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Behind the Scenes of the ‘Treasure Hunt’ for Olympic History

They met in locker rooms. They met in suites. They met in hallways. The interactions were usually brief.

These weren’t spies or drug test collectors. They are the staff of the Olympic Museum in Lausanne, Switzerland. And to collect items that tell the stories of the Paris Games, they needed to be everywhere.

There were 32 sports and 329 medal events crammed into two weeks. Many produced first-time winners or indelible moments. So museum staff members fanned out as history happened to gather mementos: a gymnast’s leotard, a fencer’s saber, a Grand Slam tournament champion’s tennis racket, an opening ceremony outfit.