Two legendary Olympians were in Albany Wednesday to promote a new upcoming sports competition.
Organizers of Albany’s Aurora Games named the honorary captains of the festival’s two competing teams. Three-time Olympic gold medalist Jackie Joyner-Kersee will head “Team Americas.” Five-time Olympic gold gymnast Nadia Comaneci will lead “Team World.” Speaking at the Times Union Center, Comaneci says she was eager to get involved when the games’ Executive Producer and Creator, Jerry Solomon, approached her.
“He mentioned about the Aurora Games, and just to do something to celebrate women in sports and continue what women have done through all the years," says Comaneci. "And when he said that I said, ‘Yup, I’m in. Sign me in.’”
All-star athletes and coaches from 15 different countries will participate in the games from August 20-25. Events include gymnastics, figure skating, ice hockey, basketball, tennis, and beach volleyball. Solomon says the lack of public appreciation for women’s sports and history was a major reason for his starting the games.
“I asked my 10-year-old daughter who Babe Ruth is, she doesn’t know anything about baseball – she knew he was a baseball player," says Solomon. "If you ask those same people who Babe Didrikson Zaharias is, the vast majority of them will have no idea. And to me, that really crystalizes the issue, because Babe Didrikson Zaharias was a far better athlete than Babe Ruth.”
For the record, Zaharias was a two-time Olympic gold medalist in track and field, and also excelled in basketball and baseball. She was a founding member of the LPGA and won 10 golf majors. As part of incorporating history into the games, Solomon says the official Aurora Games trophy will be named in her honor.
“She was, and I think you guys would agree, just a phenomenal athlete who really paved the way for a lot of things that have come since," Solomon notes.
That said, local officials Wednesday were just as quick to praise Comaneci and Joyner-Kersee. Albany County Executive Dan McCoy presented official proclamations to both women for their achievements, saying the Aurora Games could be a major highlight for the Times Union Center and Albany County.
“Where else could you go to come down here and catch the best sporting events you're ever gonna see in your life?" McCoy asks. "We can do this ourselves and we can set the example to look up to. That’s what I see out of the Aurora Games.”
Comaneci became a household name in gymnastics at the age of 14, when she was the first gymnast to score a perfect 10 at the Olympics at the 1976 games. Jackie Joyner-Kersee is a track and field legend, setting the world record for the heptathlon at the 1988 Olympics.
Joyner-Kersee says she looks forward to being a captain come August. She credits the women who coached her with nurturing her as both an athlete and a human being, and sees the Aurora Games as an opportunity to do the same for other young girls.
“It’s one thing to have an idea, it’s another to bring that idea to reality – and that’s where each and every one of you come in," says Joyner-Kersee. "It’s gonna take all of us to continue to elevate young girls that are developing and want to do sports, and women who are going to participate in the Aurora Games.”
"Nadia and I, we're not competing...but we somewhat are, because it's 'The Americas' against 'The World' – so here we go again," Joyner-Kersee laughs.
Tickets for the Aurora Games go on sale March 8th, to coincide with International Women’s Day.
