At the main entrance to the central train station, a phrase catches your attention: “Lausanne, Olympic capital”.
No wonder. Since 1915, the Swiss city has housed the headquarters of the IOC (International Olympic Committee). And on the edge of Lake Léman, known as Lake Geneva, is the Olympic Museum, which has the largest collection on the planet about the Games, with more than 90 thousand items. Among them, the most prominent piece at the moment is by gymnast Rebeca Andrade.
The yellow leotard worn by the Brazilian to win silver in the all-around event in Paris-2024 is on display right at the entrance to the museum. The greatest Olympic medalist in Brazilian history, with six podiums, including two gold, donated the piece after the Games in the French capital.
“Rebeca is an inspiration to girls in South America and around the world and we want to tell stories like hers at the Olympic Museum, which represent the Olympic values of excellence, respect and friendship,” said the museum’s associate director Yasmin Meichtry, to Sheet.
According to Yasmin, the first contact with Rebeca was at the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2021, when the Brazilian won gold in diving.
“Almost four years and one edition of the Games later, the magical moment happened when Rebeca decided to donate the yellow leotard. We are very honored that she did this, and even more honored to show it to our visitors”, he said.
The director explained that, as soon as it was received in Lausanne, the leotard was catalogued, photographed and, like the other items, placed on display at the ideal temperature and position according to weight and fragility.
The museum has 15 objects used or autographed by Brazilian athletes. Among them, a ball signed by Pelé and another autographed by the women’s volleyball team, Olympic champion in London-2012; Jaqueline Silva’s bikini, who won Brazil’s first Olympic gold in beach volleyball with Sandra Pires, in Atlanta in 1996; the uniforms of gymnast Arthur Zanetti and boxer Robson Conceição, Olympic champions in 2012 and 2016, respectively.
Among the recent objects of Tokyo medalists are Rayssa Leal’s skateboard and a t-shirt signed by surfer Italo Ferreira. From Paris, in addition to Rebeca’s leotard, Duda’s uniform, gold in beach volleyball alongside Ana Patrícia, and a ball signed by the duo are part of the collection.
Do you know what the first Brazilian athletics medal was in the history of the Olympic Games? José Telles da Conceição’s bronze in the high jump, at the Helsinki Games in 1952. His uniform is also part of the collection.
There are other mentions of Brazil spread throughout the museum. The name of marathon runner Vanderlei Cordeiro de Lima is engraved on the main staircase outside, who won bronze in Athens 2004 and lit the cauldron at the Rio Games in 2016. The mascot and torch of the Brazilian edition are also on display.
Walking through the museum is like taking a trip back in time and delving into the history of the Olympic Games through 58 thousand hours of images and 1.5 km of rare documents.
The visit begins with an area dedicated to the ancient Olympic Games, in Olympia, Greece. The start of the event coincided with religious festivals and worship of Zeus, and only men could participate.
Next, the exhibition portrays how Pierre de Coubertin planned the first Games of the Modern Era, in Athens, in 1896. Coubertin believed in sport as a tool for transformation, created the symbol of the Olympic rings, representing the five regions of the planet, and presided over the IOC. When he died in 1937, he had his wish to have his body buried in Lausanne and his heart in Olympia.
A long mural in the museum remembers iconic dates, such as the first participation of women in 1900 and the creation of the refugee team in 2016.
There are parts dedicated to the torch relay, the mascots, the connection between fashion and the Games and the urban transformations of cities to host the event. There is also a space dedicated to the evolution of press coverage: from black and white photos in newspapers in the 19th century to more than a thousand high-definition cameras today.
Visitors can also watch excerpts of the opening ceremonies shown on a big screen. Learn how sports are included in or left out of the Olympic program. See up close the sneakers worn by Jesse Owens, who won four gold medals in athletics at the 1936 Games in Nazi Germany; the basketball signed by the Dream Team, the North American gold team in Barcelona-1992; Rafael Nadal’s pair of sneakers and Usain Bolt’s t-shirt, Olympic champions in Beijing 2008.
You can continue your visit in the building next door, where the Olympic Studies Center is located. Open to the public, it has 40,000 articles and books, 400 academic journals, dossiers on candidate cities – such as Brasília, which tried to host the 2000 Games, as well as rare documents from Olympic editions since 1896.
The site has partnerships with 75 educational institutions and research centers around the world, including four universities in Brazil, to exchange experiences and knowledge.
“When the Olympic Games are over, they go down in history and remain relevant for all types of research” said Maria Bogner, head of the Center for Olympic Studies.
“Our goal is to support education and studies about the Games and share knowledge. Olympic history never dies and needs to be preserved and available for future generations.”
