The show is far from over. The Olympic flame may have been extinguished Sunday, but the promise of new dramatic stories of athletic triumph will reignite the caldron March 7 when the Salt Lake 2002 Paralympics begin. "It's going to be great sport and great entertainment," promises five-time Paralympic gold medalist Chris Waddell, who is competing in Alpine skiing. "It's going to stretch people's imaginations, and you'll see people do things you never thought they could do."

Like 42-year-old Keith Barney, a cross country skier for the U.S. who lost the use of his legs in a hunting accident at age 14. "Everything started with, 'I can't. I can't. I can't,' " said Barney, referring to the time right after the shooting accident that damaged his spinal cord. But when Paralympian, Kurt Brinkman, spoke to him in 1976 about what Barney still is capable of, "I said, 'Wow!' A whole world opened up to me then."

The Paralympic Games are expected to start strongly, according to managing director Xavier Gonzalez, by feeding off the success of the Salt Lake Winter Olympics. "We're really excited about the success of the Olympic Games, that always helps," he said. "But also, we're really excited because we have already met some important milestones." So far, 100,000 tickets to the Games have been sold, or 43 percent of the total number for the 10-day event

. And organizers have secured their first television contract to show competition events every night. First, NBC will televise a one-hour program of highlights of the Opening Ceremony the day after. Then, cable network A&E will broadcast one hour of competition highlights each night during the Games.

"This is now the largest coverage ever of Paralympics sports in the United States," Gonzalez said. The Games start with the Opening Ceremony in Rice-Eccles Stadium, headlined by pop and R&B star Stevie Wonder and also including Donny Osmond, and country singers Wynonna and Billy Gilman. "The core of our Opening Ceremony has always been a celebration of the athletic experience," said Joedy Lister, executive producer of the ceremony. "Our show is a celebration of life, of the human experience. We try to put a face on what occurs throughout the four years of training for athletes before they make it to the world stage."

A key difference that could contribute to a successful Paralympic Games, according to Barney, is the advantage of having the Salt Lake Organizing Committee responsible for both the Winter Olympics and the Paralympics, the first time both Games are planned by the same organization. "Before, they [the committees for the Olympics and Paralympics were almost like they were competing with each other," Barney said. "Now, there is an investment for both Games to succeed."

About 425 athletes from 36 countries will participate in the Paralympic Games. They will compete in Ice Sledge Hockey at the E Center, Nordic Skiing at Soldier Hollow and Alpine Skiing at Snowbasin. Waddell, a Park City resident who took four gold medals in Lillehammer and a fifth in Nagano, is one to watch for as he returns for the 2002 Games.

So is Muffy Davis, who won three Disabled World Cup titles last year in the giant slalom, slalom and overall. And there is Anne-Mette Bredahl, a five-time Paralympic medalist in the biathlon and cross country who took home the biathlon gold in Lillehammer and the middle-distance cross country gold in Nagano.

Waddell promises these Paralympic Games will be just as dramatic and as intense as the Winter Games before them, especially if spectators get to know the athletes competing. "Getting people a chance to see them on TV is a big thing," he said. "They can watch and appreciate it for what it is and see that the people competing have the same dreams as everyone else."

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