springs

The Great Sport Myth is a concept developed and introduced in 2015 by influential sport sociologist Jay Coakley, a professor emeritus at the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs.

Besides training on treadmills, the crew also uses stationary bicycles and other specialized equipment that relies on springs and vacuums to create resistance.

The original design, made public in 2021, had sailed through the Public Arts Commission and the Palm Springs City Council, and some 400 donors had raised more than half of the memorial’s $600,000 budget.

“I had never once heard that people chose to come to Palm Springs to die. That was very powerful for me — chose to come here because there was a community of support that didn’t exist anywhere else, and continues to this day.”

“So many memorials you see across the country share common elements like a ribbon or whatnot. This stands apart from those others. I think that speaks well for Palm Springs. It’s a unique community.”