see both of you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hi Paula.

ZAHN: For a moment there we thought we only had one of you. Great to see the dynamic duo here this morning.

So Jimmy, are your feet finally back on the ground? Are you still in this wonderful Olympic bubble?

JIMMY SHEA, OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALIST: Well my feet are pretty much on the ground. You know, I was able to get back to New York and do a bunch of things. I was able to go home for a little parade and I went down to New York City, and I was able to see ground zero. I went to Bellevue Hospital and did a lot of cool things. So, I'm getting a little bit more grounded.

ZAHN: Well you know what, Jimmy, I think here we are weeks later still thinking about that unforgettable moment of you actually tucking your grandfather's picture into your helmet before your victorious ride there. Take us back to that night and what you were feeling and how the - how the nation reacted to all of that.

SHEA: Well I think like going up to the games, I - you know I just lost my grandfather, so I was really - I was really sad and a little bit angry. But a lot of great things happened (UNINTELLIGIBLE) putting the world together, and I have so much support from all the - all the countries that were together in the Olympic Village. It was amazing, and I think that - about a day right before the race I really started to think about the race and concentrate on exactly what I needed to do, and I found an old medal that my grandfather had made - won in 1921, and he won it as a kid. And you know, it just reminded me, you know, that's what this sport is all about - go out there and have fun, and so I really - that was my goal, to go out there and just have a lot of fun. And I think with that type of attitude, I didn't let any pressure get to me, and I was able to do what I know how to do.

ZAHN: And I know how much you wanted your grandfather to be there to savor the victory and unfortunately he lost his life just weeks before your gold medal victory. Just a quick thought on what that victory represented to your whole family.

SHEA: It was - it - you know, it just - so many people put so much on the gold medal, and there's a medal count and you know, for me it's about the journey. It's about how - you know the most important thing is about how I got there, and it's not necessarily the gold medal. It's funny, you know, I let - I let everybody touch the gold medal and it, you know, little kids drop it and some athletes don't let anybody touch it. It's just something that - it's just one of the parts of my journey, and you know being, you know, winning the medal, you know, it was amazing.

That's my face on the - on the winning platform there. I was extremely excited, but I tell you the most important part about the Olympics is, you know, just the friendships and the ability that the Olympics has just to bring the world together and my grandfather and my father really believe in that, and I believe in it -- that it's really important in these days to have the world come together and be more closely joined.

ZAHN: Well your family certainly moved the rest of the nation, particularly when we saw you and your father take place in the ceremony that evening, which we're going to show some pictures of, now where you actually carried the torch into the stadium. What's he up to these days?

SHEA: He's happy to ...

ZAHN: Is he able to walk around Lake Placid and retreat to a quieter life or is everybody...

SHEA: He ...

ZAHN: ... stopping him on the street as well?

SHEA: ... is extremely happy to be back in Lake Placid, to be able to sit back a little bit and relax. It was a really busy time for him and my mother and my family, but they had a great time. You know, they're just sort of sitting back and just getting all the pictures in from the games and they're sharing a lot of moments with a lot of my family that was there, and you know, the whole experience is a - is a great thing, and we're just sort of cherishing it right now.

ZAHN: Congressman Sweeney, we know that a number of very successful Olympians have hailed from Lake Placid. Is there something in the water there? What is the magic of coming from Lake Placid? REP. JOHN SWEENEY, (R), NEW YORK: I think this guy here next to me is great proof that there is something in the water, and it's really one of the reasons we wanted to get Jim down to D.C. to meet with leadership in both the House and the Senate, to make that point that these are extraordinary people who do incredible things and do it with great sacrifice and really represent not just Lake Placid, New York and the north country in upstate New York, but really represent this nation so, well.

And Jimmy Shea, you can see it from just speaking to him is one of the greatest of them all. I know that - I'm a friend of his dad's and was a friend of his grandfather's, and they are the same type of people. We do have an extraordinary number of folks like that in our region, and we're fortunate.

ZAHN: Well we hope you have a wonderful celebration later today when many members of Congress get to meet our newest Olympic hero. Jimmy Shea, Congressman, thank you for your time this morning and ...

SWEENEY: Thank you Paula.

ZAHN: ... again, Jimmy, congratulations on your great gold medal feat.

SHEA: Thank you very much.

ZAHN: Take care both of you, appreciate your both coming in.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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