Nurturing Olympic ideals at local level 

The committee was set up by the St Louis Sports Commission with the goal of celebrating the city’s Olympic legacy and its contribution to the Olympic Movement. A member of the World Union of Olympic Cities, the committee aims to provide a platform for community involvement and tell the stories of the people and venues of the 1904 Olympic Games. In doing so, it hopes to nurture the ideals of Olympism in the St Louis area and encourage and inspire the city’s people.

In 2018, the St Louis Olympic Legacy Committee installed the Olympic rings spectacular on a site close to Francis Field Stadium, overlooking all the city’s historic Olympic venues. The monument has a granite podium-shaped plinth with an inscription commemorating St Louis 1904’s status as the first Olympic Games to award gold, silver and bronze medals to every athlete or team finishing first, second and third in events.

The only previous indication of the area’s Olympic heritage was a small and easy-to-miss sign on the walls of Francis Field Stadium marking it out as an Olympic building. A year after the installation of the Olympic rings spectacular, the stadium was renamed Francis Olympic Field in recognition of its illustrious history.

In 2020, the committee also erected signs and information panels along the St Louis 1904 marathon route. The panels feature photographs of the race and tell the story of what was one of the most eventful and controversial of Olympic marathons, bringing it vividly back to life for the city’s residents and visitors alike. Similar signs and panels have been installed at the venues that hosted the swimming, rowing and golf competitions, among others.

Founded in 1989, the St Louis Sports Commission is a privately funded non-profit organisation that aims to celebrate and raise the profile of St Louis’ Olympic legacy, promote the Olympic spirit across the city and bring international sporting events to its Olympic venues. Its members include six-time Olympic heptathlon and long jump medallist and four-time world champion Jackie Joyner-Kersee, who hails from the city. The commission also runs the St Louis Sports Foundation, which was established as a legacy of the US Olympic Festival held in 1994, one of several Olympic-related events that the commission has organised and hosted over the years.