Olympic pin collecting – the craze loved by Andy Murray, Simone Biles and Snoop Dogg
The TelegraphAfter the buzz of the sporting venues at Paris 2024, the mood inside is tranquil, almost a little fusty. “Unfortunately there is so little pins that have been shaken loose,” says Tanya Ollick, a 57-year-old network engineer from Seattle, who joined the Olympic collecting community during the London Games of 2012. “It’s been very disappointing.” Ollick blames professional, business-minded collectors for harassing the athletes and putting them off the whole trading-with-strangers business. Ed Schneider – a 68-year-old from Long Island in New York State – explains that he prefers the sponsors’ badges, having worked in merchandising in a former life. “Lake Placid jump started it,” says Schneider of the whole pin-collecting business, “and then it exploded in LA in 1984.
History of this topic
Medals aren't the only coveted prize at the Paris Games — a pin-trading frenzy is sweeping the Olympic Village
ABCDiscover Related
