View source for Jimmy Shea

{{short description|American skeleton racer (born 1968)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2016}}
{{Infobox sportsperson
| name             = Jimmy Shea Jr.
| image            = Jimmy Shea (USA).jpg
| caption          = Shea in 2002
| fullname         = James Edmound Shea Jr.<ref name=sports-reference>{{cite Sports-Reference|title=Jim Shea Jr. |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/sh/jim-shea-jr-1.html |accessdate=August 24, 2015 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20151002205506/http://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/sh/jim-shea-jr-1.html |archivedate=October 2, 2015 }}</ref>
| birth_date       = {{birth-date and age|June 10, 1968}}
| birth_place      = [[West Hartford, Connecticut]], U.S.
| height           = 5 ft 10+1/2 in
| weight           = 181 lb
| headercolor      = lightsteelblue
| show-medals      = yes
| medaltemplates   = 
{{MedalSport | Men's [[skeleton (sport)|skeleton]] }}
{{MedalCountry | the {{USA}} }}
{{MedalCompetition | [[Skeleton at the Winter Olympics|Olympic Games]] }}
{{MedalGold | [[2002 Winter Olympics|2002 Salt Lake City]] | [[Skeleton at the 2002 Winter Olympics – Men's|Men]] }}
{{MedalCompetition | [[FIBT World Championships#Skeleton|World Championships]] }}
{{MedalGold | [[FIBT World Championships 1999|1999 Altenberg]] | Men }}
{{MedalSilver | [[FIBT World Championships 1997|1997 Lake Placid]] | Men }}
{{MedalBronze | [[FIBT World Championships 2000|2000 Igls]] | Men }}
{{MedalCompetition | [[Skeleton World Cup#Men|World Cup Championships]] }}
{{MedalBronze | [[1998-99 Skeleton World Cup|1998–99]] | Men }}
{{MedalBronze | [[2000-01 Skeleton World Cup|2000–01]] | Men }}
}}

'''James Edmound Shea Jr.''' (born June 10, 1968) is an American [[skeleton (sport)|skeleton racer]] who won the gold medal at the [[2002 Winter Olympics]] in Salt Lake City.

==Biography==
Shea was the third generation of his family to take part in [[Winter Olympics|Winter Games]]. [[Jim Shea (skier)|His father]] competed in [[Nordic combined]] and [[cross-country skiing (sport)|cross-country skiing]] events in the [[1964 Winter Olympics]], and his grandfather, [[Jack Shea (speed skater)|Jack Shea]], won two gold medals in the [[1932 Winter Olympics]] at Lake Placid in [[long track speed skating|speed skating]].<ref name=sports-reference /> His grandfather also recited the athlete's oath at the 1932 opening ceremony.
He was born and raised in [[West Hartford, Connecticut]], and moved to [[Lake Placid, New York]], in his late teens.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sheafoundation.com/meettheboard.cfm |access-date=June 4, 2016}}</ref> He became the first American to win a World Cup race and a World Championship in the sport, and has won more World Cup victories than any other American. He retired in October 2005.

At the [[FIBT World Championships]], Shea earned a complete set of medals in the men's skeleton event with a gold in [[FIBT World Championships 1999|1999]], a silver in [[FIBT World Championships 1997|1997]], and a bronze in [[FIBT World Championships 2000|2000]] (tied for bronze with [[Austria]]'s [[Alexander Müller (skeleton)|Alexander Müller]]). His best overall seasonal finish in the men's [[List of Skeleton World Cup champions|Skeleton World Cup]] was third twice (1998–99, 2000–01).

Shea founded The Shea Family Foundation which raises money to help kids in sports. He currently serves on the Utah Board of Economic Development.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ksl.com/?sid=19251593 |title=Five memorable faces from the 2002 Olympics |work=[[KSL-TV|KSL]] |author=Rhett Wilkinson |date=February 18, 2012 |access-date=August 21, 2015}}</ref>

Shea has two daughters and a son and lives in [[Park City, Utah]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Lori Riley Column: The second of three generations of Olympians, Jim Shea Sr., is back in Lake Placid, where his dad, Jack, won two gold medals in 1932. |url=http://articles.courant.com/2013-01-26/sports/hc-riley-column-0127-20130126_1_judy-martins-dukurs-rinks |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151103201537/http://articles.courant.com/2013-01-26/sports/hc-riley-column-0127-20130126_1_judy-martins-dukurs-rinks |url-status=dead |archive-date=November 3, 2015 |access-date=August 21, 2015 |work=[[Hartford Courant]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Always about family with Shea |url=http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/family-american-skeleton-gold-medalist-jim-shea-article-1.197583 |access-date=June 4, 2016 |website=[[New York Daily News]]|date=February 27, 2010 }}</ref> In 2021, he was sentenced to two years of court-supervised probation for sexual misconduct.<ref>{{cite web |date=August 28, 2021 |title=Jimmy Shea Sentenced To Two Years Probation |url=https://www.kpcw.org/local-news/2021-08-27/jimmy-shea-sentenced-to-two-years-probation |access-date=April 24, 2023 |website=[[NPR KPCW]]}}</ref>

==2002 Olympics==
Along with his father, [[Jim Shea (skier)|Jim Shea Sr.]], he passed the [[Olympic Torch]] to [[Cammi Granato]] and [[Picabo Street]] who then passed it to the [[Miracle on Ice|1980 U.S. Men's Hockey Team]], who then ignited the [[Salt Lake 2002 Olympic Cauldron Park|Olympic Cauldron]].

==See also==
*[[List of Olympic medalist families]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{IBSF |name=Jim SHEA}}<!--uses Wikidata-->
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20081205144321/http://cbs.sportsline.com/b/page/pressbox/0,1328,5036044,00.html CBS Sports profile]
* [http://www.sportresult.com/sports/bs/db/biography.asp?p_id=100685&nat=&sport=&sex=&season=&stat=&venue=&events= FIBT profile]
* [http://www.olympic.org/uk/games/past/index_uk.asp?OLGT=2&OLGY=2002 IOC 2002 Winter Olympics]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20111105190421/http://sports123.com/ske/mwc.html List of men's skeleton World Cup champions since 1987]
* [http://sports123.com/ske/mo.html Men's skeleton Olympic medalists since 1928] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200206231409/http://sports123.com/ske/mo.html |date=February 6, 2020 }}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070929111059/http://sports123.com/ske/mw.html Men's skeleton world championship medalists since 1989]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20121019150315/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-51289793.html Olympian Shea talk raises eyebrows]
* [http://www.usshea.com/home.cfm Shea's official 2002 Olympic website] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070312081357/http://www.usshea.com/home.cfm |date=March 12, 2007 }}
* [http://www.usolympicteam.com/26_706.htm U.S. Olympic Committee profile] {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20060325103547/http://www.usolympicteam.com/26_706.htm |date=March 25, 2006 }}

{{Footer Olympic Champions Skeleton Men}}
{{Footer World Champions Skeleton Men}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shea, Jimmy}}
[[Category:1968 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:American male skeleton racers]]
[[Category:American people convicted of child sexual abuse]]
[[Category:Olympic gold medalists for the United States in skeleton]]
[[Category:Olympic skeleton racers for the United States]]
[[Category:Skeleton racers at the 2002 Winter Olympics]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 2002 Winter Olympics]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Park City, Utah]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from West Hartford, Connecticut]]
[[Category:Oath takers at the Olympic Games]]
[[Category:21st-century American sportsmen]]
[[Category:20th-century American sportsmen]]