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Five Olympics – so many memories
To get to one Olympics is a privilege, more than most people achieve. To get to five with the best seat in the house without paying is beyond incredible. But, as they say, somebody has to do it. There are just so many memories.
Beijing 2008
I got my media accreditation at the last minute, so late that I had to collect it on arrival. I had no idea what to expect. I was amazed to find that I could go to any sport at any time, on official transport and have the best seat in the house. I watched rowing, swimming, cycling, handball, the football(soccer) final, Messi and all.
I was at every track session. It was the start of the Usain Bolt era. They say no athlete is bigger than the games but Bolt seemed to be. The hush in the stadium as he got on his blocks, got up in stages and simply run faster than anyone ever had before was unforgettable. The women’s 100 was won by a young Jamaican I had never even heard of – Shelly-Ann Fraser . (Mr Pryce was not yet part of her life). Our paths are still crossing.
A visit to the Great Wall of China and eating the fabled Peking Duck in the media restaurant every day – are abiding memories. Abiding nightmares in the days before satellite navigation systems were the rural taxi-drivers brought from other cities for the games who regularly took you to the wrong destination or needed you to navigate for them!
London 2012
Working as the Togo Olympic Attache I was based in the Athlete Village. The first meal in the athlete restaurant which seated 3,000 people was an eye – or mouth – opener. If Beijing allowed me to watch any sport free, London had the added pressure of having to drink a glass of wine while watching! Seeing the pageantry of the opening and closing ceremony from the inside was another unique perspective. Having a long chat with Her Royal Highness, Princess Anne about her role in GB sport, IOC etc another memorable moment.
Rio 2016
Again in the role of Togo Olympic Attache and based in the Athlete Village. Samsung were giving every delegation member a $2000 cell-phone. Unfortunately not to Olympic Attaches! I worked as a volunteer chaplain providing Christian services for athletes.
While London had accredited 50 chaplains to run the Christian side of the Multi-Faith Centre, Rio had accredited three. I remember a boxing gold-medalist asking Allyson Felix for a selfie. To misquote George Orwell, all gold-medalists are equal, but some are more equal than others.
Tokyo 2020 (actually 2021)
An Olympics without spectators and with all sorts of restrictions. Media were not allowed to travel on public transport or eat in restaurants (except Olympic media restaurants). Masks had to be worn at all time, social distancing practiced. I remember an athlete telling me about her medal ceremony as she stood on podium, the proudest moment of her track career, yet all she could think was that there was absolutely no-one in the stadium to see it. My own reaction was the absolute privilege to be there when no-one else was allowed to.
Paris 2024
Back to normal – spectators, mixed zones, opportunities to do interviews, Great atmosphere in the stadium, obsessive security checks, an opening ceremony that was inSeine. After travelling half-way across the world – to Asia twice and South America – and experiencing a home Olympics, Paris was simultaneously foreign and close. My accreditation was athletics only and the atmosphere of the Stade de France as good as anything I have ever experienced.
