Covering the Olympics is a discipline in itself. That’s why I want to start this column by throwing several laurel wreaths to my colleagues in Paris.
Our team of three journalists (Simon Drouin, Nicholas Richard, Katherine Harvey-Pinard), a columnist (Alexandre Pratt) and a photographer (Olivier Jean) does a hell of a job. I can’t imagine the stress these enthusiasts feel when faced with some heartbreaking choices: should I cover this or that? And the energy they must deploy to ensure this two-week marathon.
Don’t give up, dear colleagues, you have five days left!
For Radio-Canada, the staff numbers are at a much higher level. We are talking about 185 people in Paris and 250 in Montreal. Expectations are therefore very high, particularly with regard to the two anchors, Jacinthe Taillon and Martin Labrosse, who are doing well. We feel that they are less rigid than at the beginning of the Games.
The co-hosting concept they propose every evening, however, doesn’t bring much. The duo mostly finds themselves doing interviews with athletes who have just experienced a victory or suffered a setback.
Conducting interviews in pairs offers two avenues: a disjointed side or a loud interview plan. In their case, it is the second choice that dominates.
Jean-Patrick Balleux (morning) and Guillaume Dumas (afternoon) are very solid. Their presentations are delivered smoothly. There is a nice balance between warmth and rigor. Nothing to complain about these two seasoned presenters.
The ICI Tou.tv platform allows you to watch certain competitions on demand or to watch a match in a longer version. The advertisement specifies that it is free. I hope so! It would have been the height of irony if this material had been included in the Extra package.
Many of you have talked to me about the looks of certain presenters, especially the two anchors. “A stylist would have been necessary,” a colleague told me this week. The problem is that there are people who take care of just that. They are thanked on screen.
Things have improved over the past few days, but let’s just say that at the beginning we were more in cruise mode than at the Olympics.
Speaking of looks, I absolutely do not understand how some people, seeing the official costume (red and white version) of the Canadian athletes, said: “How beautiful! That will be our choice.” I do not doubt for a moment that the first intention was to design clothes adapted to the needs of the athletes, but this print is downright blinding. Poor cameramen…
Quality of French
Covering the Olympic Games brings together professionals from the communications and sports worlds. Within this diverse group, some sometimes have difficulty handling the French language.
You will have noticed that for each discipline, we create duos. One person does the description and the other, the analysis. People in the second category are often former athletes. Far be it from me to say that athletes all express themselves badly. But let’s just say that our ears have often been scratched since the beginning of the Paris Games.
Anglicisms, syntax errors, bad conjugations, convoluted sentences, we get it all.
The “the world is” and the famous “that’s it” are commonplace. We talked about “very clear patterns” to describe the performance of the Chinese women in synchronized swimming. I heard “if we look at this wave, this wave could be a serious wave.”
At least the emotion is there! It makes us forget these differences.
Put on a show
These Olympic Games are a giant postcard for Paris. The idea of creating various outdoor locations in the city to hold the competitions will undoubtedly catch on. One of the goals of the Olympic Games is to showcase the world’s great cities. The French have clearly decided to put on a show.
The images that are broadcast on TVs around the world are the most beautiful I have seen during an Olympic Games. Sport is in the city. It is among the people. This is what you see and feel when you watch the broadcasts of the competitions.
The beach volleyball venue with the Eiffel Tower in the background is breathtakingly beautiful. And what about the road bike race that took place last weekend. The section that crossed Montmartre in a supercharged atmosphere was absolutely magnificent. We wanted to be there.
PHOTO PIROSCHKA VAN DE WOUW, REUTERS
The road cycling events passed in front of the Sacré-Cœur Basilica in Montmartre.
These Olympics are also about something new. Even though they were already on the program for the Tokyo Games, in 2021, skateboarding, surfing and climbing are making their mark on the Paris Games. As for the BMX races, they are breathtaking.
I’m really looking forward to seeing how breaking will make its debut on Friday.
I like the idea that these new disciplines rub shoulders with the hammer throw or the pole vault. The present marries the past while preserving the very foundation of the Olympic Games: surpassing oneself.
Because beyond the mistakes in French and the poorly chosen clothes, this is what we must remember from this event: human beings who want to offer the best of themselves, to the point of exhaustion, to the point of pain, to the point of abandoning their bodies. That is what is overwhelming.
And today, more than ever, we need these emotions.
Thank you, dear athletes, for offering them to us.