Moldova at the 2002 Winter Olympics

Moldova achieved independence after the break-up of Soviet Union in 1991 and its National Olympic Committee was formed on 29 January 1991. As the National Olympic Committee of the Republic of Moldova was only recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 1993, Moldovan athletes participated as a part of a unified team at the 1992 Summer Olympics at Barcelona. Moldavan athletes competed from 1952 to 1988 as a part of Soviet Union.^[1] The 1994 Winter Olympics marked Moldova's first participation as an independent nation in the Olympic Games. After the nation made its debut in the Winter Olympics at the 1994 Games, this edition of the Games in 2002 marked the nation's third appearance at the Winter Games.^[1]

The 2002 Winter Olympics was held in Salt Lake City, United States, held between 8 and 24 February 2002.^[2][3] The Moldovan team consisted of five athletes including two women, who competed across three sports.^[4][5] Skier Ion Bucșa served as the country's flag-bearer during the opening ceremony.^[6] Moldova did not win any medal in the Games, and has not won a Winter Olympics medal as of these Games.^[1]

Moldova sent five athletes including two women who competed in nine events across three sports at the Games.^[4][5]

Cross-country skiing competitions were held at Soldier Hollow in Wasatch Mountain State Park.^[13] Ion Bucsa and Elena Gorohova represented Moldova at the sport in the men's and women's categories respectively. This was the third Winter Games for Gorohova, who made her debut at the 1994 Games.^[14] Busca first participated in the event in the 1998 Winter Olympics and made his second appearance in the event.^[15] Busca took part in the 30 km freestyle competition, and finished in 67th place.^[16] Gorohova took part in two events in the women's competition. She finished 55th in the sprint event while not finishing the freestyle event.^[17][18]