I have to admit, I was getting a bit nervous.
I've had the honor of covering four of the last five Olympic Games, including winter stops in Sochi, Russia, PyeongChang, South Korea and Beijing, China and a summer stop in Tokyo, Japan. Ahead of each of those Olympics, I have traditionally heard early on whether I've been granted credentials.
I remember prior to my first Olympics, I actually got the confirmation e-mail during high school football season (I was in the parking lot of the Burger King in North Conway after a Kennett football game, checking my e-mail since coverage is not great at the high school). That would have been in the fall of 2012, a year and a half ahead of the Olympics, which took place in February of 2014 (I was there, nine years ago at this time). The PyeongChang and Beijing timelines were pretty close to the same.
The only Summer Olympics I have been to was in Tokyo, originally scheduled for 2020. I received my confirmation of credentials for those Games in December of 2018, again, about a year and a half out from the Olympics. Obviously, those Olympics were postponed by a year, but that's neither here nor there.
So, as the calendar turned to January, I was expecting to hear from the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee regarding my application for credentials for Paris in the summer of 2024. When the calendar turned to February, I began to think that maybe my application wasn't accepted. Truthfully, I would be understanding of such a situation, but figured they would at least notify people who applied if they were accepted or not.
I dropped an e-mail to the accreditation team at the USOPC inquiring as such. For those that don't know, the Paris 2024 folks will allocate a certain number of credentials to each country that is attending the Olympics and the country's Olympic committee makes the decisions on who to give those credentials to. After I applied for credentials for Sochi, I was interviewed by a journalist on behalf of the USOPC as to what my plans were, etc. I did not have an interview prior to PyeongChang and Beijing, but I am now under the impression that those interviews are for first-time applicants. I did have an interview for Tokyo, which I assume was because it was my first Summer Games application, so I wasn't expecting one for Paris.
The e-mail came back from the USOPC yesterday noting that they were still going through the applications and would be letting everyone know their status by the end of February. That put my mind at ease a little.
From talking to other journalists over the years, I have come to understand that, unofficially, if you are approved for credentials once, you are usually in the pipeline and accepted on your next applications. With Tokyo in my back pocket, it would stand that I should be approved for Paris, but I also have an understanding as to where weekly newspapers rank on the list of priorities for credential approval and that is near the bottom. I was truly surprised when I received Sochi credentials and I believe my Tokyo credential application was helped along by the fact that the guy who did my interview was someone I spent a lot of time with in PyeongChang and he saw the work that I put in.
I am hopeful that the application process will turn out the way I am hoping. After all, I did cover two Olympics during a pandemic, when many larger outlets chose to not make in-person coverage a priority.
On a related note, Paris 2024 announced today the "look of the Games" along with the new pictograms, which depict each sport and are all over merchandise and signage art the Olympics. Read that article here if you would like.
Paris is still not a guarantee for me, but if the credential application is accepted, I am leaning closer and closer to going, if for no other reason than to see the incredible opening ceremony they have planned.
Hopefully I'll know for sure in a few weeks.
Nine years ago today I was spending my first day at the Sochi Olympics. This is a shot from the bus window as I made my way up to the freestyle park.
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