The Olympics... and beyond

Near the end of the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, I offered up my rankings for the three Olympic experiences I had under my belt at that point. I updated the rankings after my fourth experience in Beijing and now it's time to put Paris in the mix. Transportation Paris PyeongChang, Sochi, Beijing, Tokyo I am putting Paris first in this category because of the very efficient, clean and manageable public transport system that we used. There were fewer shuttle buses, but they were needed less with the option of using the stellar Metro system. Tokyo was last on this list because of the one hub to get anywhere. Beijing also had the one hub within the city, but there was another hub located near the alpine venue and there were buses operating between venues in certain places, which was convenient. Beijing touted the high speed train as a plus, and to get to the Zhangjiakou (biathlon, freestyle skiing, XC skiing, ski jumping), it was great, but to get to Yanqing (alpine, sliding) it wasn't a...

 In a previous post the morning after the Closing Ceremony, I spoke briefly about the ceremony, but I promised another post reflecting a little more on what we saw. As in the last two closing ceremonies that I had been to, I got there pretty early. The idea was to make sure I had a spot in the venue media center inside the Stade de France and a fairly decent seat inside the stadium. As I mentioned in a previous post, I didn't have a tabled seat, which meant that I was sitting in a normal stadium seat, which was just fine. In Tokyo and Beijing I had a tabled seat, which allowed me to keep my laptop and phone charged. This time, I left my laptop in the media center and basically just carried my phone and my camera out to the stadium seat. Like in Tokyo and Beijing, I got the chance to sit and watch the dancers and the musicians rehearse their performance. The scene where the Olympic Rings are raised high above the floor of the stadium, was one that was rehearsed numerous times. On a ...

Over the last couple of days, I made a couple of stops at the transport desk to check on the transportation options for getting the airport. Because my hotel is not directly on a public transport line that runs to the airport, the very nice young woman, who probably dealt with a ton of idiots like me over the course of the weekend, told me that there would be a bus that came through our neighborhood at 2 a.m., 6 a.m., 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. I just had to walk up the street to catch the bus. My original plan was to get up some time after 4 a.m. and catch the 6 a.m. bus, however I must have turned off the alarm when it went off (I went to bed about 2 a.m.) and when I woke up, it was 5:45 a.m., which did not leave me enough time to pack up the rest of my stuff and get to the bus stop. So, I went back to sleep for a bit and figured I'd take the 10 a.m. bus. I made my way up the street to the bus stop, which I should add is not exactly in the best neighborhood. I waited. And waited. And wai...

The Paris Olympics are officially over. Last night, I watched as Tom Cruise leaped off the top of the Stade de France, grabbed the Olympic flag, hopped on a motorcycle and headed out of the stadium. Then much like Jeff Probst used to do during the finale in the early days of Survivor, he boarded a plane and eventually ended up in Los Angeles, where he handed off the flag and proceeded to turn the Hollywood sign into Olympic Rings. With the torch officially passed to Los Angeles for the next Summer Games in 2028 (I still don't know how this is going to go), the torch was extinguished on French soil and the 2024 Games came to a close. Someone asked me what I thought the big story was in these Olympics and I have to say it was the fact that the Olympics are back. Tokyo and Beijing did a great job hosting the Games, but without fans in the stands, without the excitement that builds with every competition, it just wasn't the same. With Paris, the Olympics are officially back and tha...

It's about four hours before the closing ceremony for the Paris Olympics takes place. I am sitting in the venue media center of the Stade de France. I've heard the Star Spangled Banner blasting over the speakers and have walked out into the stadium to see the preparations that are under way. This is my third Olympic closing ceremony, the first coming in Tokyo three years ago and the second coming in Beijing in February 2022. They were definitely different, with Tokyo in the heat and Beijing in the cold. I am excited to see what France has to offer for the closing ceremony. There's rumors that Tom Cruise will be involved as part of the handoff to the Los Angeles Games in 2028. In the last two closing ceremonies, I have had a tabled press seat, which includes a desk and plugs to charge my computer and phone. This time around, I have a non-tabled seat, so no desk to work with, so I probably won't be updating much during the closing ceremony since I don't want to kill m...

As my time in Paris draws to a close, just a few observations. This Olympics has definitely been an eye-opening experience for me. I was aware that the Summer Olympics involved more sports, more athletes and more media members, but my only experience with the Summer Games was in Tokyo, where there were no fans in the stands and fewer media than normal. Coming in to Paris, I was expecting a lot of people and I certainly was not disappointed. There are a lot of people. Media, fans, staff and volunteers pack every single arena full for every single game. After each game, I find myself battling throngs of people to get on the train and head back to the hotel.  On a related note, the French people seem pretty stoked about the Olympics. As mentioned, every single venue is full for every single match (at least that I've seen) and they are enthusiastic and excited for everything. I know that not all of the fans are from France, but the reactions that the French athletes get every time they...

Each time the Olympics roll around, the host country traditionally gets to bring in a new sport or two. In Tokyo, surfing made its debut and it was a hit, returning here in Paris (or in Tahiti) and continuing on in Los Angeles in four years. In two years, mountaineering (combination of climbing and skiing) is making its debut in Milan-Cortina. Los Angeles is bringing back baseball and softball in addition to cricket, squash, lacrosse and the addition of flag football. In Paris, the new addition was break dancing, or breaking as it is known in the Olympic circles now. Breaking made its official Olympic debut yesterday (Friday) and last night I trudged out to Place de Concorde to the urban sports park to watch a little of the competition. It was held in the same arena that housed 3v3 basketball earlier in the Olympic run. First and foremost, I have enjoyed many of the "X Games" sports the Olympics have introduced over the past decade, including things like BMX, skateboarding an...

At the start of the Olympics, there are tons of sports going on and you can pretty much go anywhere and find some sports action. There are a lot of choices, but if you miss one team, you can probably catch that team again in a day or two. The end of the Olympics is when things become a bit tougher for those of us who are covering the Games. All of a sudden all the games have a lot of meaning, with medals on the line and time ticking down on chances to see the teams and athletes. Thus is the case today (Friday). As I write this, I am sitting in La Defense Arena, where I saw Katie Ledecky swim in the first few days of the Olympics. Swimming is over for these Olympics, but after the swimming finished, water polo moved from the new aquatics center to this arena for the semifinals and finals, so I am here to see the US men's water polo team play in the semifinals. However, there were a lot of places I could've gone today. The US women's basketball team plays its own semifinal ga...

After yesterday's heart attack in Marseille, today I didn't venture too far, making a trip to the Champ de Mars, a temporary arena constructed near the Eiffel Tower where the wrestling competition was going on. I spent a few hours there before moving on to the Stade de France for track. I learned a few nights ago that I should probably get there early, but I was probably a little too early today, but Elle St. Pierre was up first on the docket for the evening. So I am sitting in a pretty empty Stade de France as workers prepare the field for the evening's track and field events. It's a little like Tokyo in that there's nobody in the stands yet except for the media folks who are preparing for their evening and the workers doing their stuff. I sauntered downstairs to the media food kiosk and purchased a chicken sandwich, which got me thinking about the food this time around. For the record, the chicken sandwich was more like chicken salad, not quite what I was expectin...

 Today was certainly a day. Over the last couple days I was looking at a time to make it down to Marseille, mainly just to see the venue and the city, but possibly seeing a little sailing in the process. Today was the day that it worked out that I could do it, so I purchased a ticket on the high-speed train out of Paris to Marseille. It was more than three hours each way (without the numerous delays), but I figured why not? I probably should've stayed in Paris. I arrived in Marseille after 1 p.m. and found the transportation help desk in the train station to get a public transport card, which allowed me to use the Marseille public transportation for the day. I had no problem finding the correct train to get halfway to the marina, but the bus was a bit more of a challenge. However, I eventually found the bus and made my way to the marina. The weather was warmer in Marseille than in Paris, but there was a nice breeze that helped to keep things a bit more manageable. I watched a littl...

It is officially less than one week until I leave the city of Paris and head back home to my normal life, including those 2:30 a.m. wake-ups and the busy fall sports season. So, it felt like as good a time as any to write about some of the things I have liked and things that maybe I don't like as much about this time around. What I like: The ability to see multiple sports and venues in one day. While I was apprehensive of using the public transportation in Paris, mainly because I was afraid of getting lost, I have found it pretty easy to navigate and the trains have made it easy to get from one side of Paris to the other and see numerous events. What I don't like: The crowded trains. This doesn't always happen, but after a contest at a larger arena (soccer, track), the train is usually so packed you can't turn around. I don't particularly care for huge crowds, but it is usually not a long ride. What I like: The Paris organizers have done a great job of keeping traff...

Back when I first traveled to the Olympics in 2014, it was very much a community experience. I billed it as a once in a lifetime thing and people were wonderful in donating money and holding fundraisers and my company matched everything that I raised. It ended up being enough money to pay for the second "once in a lifetime" trip four years later. Since then, I've cut back on that side of things, since it's no longer a once in a lifetime thing, it's an every two years thing and if I want to go, I will find a way to raise the money. Thus the many hours of making donuts and bread all year long. It's a self-funded labor of love. One thing that hasn't changed in my five Olympic experiences is getting the chance to talk on the radio about my travels. Back in 2014, I was contacted by Greg Kretchmar from Greg and the Morning Buzz on 100.3 WHEB, 101.1 WGIR and many other stations around New England. He had seen a Facebook post about my trip and wondered about the p...

I have made a habit over my time covering the Olympics to try and get to lots of different events and venues. Most of the time that involves going from venue to venue in a single day. Yesterday I was at rowing, then on to soccer and then finished up at track. Rarely does it happen that I spend one day in one venue. Today, however, was that day. I woke up wanting to head to the Stade de France for some track action. I wanted to see Gabby Douglas compete in the first round of the 200 meters. My hope was to get a quote or two from Gabby after the competition to send to my former colleague, Jeff Lajoie, who works for a paper in her hometown area of Massachusetts. I made my way down to the press mixed zone, where athletes come through after their events to talk to the media. However, Gabby walked right through the mixed zone without talking to anyone (she did do a TV interview in the broadcast mixed zone), so I left without a quote, which was kind of a bummer. My original plan was to possib...

Saturday morning in Paris brought a trip out to one of the further venues from the city center, the nautical stadium, where Brewster Academy graduate Chris Carlson was rowing with his teammates in the men's eight. I had the chance to talk to Chris immediately after he and his teammates won their opening race earlier in the week, a win that put them directly into Saturday's finals. He spoke highly of Brewster Academy and coach Nick Docter, who had convinced him to join the crew team after he came to the school in his sophomore year. His introduction to rowing came as a sophomore in high school and he parlayed that into  I was aware heading into the event that the US had not won a medal in the men's eight since 2008, but given the team's success in the opening race and the fact that because of that win, the rowers didn't have to compete in another race after that opener leading into the final, I felt like they had a chance to bring home a medal. But, that's why th...

There's a lot about the Olympic experience that is different than what I do in my regular life. But there's also a lot of things that are the same. Today, brought one of those wonderful experiences as I realized it was time to do my laundry. I should mention that I hate doing laundry at home, never mind when I'm away from home. In Sochi, my first Olympics, there was a laundry service in the media center and I simply brought my laundry in and they did it there. A slight problem arose when it didn't come back on time and I was scheduled to leave, but it all worked out. In PyeongChang, we had washers and dryers in the basement of our building in the media village. In Tokyo, my hotel had washers and dryers in the lobby area and in Beijing, the hotel had a laundry service. This time around, there was no other option than to go out and find a laundromat. I did a quick search on my phone and found a laundromat not too far from the hotel, so I put all my dirty laundry in my sma...

Three years ago in Tokyo, the women's gymnastics finals were deemed high demand events, which meant that as media members, we had to request tickets to attend the events. This is a common practice and to be honest, I have been kind of surprised that this year's events have not been deemed high-demand. In Tokyo, I did request a ticket for the floor exercise and did so before Simone Biles had to withdraw from competition. My expectation was that I would get to see her in action, but obviously that changed. She did what she had to do for her own personal health and that should never be questioned. I was bummed to miss out on the chance to see the best gymnast of all time, but that's nothing to worry about. This time around, I decided I wanted to try to see Simone in action for a first time and looking at the schedule, determined that the time to do so was tonight, Aug. 1, in the women's all-around competition. Since gymnastics were not considered a high demand event by the...