One of the biggest takeaways I have had so far is that the Olympics is much more than just a sports competition. This notion was first spoken about during Professor Burns’s lecture on why the Olympics is a brand unlike any other, but that has really been evident traveling around the Games. The Games are about coming together as human beings – regardless of if a medal is won or not. As an anonymous athletes signed the pillars at the Olympic Village – Sport has the power to change the world!
Our first speaker Janet Evans spoke on a wide range of topics from her athletic career to her current role with the LA28 OCOG. However, the most impactful part of our conversation with Janet was when she discussed handing the Olympic Torch to Mohammed Ali during the 1996 Atlanta Games. By the time of the ‘96 Olympics Janet had already won 5 Olympics medals (4 gold). She had spent her life in pursuit of the win. She wasn’t even sure she wanted to be a part of the torch relay as she was going to have to compete early in the Games. However, she told us it was by far the best moment of her Olympic career. She realized running past all the other delegations that for so many this was their medal moment, and how exciting it was to just be a part of the Olympics. The Games was about being a part of the world for these countries. Then once she got to Mr. Ali, who was no longer at the height of his career, she saw the importance of this man being there. It was an inspiration to the crowd just to see him hoist the torch and light the cauldron. It didn’t matter that he wasn’t the gold medal winner of yester year – he was fighting his own battle and winning. Years later the medals of course are meaningful, but they weren’t the most important to her in the end.
Another moment that showed the importance of the Olympics as a community came while I was volunteering at the Olympic house. The Olympic house is for former and current Olympians to come and have a place to relax, reminisce and watch sport. One cool area is the athletes wall, where we have athletes sign the posters of the Olympics’ they competed including their name, sport and country. On my volunteer day we happened to have Rose Vojsk coming to the house who competed for Yugoslavia in the 1948 Olympics in Rhythmic Gymnastics. She is the oldest living Olympian attending these games at 94 years old (she ran her last marathon at 73!). While the house staff and volunteers were excited about Rose – no one was more excited to see her than her fellow Olympians. When Rose arrived at 3:30pm she was greeted to a standing ovation from other Olympians, none of whom she knew, as she signed her poster. She then took the time to speak with them all and take pictures. Each left shaking their head noting how incredible it was to meet her. What was amazing is Rose was not some star athlete – she finished 7th with her team and 48th all around. The other Olympians wanted to celebrate her life for who she was and that she was an elder member of their community. The sport comes and go, but the Olympic bonds remain.
This is perspective on the Olympics, that winning isn’t everything, is different for most Americans. Americans, including myself, have spent our lives analyzing the medal count and expecting to win gold. Even while here in Paris, I and several other American classmates were groaning when we were not winning the gold medal count – despite dominating the total medal count. We hadn’t experienced an Olympics with so much parity in sport competition which was jarring for us. It was then pointed out to me by our Austrian classmate Monika, that any medal should be celebrated, and we have been spoiled to always expect gold. The Austrians are happy to win any summer games medal and are excited to cheer on their athletes regardless. Monika’s quiet reminder helped to enforce what all our speakers and volunteer experiences had shown – the Olympics is much more than gold medals.
