The Malaysian Insider :: Features
The Malaysian Insider :: Features |
| Refurbished Olympic Museum probes the secrets of sport Posted: 14 Dec 2013 01:48 AM PST The museum in Lausanne, the hub of the Olympic movement, has been metamorphosed during a two-year shutdown and is due to reopen to the public on December 21. Lying on the shores of Lake Geneva, it is the mother ship of 25 Olympic museums scattered around the globe. The 55 million Swiss franc (RM200 million) renovation has gone beyond the purely physical and technological, thoroughly rethinking the way the museum traces the history of Olympianism. In a radical change from the previous chronological time-line, visitors will now be treated to thematic exhibits, starting with the ancient Greek Temple of Zeus in Olympus. "We're the museum of an idea, a culture and a philosophy called Olympianism. That doesn't stop at pure competition or physical activity. It goes beyond sport," underlined the museum's director Francis Gabet. Displayed like icons in the museum are master-copies of all the medals of the modern Olympics, starting with the first edition in Athens in 1896, as well as every Olympic torch, first used in Berlin in 1936 in a return to the games' ancient religious roots. The 1936 Olympics are best known for the quartet of gold medals won by black American athlete Jessie Owens, whose powerful performances raised the hackles of Nazi Germany's dictator Adolf Hitler. One of Owens' golds was sold recently at auction for almost US$1.5 million (RM4.8 million), and the museum dreamed of being able to put such a powerful sporting symbol on display. "The question arose as to whether we should join the bidding race. But for us, a medal is priceless and there's a risk of encouraging commercialism," said Gabet. A host of objects on exhibition in the museum are indelibly associated with gold. They include the Carmen-style dress of German figure skater Katarina Witt, the retro-style skis of Frenchman Jean-Claude Killy, the outfit of Japanese gymnast Kohei Uchimura, and the fencing foil and kit of Germany's Thomas Bach, the new head of the International Olympic Committee. "Understand what lies behind the glitz" The museum does not seek to be a Hall of Fame of Olympians, however. "We don't set out to deny the existence of stars, but our aim is to help understand what lies behind the glitz," said Gabet. In the museum's grounds, a 100-metre corridor enables visitors to appreciate the speed of Bolt, the world's fastest man, with speeding shafts of light replicating his 9.58-second world record. Thanks to interactive displays, it is easy to imagine oneself as a champion parading at the Olympic Games opening ceremony, living in the Olympic Village and then emotionally entering the stadium. "Time just isn't the same when your in competition. For some, it slows down and for others, it speeds up. That's what athletes call 'getting into the zone', a mental state of hyper-concentration just before the starting pistol," Gabet explained. Leaving the museum, visitors have a chance to reflect on the true words of Baron Pierre de Coubertin, the French founding father of the modern Olympics, whose statue stands proudly in front of the building. "The important thing in life is not triumph, but the struggle; the essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well," he once said. - AFP, December 14, 2013. |
| Marathon Man: The real cost of running races Posted: 13 Dec 2013 04:25 PM PST It was around Mile 25 of the Brooklyn Marathon that it hit me. I'm not talking about The Wall — although that definitely hit me, too, during the cold and drizzly morning of Nov 17. By that point of the 26.2-mile race around Brooklyn's Prospect Park, my body felt like it was disintegrating and that I was running on some kind of comical wooden stilts. Meanwhile, my mind had gone to a very dark place, praying to every deity and ancestor I could think of. No, I'm talking about being hit with a central irony: I had paid good money to put myself in this situation. And lots of it. There was the four-month marathon training program, run out of my local Brooklyn running store, JackRabbit Sports: RM1,019.44 ($315.). There were my running shoes, Brooks Glycerin models (two pair), that I beat into the ground with around 35 miles of training a week: RM485.45 ($150) each. There was the marathon entry fee itself, RM291.27 ($90.). Then there was various gear, like synthetic shirts and socks, required so that I didn't chafe my skin into a bloody mess multiple times a week: RM647.26 ($200). Don't forget the entry fees for preparatory races, like an October half-marathon I did in Central Park: RM323.63 ($100). And there were all those gels and Gatorades I ingested during training, to get enough calories to be able to cross the finish line: RM161.82 ($50). Then there was the incalculable time I spent running around Prospect Park on this quixotic goal — instead of, say, playing more soccer or Monopoly with my two young sons. All in all, I plowed over RM3,236.32 ($1,000) into this idea of pushing my 41-year-old body to its limits, and just for a single race. Not that I regret it for a second. I had never even considered a marathon as a physical possibility, and now I've done it. That's a powerful thing to know and experience. But it didn't come cheap. And I'm not alone in paying that price. One of my running coaches, Brooklyn's Cipriana Cuevas, ran multiple marathons this year. Car rental, hotel and entry fee for Boston (she crossed the finish line mere minutes before the bombs went off): RM2,750.87 ($850). Chicago flight, hotel and entry fee: RM2,184.52 ($675). Philadelphia: Another RM1,035.62 ($320). Tack on assorted purchases of RM647.26 ($200) for each trip, and you're quickly into the thousands of dollars. Including all her gear and fees for non-marathon races, Cuevas estimates she dropped well over RM9,708.97 ($3,000) on her running habit in the last year. "It's a surprise and not in a nice way," says the 28-year-old, an income auditor for a major Manhattan hotel. "I probably shouldn't be spending that much on a hobby. "Honestly, I didn't take any non-running-related vacations this year, and I don't spend a lot in general," she says. "So the fact that my personal luxury is also good for my health is a big plus." We're only a couple of running freaks among many, of course. Almost 30 million Americans went running on at least 50 days in 2012, according to the Sports & Fitness Industry Association. That's an increase of about 3% over the year before. Of course, you don't have to spend quite as much as I did in pursuit of the marathon goal. There are free online training courses, you can always run in your trusty old sneakers and sweats, and even gain free entry by running for philanthropic groups like the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Team In Training. My little running adventure also did some public good, as I raised RM7,369.11 ($2,277) from friends and family to help preserve and promote the Haida language. It's an indigenous tongue spoken by only a few dozen people, many of whom are in their 70s and 80s, living on the islands of Haida Gwaii off the northwest coast of British Columbia. Like many native Sometimes I wonder if it wouldn't have been more efficient to forego all the fundraising emails and all those sweaty afternoons on the track and just donate all that money directly. Of course, that's a hypothetical no runner ever really considers. Once the habit is in your blood you'll do whatever it takes, and spend whatever is required, to come face-to-face with your absolute limits and defeat them all over again. I finished at an exhausted and rain-soaked 3:34, by the way, and immediately swore never to do another marathon. Since then I've already gone back on that pledge — and signed up for the Central Park marathon in February. I just wish this addiction were cheaper. - Chris Taylor/Reuters, December 14, 2013. |
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