Nestled between the “Bird’s Nest” and the “Ice Cube” in Beijing’s Olympic district, the Medals Plaza was far from full despite being rather small. It must be said that it was chilly on Monday evening and that, as each site is cut off from each other in the Olympic health bubble, you had to specifically come for the medal ceremony to be there. Three groups separated by barriers were mainly present: a little less than a hundred people representing the public and made up of volunteers and other employees working for the Games, a slightly smaller group of members of the national teams, including an athlete be decorated, and maybe thirty photographers and cameramen. The atmosphere was joyful on the side of the “public”, especially the mascot of the Games, the species of astronaut panda, Bing Dwen Dwen, was there in person and lent itself to selfies.
When the lights became more blinding and the music louder, we understood that we were on the air. The first to enter the scene were the winners of a women’s relay race held the day before in short track speed skating. The bronze medalists, the Chinese, were particularly applauded, but so were the others, especially since crowd cheers were added after the presentation of the medalists and after the national anthem.
Exit Bing Dwen Dwen
Once these first medalists left the stage, we moved on to another medal ceremony, which was held at another Medals Square, but this time in the mountains, and which was broadcast on large screens. More than half of the audience took the opportunity to leave, including the astronaut panda. So when the lights began to blind us again and the fiddles, brass, bells and celestial voices of the music of victory and glory began to thunder again, there were already far fewer people left to applaud. Quebecer Steven Dubois and the other medalists of the 500m short track speed skating race the day before.
This didn’t seem to spoil the fun for the 24-year-old athlete from Terrebonne, who is already on his second medal of the Games. We saw him take a deep breath when the time came to climb on the third step of the podium, then smile with full teeth, greet the few members of the Canadian delegation who came to applaud him and willingly lend themselves to the game of official images. . Just like the top three couples in the ice dance competition at the morning figure skating really looked like they were savoring the moment and having a good time, at the very end of the evening, even though there was still then, everything at most, about fifty people in front of them who were just waiting for the next break to jump into the first shuttle that came.
This report was financed thanks to the support of the Transat International Journalism Fund.The duty.