USOC says flag from WTC will fly over Winter Games

AP Sports WriterSALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- The tattered flag from the World Trade Center will fly over the Winter Olympics, but U.S. athletes won't carry it into the opening ceremony as planned.

The IOC rejected the U.S. Olympic Committee's request to have five athletes and an official carry the flag that was recovered after the Sept. 11 attacks.

Instead, it will be raised next to the Olympic flame during Friday night's opening ceremony at Rice-Eccles Stadium, serving as the official U.S. flag.

The International Olympic Committee's coordination commission told USOC president Sandy Baldwin that many nations had suffered and that allowing the American team to carry the flag would not be proper. Baldwin told the IOC that position was "clearly understandable."

"Every country in the IOC has issues," American IOC member Anita DeFrantz said Tuesday. "As Americans we have to understand it's a world event and also that we are a guest even though we are the host nation.

"This way, with the flag being raised, we serve both goals."

The flag was expected to be lowered after the ceremony because of its delicate condition.

Salt Lake organizing chief Mitt Romney said the flag also would have a prominent role in a nationally televised show before the ceremony begins.