St. Fagans museum to showcase belongings of Wales' greatest sportspeople to mark Olympics

230721-st fagans olympic display
Paolo Radmilovic has his photo and belongings displayed in the museum and is one of Britain's greatest Olympians. Credit: St. Fagans National History Museum.

A new display showcasing objects from Wales' top Olympians and Paralympians will open at St Fagans National Museum of History to mark the beginning of the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics.

It opens on Friday July 23, the same day as the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games are scheduled to start after being postponed due to the coronavirus.

What can visitors expect?

Visitors will be able to discover stories from some of Wales' best sportspeople including:

  • Welsh water polo player and swimmer Paulo Radmilovic, who remains Wales’ most successful Olympian with four gold medals from six appearances at the Games.

  • World record-breaking freestyle swimmer Irene Steer, the first Welsh woman to win a gold medal and who learned to swim in Cardiff's Roath Park Lake.

  • Lynn ‘The Leap’ Davies, who won gold in the long jump at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.

Steer was the first Welsh woman to win an Olympic gold medal, and it would be 96 years before this was repeated. Credit: St. Fagans National Museum

What can be seen?

Irene Steer’s gold medal and swimming outfit from the 1912 Olympic Games in Stockholm.

It would be 96 years before her achievement was repeated by cyclist Nicole Cook in 2008 in Beijing – on what would have been Steer’s 119th birthday.

Other notable objects include equestrian icon Richard Meade’s three Olympic golds, and the silver and bronze medal won by swimmer David Davies.  

Plus Lynn Davies’ gold medal and running spikes worn during his long jump triumph in Japan 57 years ago.

Born in Cardiff Paulo Radmilovic was Britain's most successful rower for 80 years. Credit: St. Fagans National Museum of history

Welsh Sports Hall of Fame President, Lynn Davies, said:  “Nothing can prepare you for the life-changing experience of winning a gold medal at the Olympics.

"You really do become a member of a very special and exclusive club and being an Olympic champion comes with responsibilities, the main one of which is to inspire future generations through your actions. 

“I hope as many people as possible will take the time to come and have a look at what we’ve been able to put together at St Fagans. It is a small representation of the massive contribution Welsh Olympians have made to Welsh sport, life and culture.” 

Lynn Davies’ long jump best of 8.23m, set in 1968, is still the fourth best long jump of all-time by a British athlete Credit: National Museum

The objects will be on display from 23 July until the 2 October.

Entry to St Fagans National Museum of History is free, but all visitors must pre-book their tickets via the museum website.