When I was a child, I played badminton for a couple of years. I liked playing but was never any good and did not play in competitions. However, like all members, I did participate in the annual badminton club championships. There were different categories, based on gender, age, and whether or not you played competitively.
One year, I was one of only two girls in my category. We played a match, I lost.
And then I got the silver medal for coming second in my category.
I sometimes think about that silver medal, still hiding somewhere in my mom’s attic. What if that silver medal falls into the hands of a descendant many generations from now? They will assume I was athletic, or at least a decent badminton player. Since I am one of the least athletic persons I know, I think that’s hilarious. While I enjoyed playing, I was really really bad.
If we look at the records and artifacts we have about our own ancestors, how many of those are the silver badminton medals? How many represent the flukes, the outliers, in our ancestors’ lives, and can give us a completely wrong impression of what they were like? Unusual events are more likely to be recorded, so there may be more than we realize.
International badminton match, 1976. Credits: Bert Verhoeff, collection Nationaal Archief (CC-0)
About Yvette Hoitink
As a child a participated in the South-Holland skating championship on natural ice. It was on Saturday Morning, so all good skaters were in training on artificial ice in The Hague, so only 4 girls participated. First was the 500 meters. I was 4th of 4. Then the 1000 meters. I was 1st.
As a result, like you, (due to some formula) I got the silver medal.