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What comes next? Photographing the lives of our sports heroes after the Olympics
U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A! The Olympics have arrived and it is time for us to send our most brilliant athletes to compete against their counterparts from around the world while we all cheer from the stands (or our living rooms). But after weeks of intense competition, the fanfare will die down and the Olympians will return home. And, as King George asks in Lin Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton, "what comes next?"
The Olympic stadium in Munich, Germany, 1972, by photographer Ken Regan. Ken Regan Collection, Photographic History Collection.
While I tend to go home from work and take a bath, some Olympians come home from the games and make a powerful impact on the nation. With their newfound status as sports heroes and icons, they have the opportunity to leave a legacy in their communities and influence the lives of individual athletes around the world, long after the medals are awarded. Ken Regan, an icon in his own right in the photography world, documented athletes in and out of the Olympic stadium, preserving the impression they left on the public. The museum has acquired a recent collection of over 600 of his photographs documenting sports figures, celebrities, and politicians, including two historic Olympians who chose to make a difference.
MARY LOU RETTON
At the age of 16, gymnast Mary Lou Retton made Olympic history as the first American woman to win a gold medal in the individual all-around at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. She was thrust into the spotlight as her charming smile and wholesome attitude captured the hearts of Americans.
Immediately following the games, Retton signed major endorsement deals with McDonald's, Vidal Sassoon, and Wheaties. She became a household name as she was literally in your house, the first-ever woman featured on the Wheaties cereal box in your kitchen cabinet. Her success story remained in the hearts and minds of Americans as long as those boxes remained on the shelves.
Retton's omnipresence resulting from her endless endorsements had a profound impact on American youth; a new generation of female gymnasts emerged who wanted to be Mary Lou when they grew up.
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