Olympic rings to be showcased on Danforth Campus

| Senior Sports Editor

Four days ahead of the 2018 Winter Olympics, the St. Louis Sports Commission announced plans to install an Olympic Rings “Spectacular” on Washington University’s campus in an effort to re-establish the city’s Olympic legacy.
 
At a news conference in the Field House this morning, the newly formed St. Louis Olympic Legacy Committee, which includes six-time Olympic medalist Jackie Joyner-Kersee and hall of fame broadcaster Bob Costas, unveiled renderings of the International Olympic Committee-authorized sculpture, which will stand adjacent to Seigle Hall at the end of Olympian Way. The spot where the sculpture will stand marks the start and finish of the 1904 Olympic Marathon.
 
The project also plans to add commemorations in Forest Park and Creve Coeur Lake, both of which are locations that were used in the 1904 Olympics along with Francis Field and the gymnasium within the Gary M. Sumers Recreation Center.
 
Legacy Committee Chairman Michael Loynd said that the goal is to embrace the region’s place among its host city counterparts. St. Louis, the first American city to host the Olympics, was also the first to award gold, silver and bronze medals for the top three finishers.
 
“Every two years, for 16 days, the Olympics are the biggest thing on the planet—and we’re part of that,” Loynd said.
 
Chancellor Mark Wrighton joked that the rings will quickly become a hotspot on campus.
 
“This memorial to the games will no doubt become a favorite meeting space on campus, and I am sure that ‘Meet me at the rings’ will quickly become part of the Washington University vocabulary,” Wrighton said.

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