Winter Olympic Games records were set in speed skating largely due to the introduction of the clap skate. The 2002 Winter Olympics were held in Salt Lake City, United States, hosting 77 nations and 2,399 athletes in 78 events in 7 sports. These Games were the first to take place since the September 11 attacks of 2001, which meant a higher degree of security to avoid a terrorist attack. The opening ceremony saw signs of the aftermath of the events of that day, including the flag that flew at Ground Zero, NYPD officer Daniel Rodríguez singing "God Bless America", and honour guards of
2002 Winter Olympics –11. This increase resulted in direct expenditures from skiers and snowboarders growing 67% from $704 million in 2002–2003 to $1.2 billion in 2010–2011. In preparation for the Winter Games 14 venues were constructed or expanded. The Utah Olympic Park was one of the venues constructed for the Games. The Olympic Park has proven to be one of the most successful venues to date because it has been maintained in top competition form. Due to the routine maintenance of the park Utah has been able to host a large number of winter competitions since 2002. Some of these events include, more