The Press in Beijing | The Press

The Beijing Games are already upon us. Why “already”? Because just a few months ago, we were in the middle of the Tokyo Games. In fact, two Olympiads have not been so close in time since the sweet days of the Winter and Summer Games in the same year. We must therefore go back to the editions of Barcelona and Albertville, in 1992, to relive such an Olympic frenzy.

Jean-Francois Tremblay
Sports Director

Simon Drouin, Alexandre Pratt and Yves Boisvert have barely had time to unpack their bags when they are back on the other side of the world. They will be accompanied this time by Émilie Bilodeau and photographer Martin Chamberland. They will be our eyes and ears in Beijing. They will have the ambition to go well beyond the simple result, to tell you the stories behind the performances, and also to bear witness to China.

Conditions are far from ideal. COVID-19 has allowed the creation of an Olympic bubble that prevents journalists and photographers from traveling as they please to meet the population. Going to China has also become an impressive logistical challenge, simply to get there through travel and health constraints, but also for computer security reasons. Several extraordinary measures had to be taken to protect our teams.

Nevertheless, Yves Boisvert has made it his mission to offer his “Letters from Beijing” to try to see more clearly, as much as possible, in Chinese opacity.

Our team will be on site for many competitions featuring Quebec and Canadian athletes. We will tell you about their journeys, their joys, their sorrows. Simon and Émilie will be at the Zhangjiakou resort, where the freestyle skiing events will take place, while Yves and Alexandre will be in Beijing for the skating events. Martin, camera in hand, will practically live on a train between the different competition venues.

Our team in Montreal will have the mandate to let you know the results in real time on web and mobile platforms.

You will also find on our screens our now famous “Postcards”, incursions behind the scenes of the Beijing trip, and the “Olympic Planet”, a fun tour of social networks. We also invite you to subscribe to our Olympic newsletter, the first edition of which is expected on Friday evening. And while we’re at it, the Club will go into 100% Olympic mode. So, if you have a question for our journalists and columnists on site, we are waiting for them at [email protected].

We won’t be bored. Happy Games!

Martin Chamberland

Martin Chamberland will experience his Olympic baptism in Beijing. He will be the man behind many of the photos adorning our texts. You can also treat yourself to its daily column “In the eye of…”. His fondest Olympic memory: Canada’s gold medal in men’s hockey in 2010, with the legendary celebration of Sidney Crosby. He is eager to cover figure skating for his blend of speed, strength and grace.

Alexander Pratt

You got to know the pen of Alexandre Pratt in his role as a sports columnist. After the Tokyo Games, this will be his second in-person experience in Beijing. Her Olympic memory par excellence: Marie-Philip Poulin who scored the tying goal in the final against the Americans in 2014 and gave the Canadians the victory with a golden goal in overtime. He looks forward to covering short track speed skating, which is always spectacular on site, and the two hockey tournaments. Especially the feminine, for the long-awaited clash between the Canadians and the Americans.

Emilie Bilodeau

Émilie Bilodeau was loaned by the news team to the sports team, in which she had already made some inroads in the past. She will experience her first Olympic Games. Her Olympic memory par excellence: the victory of women in soccer in Tokyo. She can’t wait to cover the freestyle ski jumps, because it’s spectacular, and because Marion Thénault and Lewis Irving, two Quebecers, have a chance of winning a medal. In addition, she finds them friendly.

Yves Boisvert

Yves Boisvert lives in Beijing for his 7^are Olympic Games. He began his foray into sports in 2002 in Salt Lake City, in a United States still fragile after the September 11 attacks. You will be able to read his sharp pen able to move effortlessly from sport to society. His finest Olympic moment: each press briefing with the luminous Clara Hughes, in speed skating in 2002 and in cycling at 40 in London. He is eager to follow the journey of Charles Hamelin, who will live his last Games, and of Claudia Pechstein, 49, whom he covered in 2002… when she was already at her third Games.

Simon Drouin

Simon Drouin will cover his 11^are Olympic Games, an incredible feat of arms for such a young journalist (we won’t mention his age). Simon covers the performance of amateur athletes year-round and has acquired unique expertise in Quebec. His favorite Olympic memory: Michael Phelps’ eight gold medals in Beijing in 2008. He can’t wait to cover the men’s moguls final, to see how Mikaël Kingsbury will fare, and the 500m long track, for the beauty of the gesture and who knows to see Laurent Dubreuil on the podium.