When you are going for a swim in the pool or jumping into the sea, you are welcome to take a large bath towel with you, preferably as large as possible. For the climbers, on the other hand, bigger does not mean better. – I see it as my best friend! Helle Tuxen has been diving for over ten years and has qualified for the Olympics in Paris for the first time. She laughs when news asks about the small piece of cloth – often called “shammy” in English. – It’s all I own and have when I dive. And she’s not the only one. “All” divers, including big world stars, use it. “What is that strange Norwegian doing” Photo: Stefan Wermuth / Reuters But the cloth, “shammy”, cleaning skin, the small towel – dear cloth has many names – has not always been part of the sport of diving. The story behind it takes us just under fifty years back in time, to Austin, Moscow, Japan – and a petrol station in Tønsberg. Because the “discovery”, or import if you will, of the cloth for diving started with a Norwegian. – The whole gang said “what is that weird Norwegian doing and wiping himself with?” VARIED: The small cleaning cloth, or shammy, comes in countless colors and patterns. The discovery at the petrol station The protagonist himself, Jon Grunde Vegard, tells the story. The now 66-year-old man was in his time a particularly good diver. He took part in a total of 68 senior national championships, received the king’s cup in 1983 and took part in the Olympics in 1984. From 1976 to 1980 he went to school in Austin, Texas, and it was there that he started the steeple’s love affair with the little cleaning cloth. Vegard himself had been looking for something other than a towel, but ended up with something other than what he was looking for: PREVIOUS DUMPS: Jon Grunde Vegard. Photo: HELLE THERESE KONGSRUD / news – But then I go to a Texaco station in Tønsberg and ask if they have “vileda leather”. No, we don’t have that shit, he said at the till. Simply. Then he pointed and said “try that one”. What he pointed to was a box of chamois, which is often used to dry the car after you have washed it. – I think all petrol stations have it. But he went for it. And took it with him to Austin in 1976. From Texas to Moscow At first he was met with strange looks, but then something happened: – Eventually they said: “get your father to send me something like that”. The teammates had their way, and a year later the national championship was held in their pool in Austin. The same tone was repeated: – Then these other American divers saw what these Texas divers were doing and dried themselves. Then they asked “where did you get that from”? And then they said it was me. Then they asked if they could get some, says Vegard. CHANGES: When Vegard used the sandpaper in the 70s, no one did. Now pretty much everyone has their own – including the Americans. Photo: Lee Jin-man / AP Later in the year, many of the same athletes were to compete in Europe, and there Vegard brought cleaning cloths from Texaco to anyone who wanted them. And then it spread quickly. – Later in the summer I saw a Russian who actually used such a skin. So I said “geez, where did you get that?”. “No, I bought it from an American who was in Moscow,” he said. That American had gotten one from me, and then he was competing in Moscow. – Used on cars And now you might be thinking “what’s the deal with this little cleaning cloth?”. And there is actually a good reason why it has been widely adopted. – For example, gymnasts use magnesium to keep their grip, and then we use this towel of ours, says Helle Tuxen. – It is so that we do not miss when we enter our positions. So you can’t be too wet, because then you get out of position. And then you can’t be too dry either, because then you’ll be “stuck” in the position. She says the towel gives them the perfect balance between wet and dry. It is easy to twist up and dries quickly between uses. – It’s actually used on cars, which is a bit funny, because it absorbs so much liquid. STEPSISTERS: Helle Tuxen is very happy with her shammy. Here with sister Anne Vilde Tuxen. Photo: Privat Tuxen says that there are several common reactions to its use, from people who do not necessarily know the sport of diving very well. – They are a bit like “What the hell? You dive into water and then you’re going to be dry? Why do you bother?”. That’s a lot. “You’re going to dive right in, so what’s the point?” But you’ll have a complete panic if you don’t have this towel with you. Not drying yourself well enough ruins the plunge. So it is very crucial to what we do. IMPORTANT: Being somewhere between dry and wet is important for the acrobatics in the air to go as it should. Photo: EVGENIA NOVOZHENINA / Reuters – Something so stupid! But Jon Grunde Vegard doesn’t get much thanks for the decisive discovery of the sandpaper. – No, thank you and thank you. In that case, it must be those who have done business on it. But no one has come to the conclusion that “oh, thank you very much, now I’ve earned NOK 100,000”, as it were. USED BY EVERYONE: Tom Daley is one of the world’s biggest diving stars and also uses a shammy. Photo: ISSEI KATO / Reuters For several others, money was made from the small piece of cloth. Apart from the originator Jon Grunde Vegard himself. He himself never earned more from the discovery than a cardboard box of t-shirts as a barter. – I was paid for a hundred leatherettes with women’s t-shirts that were too small. Something so stupid! – You might not have thought it would take off like that when you brought it over to Austin? – No, but I got a certain idea when Speedo gave out to all those who were there to have 100 pieces. But I wasn’t particularly “business-minded” at the time. It’s a bit silly. I never did any business on it. – You regret it, don’t you? – Regrets and regrets. There are countless things you could have done differently and made or saved some money. It’s one of those things I’ve thought about that, damn, stupid I didn’t have more talent for it back then. It can be said to be a kind of “thank you” that he was written about in the book “Eureka! How Innovation Changes the Olympic Games” by John Naber, which is about inventions and discoveries that have changed Olympic sports. – How does it feel to have changed history? – Yes, that’s … cool, hehe. Published 06.08.2024, at 05.11
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Norwegian discovery is used by divers all over the world – news Sport – Sports news, results and broadcasting schedule
