The Olympic games have provided the opportunity for an athlete to achieve personal success. Every four years since the Modern Olympic games began in 1896, many athletes have had the chance to distinguish themselves for outstanding performances in either endurance, skill or courage. These performances often capture the hearts and the emotions of the millions of people that witness them. Whether it be Mark Spitz winning seven gold medals in the pool in 1972 for the United States, or Emile Zatopek's courageous finishing kick to win gold in the 1956 10000 metre race or Donovan Bailey's amazing 1996 sprint that brought him gold in the 100 metres, the feats of these individuals during the Olympics all moved us in some way.
Sadly, it is the winners of Olympic events that seem to receive almost all of our attention and admiration. It is these "winning" athletes whose lives are closely chronicled to the point that when they compete again we feel that we know them individually. To this point we feel a strange but warm bond with them and the situations that they came from. In a way, they become icons to us...great athletes worthy of our recognition.
In contrast, it is rare to see us admiring the feats of the person that finished 22nd in the 5 000 metre or the one that finished 12th in gymnastics. Despite the fact that their accomplishments to reach and compete in an Olympic games are important in themselves, we only seem to focus on the winners, those great athletes who bring home the gold. Rarely, if ever, do we see the stories “behind” those that never reach the medal podium.
This is especially true of a marathon runner in the 1904 summer Olympics named Felix Carvajal (pronounced carve eh yall) from Cuba. His performance in the 1904 Olympic games is a story that captured the spirit of what the Olympic Games stands for. It is a story that creates fascination and one that created a legend.
In the late 1800's, a french nobleman, Pierre de Coubertin saw a need to rekindle the passion of the Olympic games. An avid scholar and sports historian, he spent most of his life looking to gain support for his dream of bringing the Olympic Games back to life. Although this challenge was a difficult one, Coubertin was honest, persuasive and dedicated in his attempts. After a long and exhaustive effort, the first step to his dream was realized in 1896 when the “modern” Olympic Games began with competition to begin in the birthplace of the ancient Olympics, Athens, Greece.
46 nations sent athletes that year and the games were warmly received by an appreciative audience in Athens. Coubertin had seen his dream realized and word spread quickly that the Olympics were alive again. Athletic events in all countries took on a new meaning and for athletes everywhere the beginning of the modern Olympics was a relief. They now had a place to showcase their talents.
The Olympics returned again 4 years later in London, England but the games were poorly attended. As plans began for the next Olympiad, many of the organizers and supporters for the games felt that more events containing “entertainment” were needed to attract larger crowds. Coubertin was completely against this idea, fearing that adding entertainment would reduce the games to becoming nothing more than a sideshow or circus. Sadly, ignoring the protests of Coubertin, plans went on to have the Olympics be held in St. Louis in 1904. The Olympics were to take place during the time of the World's Fair, an event that was also taking place in St. Louis that summer. Organizers felt that more crowds would be attracted and that if they provided the right entertainment value, the Olympics would gain enough support and worldwide attention that would guarantee their success for years to come. Events like the sidestroke in swimming and the Tug of war were added as “medal” events. This meant more people would compete and ,as hoped, more entertainment would be provided.
When news reached the little village in Cuba where Felix Carvajal lived, many friends and encouraged him to attend. Felix was a mail carrier and routinely walked, ran or jogged his mail route into the farmlands surrounding his village. His whole mail route from start to finish covered 28 miles and Felix had been doing it for 6 years. Now 21, Felix had never thought of the Olympics, nor had he ever considered himself an athlete. He had never competed in anything except the local village running competitions and had done so only because there was a small sum of prize money involved. Being a mail carrier did not pay a lot of money and anything extra helped his family greatly. There was very little competition in his own town and he routinely won the small running races of 5 miles each year. That year he had won the local race beating his nearest competitor by 2.5 miles. In fact, most people of the town joked he could have shown up to the race 30 minutes after it started and still come home the winner.
