COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo., USA, Jan. 31, 2020—Sculptor, university arts professor and Olympic epee fencer Peter Schifrin (USA) has been commissioned to create a sculpture of an Olympic discus thrower for the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Museum, scheduled to open later this year. Schifrin has named his creation “Olympus Within”.
Schifrin, who competed for the USA in the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Olympics and has coached fencing, believes while the sculpture is a rendering of a discus athlete, the project still represents everything in fencing:“Be your best, the practice, the perseverance to achieve your goal, is all in this project”, he said. “I’m thrilled to bring what I know from the art world and athletics and fencing to put it together into one symbol.”
Fencing and fencers have made a significant impact on the world and appear virtually everywhere, Schifrin pointed out from personal experience. “This is in part due to how the sport extends itself into many aspects of life, sport and culture; a principle I learned in fencing extended into my art practice”, he said. “…in fencing and art we have to practice, practice, practice, but then we jump, risk and battle tenaciously to achieve our goals”. He looks at fencing as both a combat art and spiritual practice taking both focus and discipline. This philosophy along with skills developed to remain centered and balanced under pressure can apply to discus, fencing or art with equal benefit, Schifrin added.