ITF

32 T he Seoul Olympics was the first time, of course, since 1924 that tennis had figured officially in the programme so it was a bit special. There were a lot of players who in the beginning didn't really support the Olympic idea, but as we have seen over the years it now has full support from the players. And that's really, really nice that it went that way because if you have a chance to be in the Olympic programme, I think every sport should take it. I always supported it. I thought it was a fantastic idea. And it's very nice now to look back and know that you have a medal. Of course, you always wanted to have gold or silver but to have a medal is nice. I think it's a little unfair to compare it to other titles you might win in tennis. For myself and most other tennis players to win a Grand Slam is the biggest thing in our sport but they happen every year. The Olympics is just once in a while. Yet in Sweden, for the people to win, say, a gold medal is probably bigger than winning a Grand Slam. You get a lot of attention for that. You will be remembered in history. You could see how delighted [Roger] Federer was when he won a gold medal in the doubles with [Stan] Wawrinka in Beijing in 2008. The fact that he won it in the doubles not the singles doesn't matter. I mean, in other sports, like athletics, an athlete can win gold in the 100 metres, the 200 metres or even the relay. It doesn't matter what event it is. If you have one you have one. You could see how happy [Andy] Murray was when he won in London. It means a lot in our sport. It took some time for players to realise the importance of it and how it was great for the development of tennis as a sport. And it's great for the Olympics that now all the best players want to play in it. Of course if you get a gold medal you receive a bigger reception than you do for a bronze, but they were proud of us – especially later on, I've had a lot of invitations to events over the years. It means more to you the older you get. When you're competing it's full speed ahead all the time. It's only when you retire that you have more time to think about these things and what they mean to you. My medal lives in a tennis museum in Bastad, where I live. When I tell people who are not aware really about what I have won in my career they say, "Wow, you have an Olympic medal – can I see it?" And I say, "Well, you'll have to go along to the museum if you want to see it." It is something special, I think. I remember at the Barcelona Olympics in 1992 it was so hot. There was no air conditioning in the Village, you could barely sleep. It was something like 35 degrees even at night time. To perform in those conditions was not that easy. That was really sad for the competitors, especially if you had been training for a long time for the Olympics. I can remember that we took our mattresses out of the bedroom and slept outside on the roof for a couple of days. Anders Jarryd SEOUL 1988 MEN'S DOUBLES BRONZE I thought it was a fantastic idea. And it's very nice now to look back and know that you have a medal. Anders Jarryd

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