24 for 2024 - Part One!
by John Cushing, Sept 2024
Back to school and back to reality. Someone said to me the other day how was the summer. “Amazing” doesn’t really do it justice, the Olympics in Paris, covering the Games as a “rights holder” and working with the talkSPORT team, was just the greatest experience of my long (!) radio and audio career and truly life affirming. I always knew the Olympics were special and I was a fan but there’s something magical about a City coming together and hosting the world. We felt it in London, and Paris certainly matched it and in my own opinion actually beat it! The venues, the staging, the locations and the Eiffel Tower - it was an Olympics as a picture postcard we would’ve said - an instagram games in today’s world!
We’ve recorded a couple of pods of our thoughts and memories but I also thought I should write it down mainly for my own sake, when I have the time to lookback and reflect. So many moments, so many photos but here’s 24 from Paris 2024 - part one!
Michael and I approached talkSPORT about the broadcast rights towards the end of 2022. We got told they’d secured the rights late last year, and we started ‘formally’ working for them in April. During games time we were part of a very small but tight and talented team on the ground in Paris. People we knew. Some we didn’t. But we worked and worked and worked and listening to talkSPORT2 as I buzzed around Paris, and the two ways and updates on talkSPORT, we delivered above and beyond. But my first moment comes right at the end, as someone on Digital Spy, which is a special media forum for people to discuss their passions, had written a whole review of what talkSPORT did during the Olympics. It’s an incredible read and they knew more than I could remember! I covered 15 sports, doing interviews, commentaries and reports for talkSPORT2, while simultaneously updating talkSPORT every half an hour through the day. Whoever you are - thank you!
Michael and I never remember that it’s better to get out to the Olympics as early as possible. We both have families and juggling to do. But we’re getting better and getting out on the Tuesday before the Opening Ceremony on the Friday allows you to acclimatise, work out the transport system, we always use public when we can, and find a nice restaurant that you might visit time and again over the three weeks. It also allows you to interview sport stars before they compete in person and in a relaxed format. Meeting and interviewing Sir Andy Murray, who I have said many times is the greatest British sportsperson of our generation, was a true honour and I think I surprised him a little suggesting he could have a role to play in sport administration moving forward. We genuinely need people like him.
Having sat out Tokyo because of covid restrictions, I was determined to enjoy every single minute of these Games. I could write a blog about my ‘Fawlty towers’ style media hotel, but that would be selfish and boring - who cares “I’m at the Olympics” I’d say! But I was determined to grab photos with people we’ve worked with in the build up, and friends and influencers who have been on a similar Olympic journey from 2012 through Rio 2016 to now. I loved getting selfies with all these people! I was having a ball and wanted everyone too to!
When I told people I was staying in Gentilly, I got some strange looks from the locals. Fortunately, Michael and a lot of the GB journalists were in Bercy - a small village type area of Paris on the banks of the Seine that also happened to have a huge Arena for gymnastics and basketball. We managed to get a good evening or two throughout the 3 weeks in a restaurant opposite the hotel, the staff were welcoming, offered good food and the 1664 biere was particularly good. An oasis!
I cannot stand an Opening Ceremony, so I was delighted to be with Team GB and interviewing some of the athletes getting on the barge from a cement works. After a rain sodden few hours the McDonalds that night was also superb. But I was up and raring to go on day 1 and this is where Michael and my planning for the past few months came starkly into light! I was there Saturday morning around 11am Paris time, talking about the first Team GB medal of the Games - Yasmin Harper and Scarlett Mew Jensen. Being a rights holder I assumed we’d just get an interview with them, but despite the fact we’re paying the IOC for coverage, we quickly learnt that getting access to broadcast mixed zones was somewhat of a lottery. My bag of ‘sports mix’ helped and general smiles and friendliness definitely helped in a venue that was swamped by journalists particularly Chinese for a sport they dominate. Knowing and working with Josh from Aquatics GB for the past few years also helped and we had the interview and live updates on TS throughout the day from the new Aquatics Centre next to the Stade De France. You could hear the French cheering the success of Antoine Dupont and Les Bleus from the media centre!
The plan for the first week, was always generally, for me to cover the Rowing, as it’s a sport I’ve loved on the radio since Alan Green used to commentate on it, and then subsequently getting a Radio Academy Award for LBC’s coverage of the Boat Race in the noughties. The rowing lake and canoe slalom courses in Vaires Sur Marne were spectacular but a good trip out of Paris on the RER. Again up and about early in the sunshine all good. But I did struggle a little to start with this day. Updates on talKSPORT, which dropped out, and trying to watch rowing and interview the GB crews, while updating what was happening around the rest of the Games isn’t an easy task. But I knew this was my role and after a couple of hours, and some assistance and calm words from Matt back at talkSPORT towers, we began to find our stride! Shelley from British Rowing was also outstanding at realising I needed sometimes one of the crew to come back to the broadcast mixed zone as I’d been filing reports as they came through - that week was a joy compared to others let me tell you! And British Rowing totally delivered, maybe not the total golds as I predicted confidently on talkSPORT, but a bagful of golds silver and bronze and firmly putting the bad memories of Tokyo to bed!
The other half of the Stade Nautique was the venue for the canoe slalom and brand new sport Kayak Cross. Paddle UK - formerly British Canoeing - win medals at the Olympics and Paralympics. Some might say it’s a niche sport, but it always delivers and this time in Paris despite maybe being a little disappointed at not winning a gold, the four medals won by three athletes produced their best ever performance at an Olympic Games. Kimberley Woods won two of them, and her bronze was the first medal on Day 2, and the support she got from Adam Burgess was incredible to see close up. The next day he went one better and won silver ending the pain of Tokyo where he finished in the worse place in 4th - and Kim was there cheering him on! What a team! Kimberley and Joe Clarke then won Kayak Cross medals later in the Games - now that is some discipline kayak cross, a 20ft drop, racing down the rapids, doing an Eskimo roll and battling with 3 other paddlers. The noise in the cauldron of a temporary stand, was standout moments for me. I was delighted for all the British team and particularly Ruth from Paddle UK, who I’ve had the pleasure of knowing since 2012 days. I also wanted to say thanks to Joe at talkSPORT who was producing rolling coverage on TS2. He pushed and pushed me everyday to do updates til in the end I was also doing the commentary for the canoe slalom - never happened ever before on UK commercial radio! Commentary is now something that I can say I’ve done and think I did ok by the end!
It’s really easy to get into a routine in the Olympics, and feel comfortable in what you’re doing and where you’re going. Those initial early days were hard, getting to locations, working out how things worked from a broadcast point of view, smiling at the right people at the right time. So after two days at the Rowing/Canoe Slalom I felt like I knew what I was doing and delivering some good content. The Monday night of Day 3, Michael and I discussed the plans for the next day before updating the vast google docs he’d spent weeks working on in the run up to Paris. “Day 4 Roland Garros - Sir Andy Murray - you love him - he’s still in doubles competition - we have to cover it. You should do it” The Tuesday was also my birthday and I ummed and aaaghed and said surely someone else should do it. I know what I’m doing with rowing now I said. Roland Garros had always been on my bucket list, it was one of the venues I really wanted to go, and the fact Murray was finishing his stellar tennis career there meant I had to do it. I finally agreed and boy am I so glad I did. I quickly found my way around the venue, worked out where could broadcast from, delivered bulletins for talkSPORT, and did some updates watching Jack Draper in action against Taylor Fritz - both players were exceptional by the way watch out for them! The mixed zone was also organised and a dream - and Murray and Dan Evans won their second round doubles match and I interviewed them again. I’d also spoken to Dan, Katie Boulter & Heather Watson, before the Games and after the interview at RG, Evans said thanks and thanks for the support. Some media didn’t want to speak to him, just Andy, which when you’re a ‘team’ feels wrong to me. I also got to spend some time with my best man Steve who works for the BBC engineering team on my birthday - we’d done the same in Rio 8 years previously! So once again thanks to Michael for pushing me. Lesson learnt, I can do this!
One of the downsides with working during the Games, is sometimes you’re so caught up in what doing, you forget to eat! Andy and Dan’s match didn’t start til late and then by the time I’d interviewed them it was midnight by the time I’d left RG. I’ve mentioned my hotel, the hot meals at night stopped at 10pm and there wasn’t anything around there to pop into out of hours - even if I’d have felt safe walking around! Don’t get me wrong it was fine, but after dark I wasn’t that comfortable. So by the end of day 5 I hadn’t had a hot meal for 24 hours and was clearly flagging. After the rowing and canoe slalom, Michael had said he was going to see the talkSPORT show being broadcast from the Hotel Raphael, where the excellent Natalie Sawyer and team were based leading the evening coverage. Never have I felt so welcomed and having spent the past few days ‘on my own’, despite the brilliant friends and media colleagues, thank you to Natalie, Susan,Jamie and particularly producer Izzy who were all so lovely and basically said - take some time off and eat. Michael and I were the only people in a restaurant on the Champs just down from the L’Arc and it was a much needed moment. The restauranteur also told us he was preparing himself for the deluge of visitors to Paris post Games as he was confident they were selling the City in coverage so well! I agreed - hope’s he’s now run off his feet!
Silver and Bronze medals are funny things. Incredible achievements and better than fourth but not a gold. Day 6 at the Rowing lake taught me a couple of things and again marked the difference between covering the Olympics from inside the venue rather than outside, as we’d done previously, so called non-rights holders. In London, Rio and Tokyo, we effectively interviewed athletes the day after their success. They’d have had time to reflect on whether they were happy or content or disappointed. Some had also had the time to reflect on whether they’d carry on in the sport after the Games or not. Michael told me he quickly stopped asking medal winners in Paris what was next, as they’d literally just come off the track, field, court etc - we wanted the answer but they hadn’t thought about it! But Day 6 also taught me to also start the interviews in the mixed zone with ‘how are you feeling?’ I had an idea how I was feeling but it’s not down to me to influence or try and set the agenda - it should be about the athlete. Double Olympic champion Helen Glover was disappointed for herself that the women’s 4 were beaten for the first time in 2024 in the Olympic final and won silver. After asking her how she was, I think I un-tactfully pointed out that first defeat of the year, and also tried to say it’s better than Tokyo, when she was 4th. Apologies Helen. In total contrast the crew inc Esme Booth & Sam Redgrave (no relation) were delighted with an Olympic medal, and I found that out by asking them ‘how was that?’ Also, winning a bronze medal can also bring so much surprise joy! That third place in the double sculls for Becky Wilde and Mathilda Hodgkins-Byrne was one of the highlight of the Games though for me and for them. The beaming smiles, the fact they had qualified the latest they could for the Olympics, the fact they were ranked outside the world top ten, but the fact they won metal was remarkable achievement and I was so pleased for them both. Their smiles will stay with me for a long time - I even forgot to get a photo! So next time an athlete comes off the track, or lake, and you hear the interviewer ask how was that? Or how do you feel about that? They’re genuinely trying to find out, rather than give their opinion.
Day 6 was also about 10 days in since I’d arrived in Paris. Before we know about talkSPORT covering the Games officially, Michael was always going to come to Paris for them and I’d have come and supported him for Anything but Footy like we had done in the Birmingham Commonwealth Games, and hope to pick up some work too. In the end it didn’t come to that fortunately. But that meant I’d bought some tickets in the first round of offers from the Paris organisers. Tickets for me, wife Carrie and son Matthew - I first discovered the Olympics aged 8 in LA ’84 - he was going to go to handball, athletics and women’s football just before he’s eight having previously done Brum aged 6! Lucky lad, in so many ways! Anyway, that evening we had tickets to see handball. My amazing wife was coming to Paris in one of her first travels with Matthew on her own, after recently being diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. I asked her what she needed from me “just some time when we arrive, so I can relax, knowing that Matthew is being looked after for a bit if needed.” I said let me sort out 24 hours from Thursday mid afternoon to Friday mid afternoon, so we can spend time together and see some sport. Ellie at talkSPORT, who along with Matt looks after all the live sport scheduling for the station, what a mammoth task! - agreed “as long as everything was covered”. Again I can’t thank Michael enough for stepping up, and covering the talkSPORT updates. I continued to do my daily preview at the end of the day, and the odd two way on Times radio - but having 24 hours off and spending it with family, was just the tonic.
They stayed for a few more days, so getting to see them every night and morning, and spending time in a fantastic hotel - the M Social on the Boulevard Haussman, would recommend! - ensured that when they unfortunately left on the Sunday, I had in affect one week to go and felt refreshed and revitalised! We’d also been to the first morning of the athletics in the incredible Stade De France. Watching Josh Kerr cruise into the semis was just a precursor of what I think was a great Games for British Athletics - could’ve been monumental if the silvers for Kerr and Matt Hudson Smith had been gold, but still overall the track stars delivered. And I hope Matthew has the same inspiration eventually as I did after LA 84 - watching Daley Thompson on tv win his second decathlon gold. More on him to follow in part 2 of my 24 moments for Paris 2024!
