If you attend the Summer Olympic Games this year you will be able to catch the Tube at Simon Whitfield and exit at Emma Snowsill, but there is an even bigger chance that you’ll be using the Michael Phelps station of the London Underground, since it is the main Olympic stop.
The Underground Olympic Legends Map honors 361 of the greatest Olympic athletes ranging from track and field to basketball by naming all the Underground stations after them. Emma Snowsill and Simon Whitfield represent the sport of triathlon, while Miguel Indurain, Fabian Cancellara, Chris Boardman and Bradley Wiggins are among a dozen or so cyclists who have their name on a station. Swimmers though seem to have scored especially well, ranging from Johnny Weissmuller to Aleksandr Popov.
The map was designed by journalist Alex Trickett and journalist and sports historian David Brooks
"We love sport, we love lists and we love London, so what better challenge than to select 361 of the greatest athletes the world has ever seen and to fit them on to our iconic tube map,” said Trickett and Brooks. "There were heated debates and a few late changes of heart, but we are happy with the result: dozens of nations represented, all 2012 Olympic sports accounted for, and Ali and Phelps, two of the greatest Olympians of all time, guarding the Stratford gateways to the games."
Canadian Simon Whitfield, who won a Gold medal in Sydney in 2000 and a Silver in 2008 in Beijing, sounded thrilled to be among those chosen for this project.
"The first I heard of it was yesterday and to be honest I'm a little blown away to be in such company," said Whitfield to slowtwitch.com. " I'm sure the regulars at Bank Street were wondering "Wait, who is this guy? Can we trade him for someone actually famous?' and 'This fella needs to head down to the pub and drink some (warm) pints, he's a tad skinny.' "
Most of the stations are indeed named after gold medalists, but winning was not the only requisite to be featured on this map.
"The map not only celebrates multiple gold medal winning athletes but also features other extraordinary athletes who may not have won an Olympic gold medal but are recognized for their abilities or in some cases, famous defeats," stated the Transport For London website.
Along those lines, the map features South African Zola Budd and American Mary Decker who became famous for their tangle in the 3,000 meter final at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. Also, Aussie Ron Clarke who won a Bronze medal for the 10,000 meter race in 1964 in Tokyo and then collapsed during the finals in 1968 in Mexico City and almost died.
So get on the London Underground this summer and take a ride through Olympic history.
More on the Underground Olympic Legends Map here.
