| The Olympic Medallists Club |
The ITF Olympic Medallists Club was launched in 1999 to recognise those players who had embraced Olympic Tennis and achieved the rare status of being a medallist.
It is one of several ITF initiatives to promote Olympic Tennis. Many past and present tennis champions along with officials from the International Olympic Committee, the British Olympic Association, the International Tennis Federation and the Sydney Organising Committee for the Olympic Games showed their support by attending the launch.
IOC member and British Olympic Association President Mr Craig Reedie said of the Club: "Olympic medallists are very special. Tennis brings many assets to the Olympics and it is good news that an international federation recognises its Olympic and Paralympic athletes in this Club."
As part of the launch each of the medallists in attendance was presented with a special pin signifying membership of the Olympic Medallists Club. Afterwards, they spoke of their pride in being a member of this elite club.
Leading the way was four-time medal winner and former ITF World Champion Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario who competed in her 5th Olympic Games in Athens.
"An Olympic medal is very special because you don't have the chance to play every year and you're representing your country," she said "My special memory is Barcelona in '92 because it was my home country and the crowd was really behind me."
For Claudia Kohde-Kilsch, a medallist in Seoul in 1988, the opportunity just to compete at an Olympic Games was something she had not thought possible during her tennis career.
'It was always my dream to take part in the Olympics but it wasn't possible for many years so it was just that - a dream." she said. "The Opening Ceremony at Seoul was very special. It was great to meet all the other sports people and then to win a medal was so exciting."
"I'm very happy to be invited to the Olympic Medallists Club. Its a very good idea. It puts a stamp on Olympic tennis."
Those sentiments were shared by Miloslav Mecir, the former Slovak Republic Davis Cup team captain who won the men's singles gold medal in 1988.
"It's good that tennis is an Olympic sport- it's something very special," he said
" I used to follow the Olympics and our sports teams when I was younger - it was always a big event back at home. It was a dream for me but I didn't think that I could do it. It was a fantastic experience"
Tennis was a founding sport in the first modern Olympics in 1896 but was withdrawn in 1928 over disputes concerning the definition of amateurism. Returning as a demonstration sport in Los Angeles in 1984, it was reinstated as a full medal sport in Seoul in 1988.
Monique Kalkman, a four-time wheelchair tennis world champion, has won four Paralympic medals in tennis - three of them gold - as well as two in table tennis.
"It is a most precious event as it is only happens every four years," Kalkman said. "I really worked towards Barcelona for a couple of years beforehand. I changed my style of play and became more aggressive with more spin.
"The Olympic Medallists Club gives you the feeling that you can look back at what you've achieved, especially after you've stopped competing. "
For Stefan Edberg, winner of six Grand Slam titles and two Olympic medals, having tennis in the Olympic Games is important not only for the individual players but also for the promotion of tennis world wide through the associated development grants worth $800,000 annually.
"It's important that tennis is part of the Olympics and it is growing in the right direction It will encourage younger players and help tennis to develop in remote areas," Edberg said.
Former champion doubles player Wendy Turnbull ended a career that included nine doubles and mixed doubles Grand Slam titles by winning a bronze medal with Liz Smylie in 1988 and believes that all players - no matter how many Grand Slam titles they have won - should be encouraged to play in the Olympics.
"Even though you have the Slams not that many people get to see an Olympic medal," Turnbull said. "I'm very good friends with Chris Evert and Chrissie's never won an Olympic medal so sometimes she'll say, 'Rabbit's got something that I haven't got'. This Olympic Medallists' Club is an elite group of people."
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