The travelling exhibition Canarias en el Olimpo, sponsored by the Government of the Canary Islands through the Department of Education, Vocational Training, Physical Activity and Sports to pay tribute to the athletes, coaches and referees who have represented the islands in the Olympic and Paralympic Games throughout their history, will be on display at the Mogan Mall shopping centre, in the south of Gran Canaria, from this Monday until next Sunday, during its usual opening hours.
The exhibition consists of fifteen vertical structures, each two metres high, showing on both sides the different editions of the Olympic and Paralympic Games in which the almost two hundred athletes, coaches and referees who have represented the Canary Islands in these two events have participated, with a list of their names, categories and decorations.
The exhibition began its tour at the end of July in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, where it was inaugurated by the regional councillor for Education, Vocational Training, Physical Activity and Sports, Poli Suárez. It has subsequently also visited the Tenerife municipalities of Arona and Los Realejos (Tenerife), as well as the Josefina de la Torre library, near Las Canteras beach and the Alisios Shopping Centre, both in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.
After its stay at the Mogan Mall shopping centre, it will make its last stop in Gran Canaria from 10 to 18 September, at the Casa de la Cultura de Moya. The next two events will be Santa Cruz de La Palma, from 23 to 29 September, and San Sebastián de La Gomera, from 5 October, and new locations will be announced in the near future.
History of Canarian sport
Two other panels are dedicated individually to four outstanding Olympic and Paralympic athletes from the archipelago: Luis Doreste, the first Canarian athlete to win two Olympic gold medals; Patricia Guerra, the first Olympic medal in sailing, in Barcelona 1992; Enhamed Mohamed, the most decorated athlete of the Spanish Paralympic delegation in Beijing 2008, where he won four gold medals; and Michelle Alonso, who won three gold medals at the Paralympic Games in London 2012, Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020. In addition, two other totems focus on four sagas of Canarian Olympic athletes: Doreste, Pulido, Blanco and Lang-Lenton.
In addition to these elements, the exhibition is completed with other visual resources, highlighting a central structure that tells the story of the Olympic and Paralympic Games and the participation of the Canaries in them; two three-dimensional elements that recreate the Olympic rings, and a replica of a competition podium.
