Citius, altius, fortius. Swifter, higher, stronger.
The motto is simple.
The quest is honorable.
The glory is eternal.
For athletes at the Olympic Games, the desire to run faster, jump higher and perform stronger than the opposition has sent records dropping and emotions soaring. In the Centennial Olympic Games, there will be even more chances for glory. A record 197 nations will compete in Atlanta with 2,000 athletes participating in the athletics events. The Games also feature the largest women's field in Olympic history with female athletes competing for the first time in the 5,000m and triple jump.
The original Olympic competitions, the athletics events have produced countless images of triumph and tribulation: the exaltation of the USA's Bob Beamon after his record-shattering long jump in 1968, the agonizing expression of Czechoslovakia's Emil Zatopek in winning the 5000m, 10,000m and marathon in 1952 and the painful struggle of Italian Dorando Pietri stumbling to the finish line in the 1908 marathon, only to be disqualified following the event.
The athletics events also are filled with moments that helped dispel stereotypes and intolerance. Multi-event women stars like the USA's Babe DidriksEn, the Netherland's Fanny Blankers-Koen, Poland's Irene Szewinska and the USA's Florence Griffith-Joyner rose to the victory podium with record medal hauls, while the USA's Jesse Owens broke down barriers as well as Olympic records in winning four gold medals in 1936.
The history of the Games is filled with individuals who have gone faster, higher and stronger into Olympic legend. Carl Lewis and Wyomia Tyus twice earned titles as the world's fastest humans with gold medal performances in the 100m, while the "world's greatest athletes," the USA's Bob Mathias and Great Britain's Daley Thompson, were two-time winners in the decathlon and Jackie Joyner-Kersee of the United States won two gold medals in the heptathlon. In her quest to go higher, Germany's Ulrike MEYFARTH also proved to be the most durable, winning the high jump in 1972 and then winning the event again 12 year's later in 1984.
After 100 years of the Modern Games, the motto is still simple. However, the realization of the dream is never that easy. Just to make it to the Games can be a test of perseverance and determination. World record holders Moses KIPTANUI of Kenya in the 3,000m steeplechase and Dan O'Brien of the United States in the decathlon have won virtually every honor available in their respective events, but have never competed in the Olympic Games. Both athletes missed qualifying for their respective teams in 1992, but both will have a chance for redemption in Atlanta.
The Games are filled with athletes seeking their shots at Olympic immortality. Some will reap the rewards of running faster, jumping higher and performing stronger while others will find honor just in participating in the Olympic Games. Along with the familiar Olympic motto, the founder of the modern Games, Baron Pierre de Coubertin, added a second creed: "The most important thing in the Games is not to win, but to take part, just as the important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle."
After 100 years of the Modern Games, the Olympic athletics competitions remain a showcase for both the triumph and the struggle with each athlete striving for just one moment of Olympic glory. For these athletes, the glory lasts a lifetime. For these Games, the glory is eternal.
This is an official publication of the Atlanta Committee for
the Olympic Games Sports Publication Department. Written by Howard
Thomas.
| More tickets were sold to the competitions of the 1996 Games than to any other Olympic Games or sports event in history. The 8.6 million ticket sales figures topped sales to the Los Angeles and Barcelona Games combined. |