Wheels up in one month

With the change of flights for the trip to Paris next month, I officially am leaving for the Summer Olympics one month from today.

This Olympic journey has been an interesting one from the jump. When I made the decision to apply for credentials for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, my first Summer Olympics, it was just going to be a one-off, a chance to see something a little different. However, the idea of paying for Olympic experiences less than two years apart was not something I was interested in doing.

Then came Tokyo. Along with Beijing that followed less than a year later, it was one of the most unique experiences of my life. There were no fans in the stands, it was hotter than all get out, masks were required inside and outside and COVID tests were the norm. But it was my first Summer Olympics and it was a good time. 

As Tokyo wrapped up, I was not terribly sure that I was going to do another Summer Olympics. With Beijing less than a year away, money was the concern, as I was paying for a pair of trips in a short period of time and heading to Paris didn't seem like it would be a cheap venture. However, at the Tokyo Closing Ceremonies, the Paris organizers played a hype video for their Olympics and I was hooked. I left the Closing Ceremonies leaning toward saying 'yes' to the Paris credential and as time passed and Beijing went in the rearview mirror that leaning became a full acceptance that Paris was in my future.

The more I thought about it, the more I realized that this was something I needed to do. I don't know how much longer I am going to have this job and have the ability to get credentials to the Olympics. My short term goal is to get to Milan-Cortina in 2026 as the first true "winter" location to cover an Olympics in and that would be fantastic. My long term goal would be to make it 2032 just to go to Australia. Between then and now there's the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028 and the French Alps in 2030. That's eight years out and I am pretty sure that's too far ahead to think at this point. I have to take every opportunity I can to do this every few years. What was once a once in a lifetime experience has turned into something I really look forward to every few years (though the paperwork required isn't exactly a ton of fun).

For now, the focus is one month away. The flight leaves at 7 p.m., so as I write this, just after 2 p.m. in the Media Center at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, it's pretty much exactly a month until I head to the airport to catch that flight.


 

One month from now I will be boarding a plane to Paris for my fifth Olympic experience.

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