Remembering and looking forward to Olympic history
With the previously postponed Tokyo Olympic Games now complete, and the Winter Olympics in Beijing opening less than six months after the Tokyo closing ceremonies, the Olympics are about to re-emerge into global thought in an abnormal and exceptional way.
This unique circumstance was foreseen by International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach in early 2020. When speaking on the postponement of the Games due to COVID-19, he said, “the Olympic flame will be a light at the end of this tunnel.”
The Olympic flame, however, is too often dimmed by injustice and disregard. Figure skater Debi Thomas’s Olympic journey is a prime example.
Thomas was the first Black athlete to medal at the Winter Olympics, doing so in Calgary in 1988 by winning bronze in ladies’ figure skating. Going into the 1988 Games, Thomas was a favorite to win gold, locked in a highly publicized rivalry called “Battle of the Carmens,” named this because Thomas and her top competitor both skated to music from the opera “Carmen”. On Feb. 27, 1988, Debi Thomas skated to center ice to perform her short program as viewers across the world watched the camera zoom in on her face. Thomas took a breath and can be seen saying, “just do it.”
Five months later, in July of 1988, Nike launched “Just Do It” as their slogan.
This could be a coincidence. It could also be yet another example of institutions profiting off Black people without giving them credit or compensation. As is often the way with history, it depends on who you ask.
Thomas has been quoted in the Chicago Tribune saying, “I invented ‘just do it’ before Nike did. It wasn’t easy, but if you keep plugging away, you get where you want to be.”
Nike claims the slogan was inspired by the last words of Gary Gilmore, a criminal executed in the 1970s. Before his death by firing squad, Gilmore said, “let’s do it.”
What’s more believable? The variation of the last words of a man executed 11 years prior or a direct quote from a recent, globally broadcasted historic moment in sports?
Thomas went on to graduate from Stanford and Northwestern to become an orthopedic surgeon. She had a private practice for many years, served as a representative of the U.S. Olympic Committee, and was inducted into the U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame. Later, she lost her practice and her Olympic medal when she filed for bankruptcy, unable to afford her medical bills. Her medal was worth slightly over $2,200 when it was surrendered to the bank. As of 2015, she was living in poverty with her fiancée and his two children.
No matter what story you believe about the inception of Nike’s multi-million dollar slogan, one thing is clear: the Olympics are a powerful event with lasting, global ramifications. Hosting two games within a six-month period is certain to echo through history whether we listen for it or not. If we do take the time to listen, we must also take the time to speak up. The spirit of Olympism as outlined in the Olympic charter implores us to speak out against injustices, bask in the joy of effort, and celebrate one another whenever we can.
*This article was sent to the Volante in May 2021 for print
