History Within Four Walls

“Friendship made on the field of sport is the true gold of competition,” Jessie Owens, American gold-medal Olympian.

As I stared at the pole that single-handedly represents the meaning of the Olympics, I pondered this quote. It not only expresses the why behind the games but also yearns to reveal the stories of this iconic event.

We stepped into the Olympics Museum in Lausanne, Switzerland, and I didn’t quite understand the gravity of what I was about to witness. Years and years of history are shown in just three stories of a beautiful building. As we walked up the main spiral staircase, uniforms worn by past Olympians were displayed, and cement blocks with museum contributors’ names etched into the stone were stacked against the wall. Along the way, stories and facts were spoken in my ear through the little blue device we received before the tour.

Pottery, art, design, architecture, torches - all of it was suddenly more than just objects and ideas but pieces of a puzzle. A vase painted with naked figures on their tiptoes, something strange upon a first viewing, turned out to be a depiction of short-distance racing (long-distance races required flat feet). Their nakedness was only for the unmarried women’s view, so the winners could choose a bride from the audience. The athletes also protected their nakedness from the sun by using a device to oil their bodies from head to toe and throwing sand on themselves. They would then use the device’s scraper to remove the sand after their race. However, this device did not remain as the games fizzled out in 393 A.D., to promote Christianity.

In 1894, Baron Pierre de Coubertin decided to resurrect the games. The Eiffel Tower sparked the idea for such an iconic show of athleticism and community, because upon its completion, it brought people from all over to experience its beauty. Not long after, the Olympic Games were born with the first one in Athens, Greece. The flag, containing six colors and five rings, allowed all five continents to find at least one color from their flag in the Olympic flag.

Continuing on, the little voice spoke of the torches and their special design, such as the London torch being three-sided because it had hosted the games thrice before. Or China’s torch mimicking a scroll because it was the first nation to create paper. Or Korea’s torch having a metal ring at the bottom from the melted down barbed wire from the demilitarized zone. All tell a story waiting to be told.

Then, we journeyed into a room full of uniforms and TV screens all showcasing various athletes and their respective sports. The Jim Craig jersey stared me in the face, as I gawked at it in awe of the monumental U.S. upset against the USSR. As I walked further, I watched dreadfully as a swimmer who had worked tirelessly to get to the Olympics was beaten by Michael Phelps because his fingertips didn’t touch the wall with enough pressure to stop the clock.

We then came upon a wooden pole vaulting stick with the story of competitors Jesse Owens and Luz Long whispering in my ears. Long, even though he was an opponent, cheered on Owens to take the gold for their sport while Long came in second. This sparked a friendship that echoed across the world and reiterated the true meaning of the Olympic Games. I’m grateful for the opportunity to unravel the stories within the four walls of this museum, and I’m excited to witness first-hand some of the stories that will soon be here.

(By Grace Hamblin)

(Photos By Grace Hamblin)