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2004 Games Highlights - Ceremonies

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Closing Ceremonies: Looking Forward…and Looking Back

Eric Davis

Ever notice when you watch the Winter or Summer Olympics on television that “winning the medal” is the ultimate demonstration of strength and determination? That’s a shame, because it means that many of those who do not win a medal ever truly feel fulfilled.

That’s just one reason why the U.S. Transplant Games are even more special. While medaling is a cause for celebration, the real joy comes from simply being there—joining 8,000 others who know first hand the importance of each day and the value of each life.

There is no better venue to share this experience than the Closing Ceremonies of the Transplant Games and this year’s gathering was no exception. For more than two hours, attendees were taken through a journey of special moments they had experienced over the past four days as well as important events that had happened over the past half century, with 2004 marking the 50th anniversary of the first-ever successful organ transplant.

It was a time to celebrate the athletes, team organizers and event organizers, such as Chris Klug, a winter Olympic medalist and kidney recipient, who announced the year’s top male and female athletes. It also was a time to reflect on athletes who were no longer there—like Wendy Marx, a liver recipient who helped found the U.S. Transplant Games 15 years ago and passed away in 2004. Olympic legend Carl Lewis, a friend to the Marx family and to the Games, helped present the first-ever Wendy Marx Award, recognizing an athlete for his or her outstanding work in raising awareness for organ donation.

Capping it off was a perennial favorite, the highlights video, a great 10-minute opportunity to look back on an unforgettable week filled with competition and camaraderie, laughter and tears, and, most of all, an incredible spirit that showed beyond a shadow of a doubt that transplantation really works.