Most confusing Olympics ever?

 I really thought that the postponed Tokyo Olympics, moved from 2020 to 2021, would be the most confusing thing I have to deal with in my job.

But as the saying goes, Beijing 2022 grabbed the microphone and said, "hold my beer."

The entire process of getting prepared to go to China has been an absolute cluster on my end. There was the entire process of trying to get them to take my money, which was exacerbated by their need to get the funds in Chinese currency instead of US (like the other three Olympic hosts have done), then the addition of purpose codes that were never relayed to us and the like.

But, as my last blog post said, that was taken care of, finally and my hotel is there and waiting for me when I arrive in Beijing.

Or, that is, if I arrive in Beijing.

Getting there, as referenced in a previous blog post is proving more and more difficult. The representative from Cathay Pacific was in regular communication for a few weeks as we tried to work out a schedule that worked for my timeframe and with the new "temporary" flights that we are being asked to use to arrive in and depart from China. However, it's been pretty quiet on the airline front the last week-plus and I am starting to get concerned about my flights. The last I e-mailed with the representative, it was looking like I would have to book a flight from Boston to San Francisco and then a flight from New York to Boston on the return trip. However, that still has not been confirmed.

The other issue that is becoming more and more difficult to navigate is the COVID-19 testing that is required before we board the plane to China. Beijing 2022 has told us that we need to take tests from a lab that is certified by the Chinese government. Of course, there are no labs anywhere near here that would allow me to do that. Tokyo allowed us to use at-home tests, but that is evidently not an option here. I spent a few hours today doing research about what tests we need and who can administer those tests.

I found out what I need to do is to get a testing location approved by Beijing 2022 and of course, that will not be an easy process I am sure. I have found a location in Manchester that does the necessary tests, but I have to submit all their information to Beijing 2022 and get them approved to administer the tests for me. The good news is, this company regularly does COVID testing for people who are traveling, so they know what is required and that is incredibly helpful. Hopefully, I can get them approved. Otherwise, I am not sure what I will have to do.

Tokyo was really a lot of frustration leading up to the rescheduled games. Communication was difficult and there were so many things that needed to be done. Beijing has brought that frustration too, though I have had better luck communicating with folks in Beijing than I had with those in Tokyo. I can't be 100 percent sure I'll be in Beijing in less than 50 days. But that does remain the goal.

On an unrelated, but still related, note, there was a pretty cool social media post from Paris 2024, the host of the next Summer Olympics. They announced that the Opening Ceremonies were going to be quite different in July 2024. The athletes will be riding through the ceremonies on boats on the Seine. The pictures they provided were pretty impressive and the goal is to get as many people involved in the ceremonies as possible, including spectators lining the riverbanks and bridges. I must say, this seems pretty awesome and I am intrigued.

Now, the process to apply for credentials for Paris has not even opened yet and I still don't know if that' something I want to do, but this new announcement is a point on the side of going in 2024.

Of course, I feel like I'm closer to getting to Paris than I am to getting to Beijing. And that's frustrating.

This photo, from thenewsmarket.com, envisions what the Olympic Opening Ceremonies might be like in Paris 2024 as the athlete parade makes its way down the Seine.

One big piece in place

As I prepare to head to my third Winter Olympics in just a few months, another piece of the puzzle finally fell in to place last week and another piece that emerged a few weeks back, got closer to being put in place.

The thing that has been the biggest problem for me when it comes to Beijing 2022 has been getting my accommodation funds to the right people. When I got the first invoice, I went to my bank to make a wire transfer, only to find out that my bank did not do transfers in Chinese currency, which was a requirement of the Beijing Organizing Committee. So, I had to set up an account at another bank and quickly made the wire transfer. Of course, it wasn't that easy, as the first transfer didn't go through because of an error somewhere in the paperwork. On the second try, we got it through, but the "purpose code" required for China was not correct and that correction had to be made.

Thanks to the wonderful work of Melissa at the Wolfeboro branch of Citizen's Bank, that issue was corrected and with all the correct information we needed, the hope was that the second payment for my accommodations, due at the beginning of this month, would be easier, since we could just copy the paperwork and change the amount of money.

Of course, it was not that easy. Melissa once again got the paperwork off to Beijing, but I received an e-mail a few days later saying that the "purpose code" was wrong. I communicated with the BOCOG representative, sending a photo of the wire transfer with the proper code, but he sent me an e-mail with a picture from his end with a different code. Thanks to Melissa and the Citizen's Bank team, the code was eventually changed and I got confirmation last week that my second payment had been accepted and my accommodation was secure. Without a question, this was the most difficult of the wire transfer situations I have encountered in my four pre-Olympics preparation periods.

The other issue popped up a week and a half ago when the media had an online meeting with the International Olympic Committee and the Beijing Organizing Committee to discuss the playbooks that were issued outlining what is required of the press leading up to and during the Winter Olympics. One of the things that was mentioned was that the press needed to use something called "temporary flights" to get in and out of Beijing.

Since I had already purchased my airline tickets on traditional commercial flights, I was a bit concerned as to what was going to happen, hoping I wouldn't have to rebook everything at a significant cost. Beijing did provide us with a list of airlines that were able to fly the temporary flights and the airline that I had booked my flights on, Cathay Pacific, was one of those airlines. Beijing also gave us contact information for the airline and I sent an e-mail with a query regarding my situation.

Cathay Pacific was incredibly prompt in their first response, with the woman saying they had a whole team assembled to work on the Olympic issues. Not long after the original e-mail, I had a message from one of those team members saying they had found my flights and were working on trying to rebook me on to the temporary flights from Hong Kong (my original flights went through there) to Beijing and back. I must say, after my fun dealings with Air Canada on the way home from Tokyo, it was refreshing to have consistent communication regarding my situation. While nothing is official, it seems the issue is being worked on and for that, I am thankful.

The temporary flight thing still had me confused, so I did a little research. As it turns out, Beijing is working on getting all Olympic family members (press, coaches, athletes, judges, etc.) into the country on flights together, limiting their exposure to other people outside the Olympic family. Once in China, we will be in a closed-loop system, which means we won't have interaction with people outside of the loop in an effort to control COVID outbreaks. The bones of this system is similar to what we did in Tokyo over the summer, but seemingly a bit more controlled.

That being said, things are slowly moving forward. The next step would be to figure out how to get approved COVID tests. That's also proving to be interesting.

This photo, taken from Olympics.com, shows the first snow that has fallen on the mountains outside Beijing. This area is the biathlon center.

Another 100-day countdown

The countdowns seem to be pretty prevalent the last few years. There was the original one-year countdown to Tokyo 2020 that turned into a second one-year countdown when the Olympics were postponed. There were celebrations for six months out for Tokyo (twice) and another for the upcoming Beijing Games. 

Today, the countdown clock toward Beijing turns to 100 days. That doesn't seem like a short period of time, but in the overall perspective, it is not a long period of time. The process for Beijing began well over a year ago and amped up before Tokyo even happened this summer, as I was sending money to China before I left for Japan. So 100 days is a relatively short period of time.

Yesterday also saw the release of the first edition of the playbooks, which are the documents that detail the processes that the press (and other Olympic family members) have to go through before leaving for China, once they are there and as they prepare to leave. These playbooks were implemented for the Tokyo Games and serve as the basic guidelines for dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. Since I had no games yesterday, I sat in the office and read through this first version of the playbook.

It does seem like there are a lot of things that Beijing took from Tokyo's plan to attack COVID, as we will be tested regularly (it appears they will be daily tests in Beijing), we have to test before we leave and we will be working in a 'closed loop' system while we are there, meaning there shouldn't be any contact with people outside of the Olympic bubble. We will be allowed to move between venues, the media hotels, the media centers and the Olympic village using the media transport system. This is essentially what we were allowed to do in Tokyo as well.

A difference here is that any media member who is not vaccinated will have to spend 21 days in quarantine upon arrival. Obviously, this would be detrimental to anyone who wants to cover the Olympics, since you would have to be in quarantine the entire games unless you arrive three weeks early, which I imagine could get expensive. 

There were also some unusual notes in the playbooks, noting that all flights must arrive at a certain airport and must not go through any other city in China before arriving in Beijing. I have already filed a question with Beijing 2022, since the flight I already booked goes through Hong Kong. I am not terribly interested in rebooking my flight. Additionally, getting COVID tests before we leave is a concern, since we are supposed to only use a list of providers that the Chinese consulate provides, but that seems like a difficult list to find. Tokyo provided us with a list of approved providers well in advance of the Summer Olympics, so here's hoping Beijing comes through with the same thing.

There was plenty of apprehension heading to Tokyo back in July and I will say, there's a little apprehension heading to Beijing in February, but I feel that organizers are doing a good job working to keep everyone safe, so assuming everything goes as planned the next 100 days or so, it should be another unique experience.

There are 100 days to go until the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.

First look at the protocols

 In my last blog post, I speculated that the COVID-19 protocols put into place for the Beijing Olympics in February were going to be a pain. After a summer of protocols in Tokyo, this comes as no surprise to me and I am prepared for what comes down the pike.

Much to my surprise, the first step in those protocols was released shortly after the last blog post, as the Beijing 2022 Organizing Committee presented its key COVID-19 countermeasures to the International Olympic Committee Executive Board Meeting. While these were not the detailed measures that we need to follow, they were an overall look at what we should be seeing when we as media arrive in China for the Olympics this coming winter.

While vaccines are not mandatory, anyone who has not received one of the COVID vaccines will have to serve a 21-day quarantine upon their arrival in Beijing. This goes for athletes and other games participants.

Those who are vaccinated will enter what Beijing is calling a "closed-loop management system" upon their arrival and will remain in that closed loop for their entire time in China. This sounds a lot like what we did in Tokyo.

The closed-loop management system will cover all games-related areas, including arrivals and departures, transportation, accommodations, catering, competitions and the opening and closing ceremonies. Within this closed loop, participants will be allowed to move only between games-related venues for training, competitions and work using a games transport system.

Additionally, all participants will be subject to daily COVID-19 testing.

Beijing 2022 also announced that they are selling tickets to spectators in China who meet the requirements of COVID-19 countermeasures, so there is a pretty good possibility that the stands won't be empty like they were in Tokyo.

While these are not specific, these restrictions are much like what we experienced in Tokyo. For our first 14 days, we could only move through the venues, accommodations and media center using dedicated taxi services or special media buses. From the sound of it, Beijing won't be "releasing" us like Tokyo did after 14 days.

This is good in one way, as it limits our exposure to the outside world, however, it makes it tough to see anything outside of the Olympics. There were things in Tokyo that I would have loved to see, but it just wasn't possible. It's hard to know exactly what the situation will be in Beijing, but it sounds like it will be much the same.

The first playbooks, which provide the media, athletes, coaches, etc. with many more details about what the policies will be for each individual group, are expected to be released later this month and at that point I will have a better idea exactly what I have to prepare for. My guess is there will again be some sort of short quarantine upon arrival, though this time my accommodations are a little more accommodating with restaurants and food options available.

And an interesting tidbit that came to my attention during the Patriots game on Sunday night, is that the Super Bowl will be played while I am in China and it will also be airing on NBC along with the Olympics. It will be interesting to see if it's possible to watch the game in China, though it would be on first thing on Monday morning over there.

The Winter Olympics kick off in China in February and the first steps in the COVID-19 protocols were released last week.

Busy season, but Beijing on the horizon

I've been to three Olympics and they've all had their things that went well and things that didn't go as well. That is to be expected.

But, one thing they all had in common was that they kept me busy. There was always something going on, always some place to go to cover an event or interview an athlete. However, in most cases, the work that I had to do over in Sochi, PyeongChang and Tokyo was not really much more than I am used to doing back here in the United States.

Tokyo was a bit of a different story than my first two Olympic experiences. The simple fact of the matter is that summer is a slower time for me. I have fewer events to cover and fewer places to go than during the school year. So, in many ways, those few weeks this summer were my busiest summer weeks in a few years.

But now that I am gearing up for a trip to Beijing, I am in the middle of one of the two busiest seasons of my year. The fall and spring sports seasons have been absolutely impossible the last year. I have 15 schools and more than 60 teams in each of those seasons. While I still have 15 schools in the winter time, there are fewer teams in the winter, but it is still more than busy. However, I have been struggling to keep up with all the fall teams and as I enter this week, there are still about 10 teams that I have not seen yet, which is incredibly disappointing to me. I have plans to see five of them this week, but this still leaves me with too many teams still unseen.

However, that's a subject for another day. As I get into the winter season, there is basketball, hockey, skiing, indoor track and swimming on the docket and most of those sports will still be going on when I pack up to head to China in early February next year. In both Sochi and PyeongChang, I ran into the same problem, where I missed out on a number of games, though I was able to get people to cover things for me on a few occasions. While away, I also missed the state ski championship week, which is usually one of my favorite weeks of the year.

Unlike this past summer in Tokyo, during the Winter Olympics of 2014 and 2018, I still wrote stories from information that coaches sent to me and edited pictures and stories that freelancers and volunteers sent my way. So, in addition to covering the numerous events across the Olympics, I was also keeping up to date on what was going on with the teams back in New Hampshire. My plan for the Beijing Olympics is to do much the same. I will reach out to coaches and athletic directors ahead of time and make a schedule for freelancers to cover some games before I leave and am hopeful that the coaches will continue to send information along so the coverage can continue.

Of course, this all depends on just what happens come February. My credentials are approved, the first half of my accommodation payment has been made and flights have been booked. I'm sure the COVID protocols will be a pain, much like in Tokyo, but that's something to work through as they come along.

This is a rendering of the sliding center in the mountains outside Beijing. The facility is one of the new Winter Olympic venues being built for the 2022 Games.

The road to Beijing

It seems like Tokyo 2020 just ended, even though it was a month ago now. But, while I was in Tokyo, I got an e-mail from the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee asking me to confirm all my details for the Beijing Olympics. I wasn't quite ready to deal with that while dealing with all the Tokyo stuff, so I waited until I got home and had a little time to take care of business.

I did take care of that paperwork a week or so ago, but it just seems like it is so quick on the heels of Tokyo that I am not quite ready for it to be here. Obviously, the postponement of the 2020 Olympics for a year contributed to the short time between the two Olympics for me.

However, this is also a new experience for me in that even if the Olympics had gone off as planned in 2020, there was still a shorter time than between my previous Olympic experiences. After Sochi in 2014, which was my first Olympic experience, there was four years before I was back in the Olympics in PyeongChang. While the Olympics are four years apart, usually the paperwork and all that starts probably about a year and a half out, so even after Sochi, I had more than two years to save money and gear up for a new Olympic experience.

After PyeongChang in 2018, I made the decision to try and get credentials for a Summer Games, just for the experience of seeing the difference between the two Olympics. The Summer Games are much bigger, with many more athletes, many more venues, many more events and many more press members. I wasn't sure that I would get the summer credentials, but they came through and I thought it would be cool to see something new. And it was.

However, the short time period between PyeongChang and Tokyo compacted everything I needed to do, though the postponement pushed everything back. But, that postponement also put the time period between Tokyo and Beijing at about six months, which really means that I was dealing with paperwork, payments and the like for two different Olympics.

Now the Tokyo is officially in the rearview mirror, the focus is on Beijing. They have half of my accommodation money and today, I took the next big step and booked a flight from Boston to Beijing. The flight over is more than 20 hours, mainly due to a six-hour layover in Hong Kong, though the flight back is a few hours shorter.

I know that Beijing will likely have many of the same restrictions that we had in Tokyo. Those restrictions were tough to deal with, though I knew they were necessary all the way around. It will be interesting to see what exactly we have to go through to get to Beijing. But, the pieces are in place, the fourth Olympics experience is right around the corner.

And who knows, Paris 2024?

The information sheet for the hotel I have booked for the Beijing Winter Olympics in February.

Looking back on Tokyo

I promised a look back at Tokyo and after a few days at home, two early mornings of baking, three late nights of rehearsals for Laughing Stock (opening tonight) and a great in-studio interview with the Morning Buzz, it is time to look back and reflect on what was certainly a unique experience.

I am going to take the whole return trip out of the discussion here. That was a miserable experience (my suitcase arrived on Thursday) that had nothing to do with the Olympics. As highlighted in my previous post, that is all on Air Canada and can't reflect on the Tokyo experience.

All in all, this was definitely a unique situation. It started with a three-day quarantine in a tiny hotel room and ended with my first ever Olympic ceremony. In between, there were countless long bus rides, plenty of great Olympic action and plenty of heat and humidity.

In my previous Olympics, I had the chance to cover athletes that I covered while they were in high school or athletes that had other local connections. I knew going into these Summer Games that the local connections were not going to be as strong, but I wanted to at least offer up coverage of some people with relatively local connections. Diver Jessica Parratto of Dover and runner Elle Purrier St. Pierre of UNH weren't really in my coverage area, but they were New Hampshire folks. Rower Gevvie Stone had a nice connection to a camp on Newfound Lake and shared with me some great memories of her time there. Wolfeboro's Hilary Gehman shared with me what it was like to be an Olympic coach for the first time after competing herself in two previous Olympics. And, I talked to Dr. Tamara Lovelace of Alton about her first Olympics serving with the US Cycling team in Tokyo.

 Beyond that, I wanted to see a lot of things that I don't get to usually see. Things like the equestrian competition, rugby sevens, the whitewater kayaking course, the shotgun trap shooting, judo at the Nippon Budokan and gold medal games in basketball (men and women), women's beach volleyball and women's water polo, with the US winning all four of those. These were all great events to see and tons of fun to be a part of.

I got to see Katie Ledecky and Allyson Felix, legends of their sports, compete on the Olympic stage and watch dominant teams like the US men's and women's basketball and women's water polo teams continue their absolute dominance over the opposition.

With the COVID pandemic, I made the strategic choice to not go into the mixed zones this time around. Traditionally, this is where we get the athlete quotes, but it is usually an area that is compact and packed with athletes and media and I didn't feel like it was the safest space to be in, particularly for someone who had to work closely with actors in a play within days of returning to the US. Instead, I used the "flash quotes" provided by the Olympic Information System on their online portal. 

There were plenty of great moments to look back on, with one of my favorites being Parratto and her diving partner win an unexpected silver medal early on in my Olympic experience. It was cool seeing Allyson Felix win her final individual Olympic medal in her fifth Olympic Games. Seeing a local doctor spring into action when one of her cyclists goes down on the course was interesting and talking to a former Olympian about her debut as a coach was a truly intriguing conversation.

And sitting through the Closing Ceremonies, the first ceremonies that I ever got to attend in my three Olympics, was a blast, even if it was a bit warm while waiting for them to begin.

I finished up my time in Tokyo unsure if I would be applying for credentials for the next Summer Olympics in Paris in 2024. I am already approved for the Beijing Winter Olympics in February, but with everything that went on, Paris was not a priority. However, as I sat and watched the video that Paris 2024 showed at the Closing Ceremonies, I started thinking that a return trip to Paris (I was there in January 2002) would be kind of cool.

I guess we'll wait and see.

This billboard in the Tokyo airport is celebrating the Beijing Winter Olympics, coming up in February.

Blame Air Canada for this one

My last blog post said that my next blog post would be a decompression upon my return, a reflection of the Tokyo Olympics.

However, the experiences of the last two days has led me to a different step, though there will still be a reflection on the Olympics in the next few days.

If you had told me that the experience of hanging around the Tokyo airport for more than four hours upon arrival, filling out paperwork and taking COVID tests, would be the worst of my traveling adventures, I would have believed you.

But, then Air Canada stepped in and made sure I had the most miserable travel days I have ever experienced. And as I write this on Tuesday afternoon on my couch, it’s still not over.

I arrived at Narita Airport three and a half hours before my scheduled flight out of Tokyo, which was slated for 5:30 p.m. on Monday. We had been advised to get their early, since it was anticipated that the airport would be busy and it was. However, because I downloaded my boarding pass before leaving the media center, I was able to bypass a few long lines and zip right through security and to the gate. Our plane arrived shortly after I did and not long before we were to board, the crew and pilots arrived. Then came the announcement that the flight was delayed for an hour. 

Since pretty much the entire Canadian Olympic team was on our flight, the flight crew and pilots were more interested in getting pictures with them then getting our plane ready, so we didn’t leave Narita until more than an hour after scheduled. To their credit, the pilots made good time and we arrived in Toronto with about an hour for me to get through US customs and to my next flight. 

Customs was quick, but the baggage wait was so long that they sent us through without our official baggage claims (which may be where the problems started). I hurried to the gate only to find, after seeing “on time” signs on all the boards leading to the gate, that the flight to Boston was delayed an hour. Then, it got moved to a different gate. And then, it got cancelled all together. Our flight, along with a couple other flights were all gathered at the Air Canada information desk, where one poor guy was trying to handle everything. To his credit, he was doing his best, but there were a lot of really unhappy people. He eventually told us that Air Canada would give us hotel vouchers (or reimburse those who just left and got their own hotel). 

However, the kicker to all this is that in order to leave the airport, we had to go through Canadian customs, because we had already passed US customs and gone on the US side of the airport. So, that was another long line where we waited and waited to clear customs none of us wanted to clear. By the time I got the shuttle to the hotel, it was just about 11 p.m.

Air Canada had rebooked me on an 8:30 a.m. flight, so I got up early and got to the airport early, knowing there’d be a lot of people trying to get through security and customs. That move paid off, since I was near the front of the line when both opened. However, Air Canada lived up to its billing as the worst airline of the week, when it delayed our flight, not once, not twice, not three times, but four times. Finally, it was scheduled for a 10:45 a.m. departure, which ended up being closer to 11 a.m. and we got to Boston around noon. 

But, that wouldn’t be the end of it, as my luggage never made the trip to Boston. In it are all my clothes, my shoes and a few other things that I kind of need. I filed a baggage claim and I am hopeful that my bag is found at some point, but I’m not holding my breath. And I recommend whoever open the bag first does hold their breath, because I had a few bags of dirty laundry in there to be cleaned when I got back.

So, this wasn’t a post to reflect on Tokyo, but more to say what an awful flying experience I had the last two days. Air Canada was a complete disaster throughout Tokyo, Toronto and Boston. If there as a way to drive to Beijing for the Winter Olympics, you can bet your ass I’d be doing that, because I am completely disgusted by the air travel experience I just went through.

Closing time

My first Olympic ceremony experience was certainly interesting and was a fitting close to this long strange trip that has been the Tokyo Olympics.

All the media transportation guides advised us to arrive early, since there is a lot of journalists moving in and out of the venue as the evening moves along and in order to keep the transportation moving, they wanted traffic spread out a little bit. I got to the Olympic Stadium about 4:30 p.m., well ahead of the 8 p.m. scheduled start time. I spent a little time in the venue media center in the bowels of the stadium and then moved up to the stands.

I was glad that I made my way up to the stands early, as I was able to get a tabled tribune seat, which is a seat with a table, monitor and power outlets. Many of the people that showed up later did not have that option and sat in the regular stadium seats. 

While sitting there, I got the chance to watch as the participants went through a practice run of many parts of the closing ceremonies, including the marathon medal ceremonies. 

When the ceremonies actually started, there was plenty of pomp and circumstance, as the flags of the nations moved through the stadium and the athletes followed. The Japanese flag was raised to start everything and after that, came the medal ceremonies for the marathon men and women. There was plenty of dancing and singing and they added in video from around the Olympics as well as original dances from different areas of Japan.

There was the traditional handing over of the Olympic flag from the government of Tokyo to the mayor of Paris, as the Summer Olympics make the journey to France for 2024, 100 years after they last appeared in the French capital city. The French flag was raised and then there was a great video played from Paris 2024, including live shots from Paris as people there celebrated the return of the Olympics.

The Olympic flame was officially extinguished and the Tokyo 2020 Olympics were officially brought to a close. I was able to get on a bus pretty quickly and got back to the hotel before midnight, which was truthfully, kind of a surprise. 

From there, it was time to pack this morning and get ready for the long flight home. Look for a reflection on my time here in the coming days as I decompress what has been a long process.

The Closing Ceremonies wrapped up another Olympic experience.

What I've learned

The closing ceremony is just a few hours away and I am in the basement of the Olympic Stadium, having just arrived via the media transport. They advised leaving the media center early, so I took the advice and here I sit in the venue media center.

As I prepare to leave Japan tomorrow, I thought I’d point out some of the things I’ve learned about Japan while I was here.

First, there are a lot of bikes. Everywhere you look, there are people riding bikes. Men dressed in suits and ties with their briefcase in a basket. Women in skirts and their hair up with bags in the basket. Mothers and fathers with children in seats in the back (or in some cases, the front). There are bikes everywhere and it seems it is the way to get around. From what I have come to understand, it’s hard finding parking for cars in Tokyo, and if you do find it, it’s expensive, so bikes are the way to go. There are even dedicated bike parking spots in the entrances to buildings and around the city.

The second thing may tie into the first thing a bit, as the city seems very accessible to bikers or walkers. There are a lot of walkways crossing over roads or bridges spanning rivers dedicated to just walkers or bikers. The sidewalks are divided in two, one half for people walking and one half for people riding bikes. I was able to go from the media center to the plaza across the street without worrying about a single bit of traffic, as I simply walked over the street in the walkway. The subway is also elevated, so many of those stops are served by the walkways.

Third, the people are very friendly. It seemed that every face I ran into, although they were almost all masked, were seemingly smiling and friendly. There was plenty of help finding the way to a venue, to an exit or to a bus. The many volunteers and staff along the way were ready to help and did so in as friendly a way as I could imagine. Yes, it’s true many in Japan didn’t want the Olympics here (I saw one protest, two days ago), but the people working the Olympics were more than friendly to those of us who were here to cover the Games.

Fourth, as I’ve stated before, it is hot and it is humid. The Japanese people are probably pretty used to it, as it doesn’t seem to phase them much. I was sweating more than I care to admit just walking from the bus to the hotel or from the bus to a venue. I will never take air conditioning for granted again.

And finally, I’ve learned that it would be nice to come back here someday, some day when there isn’t a global pandemic and things are a bit more relaxed.

Traffic, as viewed from one of the many walkways over the busy Tokyo streets.

The struggle is real

It’s 8:30 p.m. on Saturday. Today has not been a very long day. In fact, I slept in the latest I have since I’ve been able to leave my hotel and I only covered two events today.

But I am fried. My brain is just not functioning. You know that feeling you get when you’re almost on auto-pilot and things are just floating by you. That’s me.

I have had longer days. I have had stretches of days where I’ve worked more hours and not felt this way. I think, more than anything, the tiredness is a mental fatigue more than a physical fatigue. 

I am not tired of the Olympics. However, there are things about this particular experience that I am tired of. I am tired of having to remember which day it is so I can be sure to take the COVID tests on the right days. I am tired of having to fill out a health questionnaire every morning. I am tired of making sure I have enough time to catch one bus to another bus to get to a venue. I am tired of the security checks and the temperature screenings before you go into any building. I am tired of the long walks from the bus stop to the venue entrance. I am tired of idiots asking the bus driver where he’s going when there are very obvious signs stating the destination of every single bus. I am tired of wearing the mask outside. 

I am just tired.

I have one full day left in Tokyo, plus a partial day on Monday. Tomorrow is the women’s basketball championship game and then the closing ceremonies. I also have a lot of packing to do to prepare for the trip home.

It may be the heat, which is seemingly unending. It may be the fact that this process has been in the works for more than two years. But truthfully, it’s the COVID that has made this a tiring experience. All the protocols (I know they’re necessary), all the paperwork, all the extra steps, they are all taking a bit of a toll.

So yeah, I am tired. But, soldier on I will. Tomorrow is another day.

The Tatsumi Water Polo Centre is the final venue I will see for the first time in Tokyo.

Free at last

Before we traveled to Tokyo, all journalists covering the Olympics were told we needed to download an app on our phones called OCHA. It is put out by the Japanese government and is meant to monitor our health while we are in the country. We register our temperature each day and answer a few questions about how we’re feeling.

Thursday proved to be a big day in my OCHA life, as for the first time since I arrived, it read “cleared,” meaning I had successfully maneuvered my way through 14 days of being here without getting sick and therefore, was now clear to leave the Olympic bubble without fear of being tracked down and put in jail by the authorities.

The freedom felt weird, to be honest. For two weeks, I’d been walking from my hotel to the bus, from the bus to another bus, from that bus to the venue and back, adding in the bus to the media center from time to time. Granted, it is so hot, there’s not really much desire to go anywhere beyond those locations, particularly those locations that have air conditioning.

My first jaunt outside of the Olympic bubble was a quick trip outside the media center, where I followed the stairs down into a large plaza, where there was a number of stores and restaurants. I did not venture into any of them, but I just walked around, getting a look at a part of the nearby area that I had yet to see in my two weeks here. 

COVID is still a big thing here in Tokyo and the numbers are rising, not so much amongst the Olympic family, but in the city in general, so my apprehension to go out and about a lot is justified. I am also part of a production at the Village Players Theater in Wolfeboro next weekend and me not being able to participate because of a positive test would make things difficult on everyone else in the cast and that’s the last thing I want. Me being gone for two weeks is enough of a hassle.

I have a few days left and I will probably go out and see a little bit here and there, but I don’t foresee myself climbing on a packed subway and riding about the city. In all honesty, I’d probably get lost if I tried that anyway. To date, this trip has been a success and the last thing I want to do is to mess it up in the final days.

This is the Main Press Center, as seen from outside the security perimeter for the first time.

Olympic rankings

The final weekend of my third Olympic journey is approaching, so I thought it would be a good time to tell you all how Tokyo has compared to Sochi and PyeongChang, not so much in how the US teams have done or how certain athletes are doing, but more in how it has been simply from a personal angle. I will put each experience in order, with the first being the best, the last being the worst in different categories.

 

Transportation

PyeongChang, Sochi, Tokyo

Tokyo ranks third on this list for one reason, and that is the simple distances we had to travel in order to get from one venue to another. In Russia and Korea, there were two places we could catch buses that would take us to other places. Here, there is just one place. If we are at a venue an hour from the Media Transport Mall, we have to ride back an hour, wait for the next bus and then ride to the next venue, however long that might take. Part of the original plan was for media to have public transportation cards (once we’ve been here 14 days, we get them), which would cut down on the time we spend on buses. But one transportation hub is a tough pill to swallow. PyeongChang wins this category for its very efficient system.

 

Food

PyeongChang, Tokyo, Sochi

Tokyo did a good job in incorporating food that just about everyone could eat. Even though we weren’t allowed out of the Olympic footprint, there were plenty of options. There was a restaurant that served pizza, burgers and salads, there was food court with more traditional Japanese fare in addition to a very good steak meal served on a skillet, the general store in the media facility had just about anything you could ask for, including salads, dinners, sandwiches and snacks and there were a couple of cafes that served quick meals and snacks as well. The venue media centers varied in their food offerings, but all of the venue media centers had some sort of free food for journalists, including fruit, packaged peanut butter sandwiches and water. My hotel’s breakfast was not bad, all things considered and when I didn’t have to leave the hotel by 6:30 a.m., I always found something to eat. Sochi’s one saving grace was the McDonald’s in the media center, while PyeongChang wins for its incredible media dining hall that featured just about anything you could want.

 

Lodging

Tokyo, Sochi, PyeongChang

Tokyo gets the slight edge here. The advantage of staying in existing hotels is that we get the amenities of those hotels. My hotel was not a five-star resort by any stretch of the imagination, but they served a solid breakfast (in comparison to what I heard about other hotels), I had a dedicated internet connection for just my room, they gave us a cleaning schedule so we knew when housekeeping would be in our rooms and the bed was comfortable. Sochi is second here because I had my own room and that is a plus for me. In PyeongChang, I shared an apartment (I went with the cheapest option available) and while my roommates were nice, I like having some place to myself.

 

Media Center

Sochi, Tokyo, PyeongChang

In this category, any of the three could have been first or could have been last. It’s really a toss-up. I put Sochi first because it was just a gorgeous building, built brand new and had just about everything we could need, including a gym, a post office, lots of food options and more. Tokyo and PyeongChang both put their media centers in existing facilities and they are nice and also contained everything we needed to do our jobs. I am pretty sure there are people that come to the Olympics and never leave the media center and it is possible to do your job here without leaving.

 

Press kits

PyeongChang, Tokyo, Sochi

The press kits are free “kits” handed out to media members on arrival. If you want to appeal to the media, the word “free” is just about the pinnacle of what you can do. These press kits are a backpack with stuff we can use. All three have contained the media handbook, and each one has included small tokens of the host country. PyeongChang takes the cake on the backpack alone. NorthFace was a sponsor of the Olympics that year and the media backpacks were NorthFace. This time around, our backpacks are Asics, so also solid quality. The advantage to PyeongChang is because their backpacks contain a lot of small pockets and space to store small things and the Tokyo one has just one pocket inside to store things, which isn’t ideal.

 

Wi-Fi

Tokyo, PyeongChang, Sochi

In 2014, I had a hard time connecting to the Internet while my laptop was plugged into an ethernet cord in the Sochi media center. In 2018, wireless access was prevalent just about everywhere and the experience was much better for me. In 2021, I haven’t found many places where internet is not available. All the buses we ride have free wi-fi, the media wi-fi network seems to cover the entire venue area when you’re out and about and the hotel room had dedicated wi-fi for my room. Connecting is not a problem this time around.

So, there you have it. My rankings, completely and utterly unscientific and not at all based in anything but opinion.

One drawback for Tokyo is the fact that there is just one transportation hub.

Familiar sports in a new light

One of the joys of the Olympics, as I wrote in a previous blog post, is getting to see sports that I normally wouldn't get to cover. 

One of the other cool things is seeing the sports I see on a regular basis, but executed at the absolute highest level. Nothing against any of the teams I cover, but they are not at an Olympic level and seeing them played at that level can give one much more respect almost instantly.

Earlier this morning (Wednesday) I boarded another bus at the Media Transport Mall and made my way to Oi Field Hockey Stadium for a semifinal battle between Netherlands and Great Britain. Now, I have seen more than my share of field hockey games in my more than 20 years covering high school sports around New Hampshire. And I have covered some very good field hockey teams, teams that have won state championships and/or competed for state championships on the regular.

However, the field hockey I saw this morning was certainly at another level, as it should be, given these are some of the best players in the world. Now, even after 20 years covering field hockey, I still get confused by some of the rules, and that did not change this morning, but I did notice that the whistle got blown a lot less in this game than it does in a normal high school game. The speed of the game was much quicker, with crisp passes moving the ball up and down the field very quickly

There was another very noticeable difference, so much so that I asked a young woman sitting in front of me who seemed to be with The Netherlands team. As the players prepared for a penalty corner, they all went behind the net and came back with more pads and protection on their body. The very nice young woman in front of me explained that the defenders on the corner have to put on pads and face protection before every corner and then they quickly discard it to the end line when the corner is over.

Another unique thing that happened that I did not have an answer for was at halftime, they turned the sprinklers on and soaked the field. I assumed, with the very hot temperatures (the "feels like" on my phone said 106 and that was not on the turf), it was a method used to cool the field, but Plymouth field hockey coach Ashley Laufenberg shared a piece she read that said it is done to ensure the ball glides smoothly and to save players from friction burns. You learn something new every day.

The pitch at Oi Field Hockey Stadium is soaked by water at halftime of today's semifinal game.

Surprise, surprise

It's safe to say that there have been a number of surprises at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Here's a look at a few of those surprises.

The US women's soccer team, before the Opening Ceremonies even took place, was shut out in the first game of the tournament by Sweden. This happened as I was driving to Logan Airport to catch my flight to Tokyo. The US women have been a dominant force over the past decade-plus, so for them to lose that badly in the opening round came as a surprise. That probably made it a little less of a surprise when the team fell short of making the final, falling in the semifinals to Canada. I think, and this is just my opinion, that maybe some of the players hung around a bit too long in search of more Olympic glory and they couldn't keep up with some of the younger teams in the competition. Without a question, this team has been an impressive force for years, but it may be time for a little new blood.

The US men's basketball team also lost in its first game of the Olympics, falling to France and bringing thoughts of an all-out collapse from the US. The team was able to bounce back nicely and get back on track, and as I write this, just knocked off Spain to get into the semifinals. The days of the Dream Team are certainly gone, as there is no Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Charles Barkley and the like walking through the doors of the Saitama Super Arena. Kevin Durant is a legit superstar and became the leading US scorer in Olympic men's basketball in this tournament. Beyond him, there are not a lot of big names on the team, with some of the biggest names playing for other countries. It's possible that Gregg Popovich has lost the faith of the players. It's also possible that the players aren't in it for the right reason. But, their success level is still to be determined. Then the rest of the story can be written.

The US softball team had a great run, but its loss to Japan in the gold medal game was certainly a surprise to many. The US women had beaten Japan earlier to earn the "home field advantage" but just couldn't find the offense to do it again in the gold medal game. Softball was definitely an after-thought in these Olympics. The Japanese love baseball and softball officials made some concessions in order to get the sport included when Japan added baseball back in to the Games. The fact that softball was played on a modified baseball field just felt wrong, but again, that was a concession that was made to get the game back in the Olympics. I believe both sports belong in the Games and both sports deserve to be played on their own fields.

Simone Biles pulling out of the team competition, the all-around and the majority of the individual events was definitely a surprise, and while I haven't been watching the NBC coverage, I imagine it was everywhere in their discussions. She was, without question, the face of the Olympics for NBC and losing her certainly had to be concerning to them. I will never pretend to know the amount of pressure that being that face put on her or the physical toll that her body was under as she prepared to perform. Something wasn't right and she made the right choice for her own personal health to step back. She's scheduled to compete again tonight and surely there will still be plenty of cameras on her. Here's hoping she's back to feeling right.

There are always some surprises at the Olympics, this time around has certainly not disappointed in that way. I am sure there will be a few more over the next few days.

Saitama Super Arena was the site of a big upset in the opening round of the men's basketball tournament.

A day of firsts

 Today was a day of firsts in my Olympic experiences and as the day comes to close, reflecting back it was nice to get a couple of those firsts out of the way.

As mentioned in my last blog post, today marked the first time I had applied for and received a ticket to a high-demand event. The USOPC gave me a ticket for tonight’s gymnastics events at Ariake Gymnastics Center. I wasn’t too particular about what events I was seeing, it was more about which night fit best into my schedule. And tonight was it.

I am writing this as the men compete in the rings finals and I must say, that is an insane discipline. Holding themselves up in those crazy positions absolutely still is incredible. The arm strength is amazing. The women’s floor exercise is up next, with the only US gymnast of the evening competing, Jade Carey. The night is closed out by the men’s vault. I am sure this. Would have gotten more play back home if Simone Biles had not backed out of competing in the floor exercise.

The other first of the day came earlier on when I made the trek to the Olympic Stadium to watch track and field action. Believe it or not, over the course of three Olympics, I had never been inside an Olympic Stadium. At the Winter Games, the only things that they are used for are the opening can closing ceremonies and I had never been to those the past two Games. Today, my goal was to see former UNH star Elle Purrier St. Pierre run in the opening round of the 1,500 meters. She was in heat two and came home with a third place finish, which put her into the semifinals, taking place on Wednesday. I also watched some of the 200, including Gabby Thomas of Massachusetts finishing second in her heat.

I must say, being inside the Olympic Stadium was pretty cool, even though it was quite warm. The grandeur of the entire thing was impressive and it was pretty neat in the bowels too, as there was an entire road underneath the stadium with plenty of parking spots. It was not what I expected.

All told, not a terribly busy day, but a day of firsts and after three Olympics, that’s not always the easiest thing to do.

Got my first visit inside an Olympic Stadium today for a little track action.

High demand events

As accredited members of the media at the Olympics, our accreditation gets us in to almost all of the venues and events. This year, with COVID a major factor in things, the amount of space at each venue for media has been reduced, so we have to request access to the venue in advance.

I have made all my requests for the time I am here and so far I have not had a single request denied, which I must say was kind of surprising. The fact that the stadiums have no fans has probably made things easier for us, since they have seemingly expanded the press tribune area to include more regular seats as needed.

However, there are also events that are called "high demand events." This list includes all gymnastics medal events, all evening sessions for track and field, all medal sessions for swimming, tennis quarterfinals, semifinals and finals, men's basketball final, the handball semis and finals and the opening and closing ceremonies. In the Winter Olympics that I've been to, figure skating was the main high demand event.

However, over the course of the first two Olympics, I have only made a request for one high demand event and that was the opening ceremonies in PyeongChang. I did receive permission, but once I spoke to the USOPC (media apply for these tickets through the National Organizing Committee of their home country), realized I would not make it there in time and cancelled my ticket.

This year, I really wanted to see some gymnastics action, in particular, I thought it would be great to see Simone Biles compete. The session that worked best for the schedule I put together was this coming Monday night when the women compete in the floor exercise and the men compete in vault and in rings.

So, I made my request through the USOPC and surprisingly, I was granted a ticket for the gymnastics event on Monday. I picked up my ticket at the USOPC office in the media center yesterday and will have to present that, along with my accreditation, when I get to the Ariake Gymnastics Center tomorrow afternoon.

Of course, my hope of seeing Simone Biles will not happen, as it was announced today that she would not be competing in the floor exercise. That is disappointing on my end, but obviously her well-being is more important than my disappointment. I did get to see one GOAT in my time here (Ledecky) and that in and of itself is a win.

My ticket to the gymnastics arena on Monday.

All the places to go

Today I took a ride out to the shooting venue here at the Tokyo Olympics, Asaka Shooting Range. It was a little less than an hour ride out to the range. I didn't really go there to cover anything in particular, but rather to see the venue, see a unique sport and maybe see some parts of Japan that I hadn't seen yet.

So far in the week that I've been here and in the five-plus days that I have been allowed to leave my hotel room, I have seen a number of venues and events. I've checked out the one that probably gets the most play back in the United States on NBC, the Tokyo Aquatics Center, where I saw some swimming on my first night and some diving the next night. Until last night, when I went back to Yokohama Stadium to see baseball (same venue as softball gold medal game), it was the only venue I had been to twice.

My first trip out was to Odaiba Marine Park for the triathlon on Monday, I also hit up the historic Nippon Budokan for some judo and Shiokaze Park for beach volleyball. I went to both of the "urban sports parks" for events, with a trip to Aomi Urban Sports Park for the 3X3 basketball finals (sport climbing is also being held there) and to the Ariake Sports Park for BMX racing (skateboarding is also held there). I took in volleyball at the Ariake Arena, which along with the sports park, gymnastics arena and tennis park, are located in a small area near the media center and made a trip a bit further for weightlifting at the Tokyo International Forum, which had to be the most confusing venue I've been to in all three of my Olympic experiences. 

I saw rugby at Tokyo Stadium, which was a bit of a trip from the Main Press Center and visited the Sea Forest Waterway to watch rowing, which was a bit shorter trip. And yesterday I got to see the Kasai Canoe Slalom Center, which was a cool venue that I pass by every morning on the way from the hotel but had not been to.

In my Winter Olympics experiences, I have been able to visit almost every venue, but in the Summer Olympics, that is just not possible. First and foremost, most of the soccer games are played in far flung locations from Tokyo, with the marathon and race walking happening on a totally different island. The mountain biking, road cycling and track cycling are near the Fuji Speedway, while sailing is also a bit of a trip away. I made the decision to not go to surfing simply because it was such a long trip and would likely eat up most of the day and there was no guarantee they would even compete on the day you go because, obviously, surfing is weather-dependent. Unfortunately,  it is just not feasible to see all the cool places that these events take place.

There's still some venues on my list in the next week-plus. Tonight I am heading to Saitama Super Arena for basketball, I have wrestling at Makuhari Messe Hall and gymnastics at Ariake Gymnastics Center on my list (the latter is a 'hope to cover' event, since I need special tickets). There's also the Olympic Stadium where former UNH standout Elle Purrier will compete on Monday and the Oi Hockey Stadium. I'm hoping to see the Equestrian Park and some water polo at Tatsumi Water Polo Center and maybe some table tennis at Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium.

There are plenty of great places to go and only so much time to go there. Unfortunately.

Kasai Canoe Slalom Center is just one of the many venues hosting Olympic contests around Tokyo.

The local connection

Today's post comes from the venue media center at Ariake Urban Sports Park. After a long bus ride back to the hotel from the arena just down the street last night (in which us passengers had to tell the driver how to find the hotel), it was back at it this morning with the hope of seeing a little BMX racing.

However, Mother Nature is currently dealing us a bit of a curve ball, as it has been raining for a while and the 10 a.m. scheduled start for the racing semifinals was bumped until at least 10:45 a.m. Obviously, as a creature of habit, this throws off my planned schedule, but I will hang out in the media center and hopefully see some action on the track in a little while.

Another reason to get to the track is to catch up with Alton's Dr. Tamara Lovelace, who is here as a doctor with the US Cycling Team, working at the BMX track. This is her first Olympic experience, though she has spent a few years now working for the tour traveling to various locations around the world. She also recently got added to the medical staff for Team USA for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics coming up in February.

I am always looking for the local connections to any sport. Earlier in the week I caught up with Hilary Gehman of Wolfeboro, a two-time Olympian herself who is now coaching the women's quads scull for Team USA and is in her first Olympics as a coach. I also got to chat via e-mail with three-time Olympian Gevvie Stone, who calls Massachusetts home, but has a great love for Camp Onaway on Newfound Lake. She spoke glowingly of her time at the camp, where she was a camper, a counselor and now teaches rowing and other water sports when she can.

Then there was another New Hampshire connection in Jessica Parratto of Dover, who came home with a strong silver medal performance with her partner in the 10M synchronized platform diving event earlier in the week. I was happy I got the chance to see that, as I entered the venue not expecting a medal performance and got to witness a great moment for the US team.

Coming up next week, more New Hampshire connections with St. Thomas graduate Rachel Schneider racing in the 5,000 meters and UNH star Elle Purrier St. Pierre racing in the 1,500 meters. I'm also planning on seeing the US men's basketball team take on the Czech Republic, a team that includes Brewster graduate Blake Schilb. Fellow Brewster alum Avi Schafer plays for the Japanese hoop team.

Thanks to everyone who has provided me with updates on any local connections to these Olympics, it helps to make them a little more interesting for me.

And, I've also been to a number of events that have no local connections. Softball, judo, weightlifting, volleyball, beach volleyball, swimming and more. It's fun just to see some sports that I may not see on a regular basis.

Now, if we could just get the rain to stop, that would be helpful.

Ariake Urban Sports Park is ready for some BMX racing action, though Mother Nature is proving difficult this morning.

Well-deserved shoutouts

It’s 8:30 p.m. on Wednesday in Tokyo. Lightning is flashing around the area, yet I am sitting on a metal press stand waiting for the start of the inaugural 3X3 basketball medal games. This unique basketball is new to the Olympics this year and the US women are playing in the finals. It should be an exciting evening, even if it has been a long day.

Speaking of long days, I’ve been covering events for three days now, I’ve been to nine different events in eight different venues. And over that time, there has been a few people (or things) that I think deserve a little bit of a shout out and credit for what they’ve been doing.

First and foremost, the many volunteers/employees who make the Olympics go. There are countless traffic control folks, security guards, arena staff, bus drivers, venue staff, military members running screening areas, Main Press Center workers and more. Many of those people have to work outside all day and in the case of some of them, they are in full dress uniform that must be absolutely brutally hot. So, kudos to all of them for what they’re doing.

Kudos also to all the photographers out there. These men and women are lugging around piles and piles of equipment. This equipment is not light and they are lugging it up and down stairs, on and off of buses and all around venues to the various photo stands. And they are doing this in the blazing sun and stifling humidity. I am soaked in sweat after walking up a couple flights of stairs carrying just my backpack, I can’t imagine lugging everything that they have to and not having a heart attack. Many of the folks doing that are in the same shape that I am, meaning not great.

Shoutout also to the photographer who helped me navigate one of the most confusing venues I’ve experienced in my Olympic trips. While he also had no idea where he was going, he was fluent in Japanese and English, so was able to communicate with all the security and volunteers and with me as we found our way through the Tokyo International Forum to watch some weightlifting. The venue was really strange and not easy to get around.

Shoutout to Brett Johnson, the communication director for US Rowing. He has been helping me set up interviews with Hilary Gehman of Wolfeboro and Gevvie Stone, who is a longtime camper/counselor at Camp Onaway on Newfound Lake. Weather changed the schedule on our originally scheduled days, but he kept me up to date and got me everything I needed. Press officers are a huge help to all press working events like the Olympics.

Shoutout to whoever makes the delicious rice that they serve at my hotel for breakfast. The breakfast choices are not spectacular, but they aren’t bad either. There’s always a couple of different types of rice and bread, along with fruit and some meats and eggs, though the eggs haven’t looked great and I haven’t braved them yet. However, the one rice that they make appears to be something like fried rice, though made in a rice cooker. It has a good taste and if I am in my hotel for breakfast, I always get a solid portion.

Shoutout to the general store in the Main Press Center. It is not big, but I went in today for the first time and they have just about everything you could imagine, including meals you can heat up, a number of different kinds of fried chicken, salads, fruit and more. I had a couple of salads today along with some pineapple and some chicken/cheese bites. It was a quick, easy meal and probably not as bad for me as visiting the creatively named “Tokyo 2020 Pizza and Burger Restaurant.” 

The Tokyo International Forum was a unique and cool venue, but it was not an easy place to navigate.

Of buses and rain

The last blog post dealt with the issues of traffic. This one will be a bit related, as it is dealing with buses.

In Sochi back in 2014, I remember being incredibly impressed with how the buses managed to navigate the narrow mountain roads that led to the venues and in both Sochi and PyeongChang I was impressed by how the buses maintained a very consistent schedule, leaving on time and usually arriving on time as well.

Here in Tokyo, it has been hit and miss with that whole timing thing. The buses leave the venues and the Main Transport Mall right on time. There is no doubt that they strive to be on time. However, the traffic has proven to be a problem in a lot of ways, as the buses almost never arrive on time and in some cases, like this morning, they don’t arrive at all.

This morning, after checking the bus schedule, I left the hotel in the rain to go to the bus stop around the corner. The media bus was scheduled to arrive at 7:08 a.m. A group of us waited and waited with no luck. However, around 7:30 a.m., a bus did arrive. We got on and proceeded to drive around in circles for about half an hour, before finally getting out of the neighborhood and on our way to the main transport mall. It seems that many of the drivers who drive the buses, at least to our hotel area, don’t really know the area or the route they’re supposed to take.

However, much like in Sochi, I do have to admire the way that they are able to navigate the very narrow streets around my hotel and also navigate their way into many of the venues, which in many cases, are locations not usually meant to have large buses driving in and out of them. The beach volleyball venue was on my way to triathlon yesterday morning and I couldn’t believe how little space we had to get in and out of there.

While today didn’t start out great on the bus front and with the rain, I was able to get out to rugby for a few hours and as I write this I am in the Tokyo Aquatics Center ready for Dover’s Jessica Parrotto to go in the women’s synchronized 10m platform finals. So, the day hasn’t been a waste.

It was a rainy (and long) wait for the bus this morning near the hotel.