Why the Olympics?
My inspiration for launching this Substack, my story and what to expect from my newsletter.
Why choose to research and write about a subject upon which so much continues to be written and said?
First, the modern Olympic Games starting in 1896 quickly transcended sport and culture. From the start, the Olympics were to become a mirror of humanity.
The games became a prism through which were filtered: politics, gender and human rights, science and technology, capitalism, nationalism, etc. Every four years these issues would evolve and change.
Second, I’m drawn to the joy, triumph and personal tragedy of which the approximately 10,000 athletes from over 200 hundred countries are a part. There is the joy of winning a medal for a few, and the experience of falling short for many. For most, competing for one’s country is the greatest reward. Competitors form friendships that endure. Endless dramas and personal stories unfold every four years at the games.
I love storytelling and the Olympics has always been a storyteller’s dream.
My Story
The Olympics marked me the first time as a nine-year old boy. The year was 1968. The winter games were being held in Grenoble, France.
I vividly remember staring at my black and white television screen and watching the skier Jean Claude Killy win three Olympic gold medals. For me, this was an epiphany. He was a great athlete. He was handsome and charismatic. I did not know how to ski, nor did I know where Grenoble was. It didn’t even matter that he was not an American: at that moment I wanted to be him.
JCK was my first Olympic sports hero. There would be many more.
From that moment onward, my deepest childhood dream was to be the best in the world at some athletic event and win a medal for my country. I think I speak for millions of people around the world who have had similar epiphanies to mine.
I went on to play many sports: football, basketball and baseball growing up. Later in high school I trained very hard in swimming on a club alongside Olympic athletes like Rick Colella who competed in the 1972 and 1976 games.
I also played water polo and, in college, I chose rowing (another Olympic sport) at the University of Washington. Along the way, I eventually learned to snow ski like my hero.
I never made it to the Olympics.
But I trained with athletes and coaches who did. I saw firsthand the talent (and the extreme sacrifices) it took to be an Olympian. I learned great life skills like getting comfortable with suffering, mental health, nutrition, teamwork, and goal setting.
So, you might accurately say then this blog has been six decades in the making.
I hope you will come along with me on this journey as I explore events and themes like gender, race, and politics that develop around each Olympic Game. I will interview Olympians past and present and retell legendary Olympic stories while also looking to bring to light lesser known Olympic athletes and their journeys.
Thank you for reading - make sure to subscribe for my first story about James B. Connolly, the very first American gold medalist!
Tim Genske
October 2023