Salt Lake City ? Jimmy Shea looked a little weary on Saturday. Then somebody asked him about the night before and his blue eyes beamed.

“It was incredible,” Shea said of the opening ceremony, where he recited the oath for the 2,526 athletes who will compete at the Winter Olympics. “For all the athletes to vote for me was tremendous. I was just trying not to mess up my words. It was very emotional for my family.”

Shea was following in the footsteps of his grandfather. Jack Shea recited the oath at the 1932 Lake Placid Winter Games, where he won two speedskating gold medals.

When Jimmy Shea qualified for the skeleton, the Sheas became the first family to produce three generations of Winter Olympians. Jack’s son, Jim, competed in three skiing events at Innsbruck in 1964.

Jack Shea, 91, was America’s oldest living Winter Olympics gold medalist. He was scheduled to take part in the opening ceremony, but he died three weeks ago from internal injuries suffered in a car accident.

“The day grandpa died they called to ask if he wanted to carry the torch,” Jimmy Shea said. “When he got in that accident, he was very upset. That was all he could talk about.”