The process begins again

Way back in 2012 I submitted my first application for credentials for the Olympics, hoping to attend the Sochi Olympics in 2014 to see Kennett graduate Leanne Smith and possibly fellow Kennett grad Sean Doherty compete on the big stage. I was not terribly optimistic about my chances of getting those credentials, but I figured it couldn't hurt to at least put my name out there.

I remember where I was when I got the e-mail stating that I had been approved for credentials (the North Conway Burger King parking lot after a Kennett football game) and ever since then, it's basically been a constant process of applying. 

I didn't apply for those first Summer Games after Sochi (Rio in 2016) but applied again for PyeongChang in 2018 and then started looking at the Summer Olympic possibility and applied for Tokyo. Due to the COVID pandemic, the Beijing Winter Olympics in 2022 came just six months or so after I got back from Tokyo in 2021 and then it was Paris in 2024 and Milan-Cortina this past February. I was approved for credentials for every single one, though Milan-Cortina was officially denied at first before I went on the wait list and eventually got approved.

Monday marked the official start of the credentialing process for the Los Angeles Olympics in the summer of 2028. Over the summer I had the chance to take part in the World Press Briefing in Los Angeles, giving media an update on the planning for the Summer Olympics and what was in store in the coming years and we were told that the credential process would begin on Aug. 31. And that it did.

This time around it was a bit different, as the IOC had a site set up to gauge interest from media, we had to fill out an online form and that form was then sent on to the USOPC for consideration. They did ask about previous Olympics we've covered, which I do think is to my benefit, but I can't lie, the feeling I had back in 2012 when I applied for Sochi credentials is kind of creeping back into the back of my mind. Organizers have been pretty clear that there are limited numbers of credentials available (as there always is) and with it being a home Olympics for the US, they expect a lot of applications.

There are obviously a lot of things that go into making the decision about who gets credentials. I feel my prior Olympic experience as well as the fact that I am applying for one single credential as a journalist (journalists and photographers get different credentials) certainly help me, but working for a small weekly newspaper in New England is definitely something that goes against me. That was my feeling back in 2012 and it's still there. The Milan-Cortina original rejection took me by surprise since I'd never had that happen in the years since Sochi, but I do realize now that it is a possibility and I have steeled myself to be ready for that outcome if it indeed happens.

I am also still not even sure the Olympics will be an option in two years since I can't speak for the future of the newspaper business as a whole. Like most print press, we work with a skeleton crew and you never know what the future might bring. And will I be able to keep up doing two full-time jobs in order to pay for this trip as I continue to get older and older? Another question I ask myself every time that alarm goes off at 2:40 a.m.

Unlike Milan and Cortina, Los Angeles isn't exactly a place I am really looking forward to visiting. I've been there many times and it is fine, but the majority of the previous Olympic locations I visited I was visiting for the first time (save Paris) and that was part of the appeal. A trip to the French Alps in 2030 and Australia in 2032 would be incredible, but those are a long way off.

For now, my application for Los Angeles has been submitted. I expect we'll hear on the USOPC decision by the end of the year, but those processes have always had varied timelines. It's just a waiting game now.


At the World Press Briefing this summer, I visited the home of the Lakers, Kings and Sparks, which will be hosting Olympic competition in Summer 2028. I officially submitted my 2028 credential application earlier this week.

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