Catherine Raney Norman
VP, Development & Athlete Relations | Utah 2034
Launched in September 2025 with an unprecedented $200 million already committed toward its $300 million goal, Podium34 represents the largest private philanthropic commitment ever made to an Olympic host city prior to the Games. Led by Catherine Raney Norman, this initiative funds critical early organizing efforts while corporate sponsorships and broadcast revenues remain unavailable until after the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
Here is the daunting challenge the Salt Lake City-Utah Committee for the Games faced as it was preparing its bid to host the 2034 Winter Olympics: It needed to raise $4 billion, but there could be no raising money from corporate sponsorships, broadcast rights or ticket sales until after the conclusion of the 2028 Los Angeles Summer Olympics.
Catherine Raney Norman, a four-time Olympic speed skater who still holds two American records, knows the importance of getting off the starting line quickly. As chair of the bid committee, she initiated an effort in 2023 — before the Games were even awarded — to quietly secure the private philanthropic commitments needed to fund the organizing committee’s initial work.
When the formal fundraising effort, Podium34, launched in September 2025 with a $300 million goal, Utah families and foundations had already pledged a staggering $200 million.
“I think there is a common thread for all of them — the good they see in the Olympic and Paralympic movement, what it can do for the community, what it means for our youth, and helping Utahns all over the state feel connected to this,” Norman says.
“To have donations of this magnitude to an Olympic host has never happened before. This is a Games first,” said Utah 2034 Executive Chair and President Fraser Bullock at the formal unveiling of the Podium34 initiative in September. Kirsty Coventry, president of the International Olympic Committee, called the $200 million contributions from 20 Utah families and foundations “unprecedented.”
Norman remembers the 2002 Winter Olympics as a life-changing experience for her as an athlete. In her work as chair of the 2034 Athletes’ Commission, she has already set a goal of providing lodging, transportation and tickets to athletes’ families. Like Podium34, this effort would be unprecedented, and it’s another example of the leadership creativity Raney Norman has brought to the effort.
“It’s a relief for athletes to know their families are going to be able to attend the Games,” Norman says. “It minimizes what we, in the Olympics and in sports, call the ‘ripples of disturbance.’ How do you minimize those ripples, those outside factors that could influence you or your performance?”
Norman says the initial Podium34 funding helped the organizing committee, a team of eight employees, establish its presence in downtown Salt Lake City. But the initial focus will be to invest in youth development programs that expand access to winter sports, integrate Olympic ideals and history into educational programs and bring athletes from around the world to Utah to train.
“And who knows,” Norman says, “perhaps we have a kid who comes through the program who got introduced to that sport through the Olympic organizing committee, and they go on to compete in 2034.”
Norman points out that her team is hard at work raising at least another $100 million toward Podium34’s goal.
“We welcome anyone to the top of the podium with us,” she says. “I encourage anyone who’s interested to connect with us, to learn more about how they can be part of this effort, to encourage our communities to be part of it, to encourage their employees to be part of it.”