Through observations, winks and anecdotes, the Carnets de Paris immerse you in the heart of the Olympic Games.
The contrast is striking. It almost seems like another sport.
At the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, the COVID pandemic and health regulations forced athletes to compete in front of empty stands. Well, not quite empty, because journalists and cameramen were also present, and other athletes, coaches and national team members were also allowed in. Sometimes armed with whistles, drums and trumpets, they did their best to encourage the runners.
Not wanting to be outdone, the organizers played music wherever they could, including during the races, during which one could hear, in a low voice, a little rhythmic music that was not unlike that which accompanies the sports video games that we play as a family.
On the first day of pool competition at the Paris Games on Saturday, there was no soft music to be heard. Not because it wasn’t there, but because it was almost always drowned out by the cheers and cheers of the 14,500 or so spectators who filled the Paris La Défense Arena.
The noise grew even louder when the many supporters of the American, Australian and, of course, French teams saw their champions enter the stage. The shouts and applause came like waves, first very loud at the entrance of the athletes and at the start, before diminishing a little, to rise again each time an intermediate time was posted to transform into a deafening roar in the last meters at the end of the race.
The 100-meter final promises to be something in a Stade de France that can accommodate almost 80,000 spectators!
This report was funded with support from the Transat-Le Devoir International Journalism Fund.