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For Catherine Raney Norman, competing in four Olympic Games was just the beginning. The speed skater-turned-advocate has dedicated her post-competition career to championing athlete rights, mentoring the next generation, and bringing the Olympics back to Utah.
Norman’s Olympic journey began in 1998 when she made the team at just 17 years old. “I remember thinking, ‘Enjoy this because you might never be back,’” she recalls. But after experiencing the thrill of competition, she was hooked.
Her favorite Games by far were in 2002, where she had the opportunity to compete in front of a home crowd in the wake of 9/11. “Every time you walked into the village, you saw our servicemen and women there; … it made me realize it was bigger than just my individual race,” Norman says.
That sense of perspective has driven much of Norman’s work since hanging up her skates. As the vice chair of the Athletes’ Advisory Council, she fought for initiatives like comprehensive health insurance and safe training environments for athletes. As board chair of the Salt Lake City-Utah Committee for the Games, Norman also played a pivotal role in bringing the 2034 Olympics back to the Beehive State, ultimately presenting to Olympic officials in Paris.
But Norman says her proudest achievement may just be her time as head coach of a youth speed skating club in Kearns. She instilled her values in these young athletes: “We’re good sportsmen, we have fun, and then we learn to skate. Those were the top three priorities,” she says. The impact of her coaching hit home when one of her former skaters won a medal at the Beijing Olympics and returned to the club in Kearns to share his experience with the next generation of athletes.
Looking ahead to 2034, Norman hopes the Games will be a unifying force for Utah and beyond. “I want people within Utah to feel like they have a place and a part in these Games,” she says. “Hopefully, [we] use these Games as a way to bring people together, let them see one another for the goodness that is inside of each other and inspire them to dream and have hope.”
Norman knows firsthand the power of sport to change lives — and she’s using her platform to ensure that power reaches as many people as possible.
“I hope [the youth] knows that there are people who don’t even know them who believe in them and in their abilities,” she says. “I just want people to feel that and believe again.” To Main Page