Own The Moment: Tennis Olympians urged to make history
Spoken word artist Henry Stone has shared the inspiration behind Own the Moment, released to mark the opening of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and celebrate the history of tennis at the Games.
Born in South London, Stone revisited memories of the London 2012 Olympic Games and the impact of Andy Murray’s men’s singles gold medal win for Great Britain, beating Roger Federer in the final less than a month after the heartbreak of his Wimbledon final defeat against the Swiss on the same Centre Court.
“I wanted to zero in on capturing the history of the Games alongside evoking an emotional response,” Stone said. “Tennis and the Olympics has such a rich history. Capturing it in its modern, competitive sense was the key, and marrying that with the emotion of having athletes from countries all over the world, the sense of community. That’s the most important thing we have: athletes come and go, and fans too. But it’s the legacy you leave with that community, that’s what stays. That’s what everyone remembers.
“From a British point of view, I really focused on when Andy Murray won, and how it made me feel: ‘One month on from a seismic loss/He beat Roger despite the odds.’ I remember that. He’d lost four [Grand Slam] finals, and that last one at Wimbledon, it hurt – it hurt me, so it definitely hurt him! And to see him come back from that, that’s where I got the inspiration, really trying to focus on athletes owning the moment, owning their time.”
The ITF has adopted ‘Own the Moment’ as its messaging for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games – a mantra that carries resonance for both the athletes and those who will be watching the Games worldwide, Stone explained.
“When it comes to sporting achievement, it’s not just as simple as being destined for greatness,” he said. “If I’m being honest, I don’t think anyone is destined for anything. Over the course of their lives, they have made active decisions to chase that moment, to earn it, to hold it, because no-one’s going to give it to you.
“That’s something you learn in sport, and something we can all take away from sport whether you’re a competitor or a spectator. It’s not about having something given to you; you have to openly and actively chase it, work hard towards it. You need to own the moment.”
Nominated for the 2019 Outspoken London Poetry Prize, Stone’s storyteller approach to poetry and performance has recently seen him engage with such heavyweight topics as mental illness, generational poverty, and the global impact of the death of George Floyd – topics that place even such cultural phenomena as the Olympics and Paralympics in perspective.
But as a tennis fan, whose love for the sport was cemented by the trilogy of Nadal-Federer Wimbledon finals between 2006 and 2008, he has infused the history of Olympic tennis since 1988 with a searching, celebratory tone.
“I had a bit of fun with it, added my own creativity: ‘It’s always a test to rise to the challenge/To try and make magic with the swipe of a racquet.’ And then with the historical context, marrying those two was loads of fun,” he said.
“As the Olympics moves from country to country – from Seoul to Barcelona; from London to Rio, to Tokyo – people remember the feeling of those Games. People remember Beijing being spectacular, they remember London’s unique community vibe, though maybe I’m just biased because I’m British! That was the main challenge: making sure I captured those moments, all of those snapshots, how it brought us here today.”
Stone will also be collaborating with the ITF on a second spoken word performance to herald the start of the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games in August.