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Sporting Memories Clubs on their marks for World Athletics Museum trips!

Over the last couple of weeks, some of our Scotland Sporting Memories Clubs have visited the Museum of World Athletics and the 2014 Commonwealth Games “Stars of Track and Field” exhibitions in Glasgow prior to the World Indoor Athletics Championships that took place in the city earlier this month. 

Not only was it an outstanding visit for any sports fan with some amazing memorabilia on show, it also inspired our members and volunteers alike reminiscing of past glories and sharing hopes for the 2024 competition at The Emirates Arena. 

Our patron, Yvonne Murray-Mooney, no stranger to the medal podium in world class athletics, was on hand to chat to members and shared her own tales of sporting insights. Let’s just say the way we approach athletics now is quite different! Yvonne also shared her love of Sporting Memories with a much wider star-studded audience on Sunday 3rd when she made her official donation of her custom-made running spikes to the Museum. 

History of the Museum 

World Athletics Heritage’s mission is to honour, preserve, promote and savour the 3000-year history of Athletics which was born in antiquity with the Olympic Games. In March 2021, they launched their flagship programme, the Museum of World Athletics (MOWA), which is both a physical collection of athletics artefacts that travels the world on exhibition and the world’s first online 3D virtual sports museum. 

The MOWA Indoor Athletics Exhibition was at the St. Enoch Centre, Glasgow, and was open for a month from 2 February to 3 March. It celebrated more than 170 years of indoor track and field athletics, featuring the museum’s indoor athletics collection of competition artefacts dating from the 1880s to 2023. The magnificent displays contained clothing, shoes, equipment, trophies and medals donated by more than 30 world champions and record breakers, with supporting video, photographs and text. 

Highlights at the Museum 

Some of the artefacts on display had been cherished by family members of former athletes and Chris Turner from World Athletics has been running a single-handed detective programme to track items down. Looking at Jesse Owens running vest from the 1936 Berlin Olympics brought some gasps of amazement. The letter inviting a Scottish athlete to take part in a competition in Paris details his travel plans by overnight train and finishes with a wish that he “keep himself in good shape to race” from very early 1900’s. This was alongside items from Carl Lewis, Seb Coe, Mo Farah and a host of household names they had on display. 

There is a truly mesmerising online experience here https://worldathletics.org/heritage if you didn’t make it to Glasgow.  

2014 – when Glasgow welcomed the Commonwealth 

Then it was upstairs to the 2014 Commonwealth Games “Stars of Track and Field” exhibition which holds many special memories for Scots as it was held in Glasgow. Nearly every member was able to recall their favourite highlights and members had a lot of fun on the winners’ podium with medals – by the way the medals we were shown were the real thing to be awarded at the World Championships games. A very nervous steward was keeping a watchful eye on them and the commemorative bottle of Irn Bru which apparently was the next most precious thing in the exhibition. 

   

The day was finished off by a visit to the Eric Liddle 100 display. The Eric Liddell 100 is a programme of events and activities to recognise and celebrate the life, sporting and community service achievements of one of Scotland’s iconic figures. It is being planned around 2024, the centenary of Eric Liddell’s historic success at the 1924 Olympic Games in Paris. 

 

It was a fascinating insight to a remarkable man and told a much bigger story than that many of us are familiar with thanks to the film Chariots of Fire. You can read more here - https://ericliddell.org/the-eric-liddell-100/  

All in all, a most memorable outing for volunteers and members.