Gainesville Mayor Danny Dunagan was among the speakers at a dedication ceremony for the new Olympic Ring Plaza at the Lake Lanier Olympic Park venue in Hall County.
From the city of Gainesville website…
Around two dozen people turned out for the dedication led by Gainesville Tourism Director Robyn Lynch, which featured speakers Gainesville Mayor Danny Dunagan and Lake Lanier Olympic Park Foundation Chairwoman Mimi Collins, plus the attendance of 2020 U.S. Olympic Team athletes.
“We have been planning this Olympic Ring Plaza for about four years … and, finally, it came to fruition,” Lynch said before the small crowd.
The project – a partnership between the LLOP Foundation and Turner, Wood & Smith Insurance – began in February and was completed in April. However, due to COVID-19, a ribbon-cutting ceremony was postponed until summer.
The plaza prominently features LLOP’s Olympic rings sculpture, which now sits in front of the tower – the original home of the race finish line and timekeeper(s) during the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games rowing, sprint canoe and kayak races. Upon their relocation from the park’s butterfly garden, the rings were freshly powder coated and centered in the plaza between newly built stone benches, allowing visitors to enjoy the rings, a breathtaking view of Lake Lanier and learn more about the plaza’s significance.
The rings themselves hold history that cannot be duplicated. The sculpture was crafted from structural steel originally used in the support beams of floating grandstands erected for the 1996 Olympics. Former Olympic kayaker Steve Kelly helped salvage the steel and organize its transformation into the rings displayed today.
LLOP continues to host local, national and international rowing, sprint kayak and canoe events, as well as dragon boat races and championships. Additionally, the park is home to rowing and canoe/kayak legacy clubs, fostering future generations of Olympic athletes.
The dedication was followed by a brief reception in the tower, prior to the city’s first event of the 2020 Food Truck Friday series at LLOP.
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