海角大神

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Clay Collins: As a showcase of sports prowess and national pride, the Olympic Games never fail, whatever the apparent state of the world, to inject a sense of optimism for humanity, to again and again prompt the question: How did that athlete do 迟丑补迟?听

Yes, this time, as always, the stories of achievement have been tempered by reality checks. Is the host city hiding its homeless? Is its river remotely clean enough to use? A surfing site in Tahiti bears reminders of an era of nuclear testing, a Ukrainian fencer鈥檚 poignant medal dedication is a reminder of war.聽

But through it all shines the fruitage of dedication, sacrifice, and skill-building. There have been expected wins by virtuosos, and all kinds of niche sports surprises and newly minted stars.聽

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This is 鈥淲hy We Wrote This.鈥� I鈥檓 Clay Collins. Staff writer Ira Porter has been on the ground in Paris since mid July, reporting with a palpable sense of discovery and joy, and he joins me from Paris today.

Hey, Ira.

Porter: Hey, Clay. How are you doing?

Collins: I鈥檓 good. So first of all, how鈥檚 the City of Light treating you? What鈥檚 been the vibe? Are you getting any sleep? Are you eating well?

Porter: So it鈥檚 funny that you asked that because I鈥檝e been running, ripping and running, nonstop. And so yesterday was kind of like my first day off because maybe it was like a one day cold or something like that. I don鈥檛 know. I鈥檓 preparing to head out to the main press center today. And basketball starts in Paris tonight [August 6] too, so I was really looking forward to that, and that鈥檚 where I鈥檓 going to be later on.

Collins: That鈥檚 great. And seeing the sights a little too, I hope, while you鈥檙e there.

Porter: The sites are the backdrop of the city. So my family is here with me and we鈥檝e done everything. We鈥檝e done the Louvre. We鈥檝e done what we could of the Tuileries Garden. I鈥檝e done the Champs-脡lys茅es, the Arc de Triomphe, the Trocad茅ro, and I鈥檝e really walked across the whole city.

It鈥檚 not as big as I thought it was. So that鈥檚 why you really can walk everywhere. Like I鈥檝e walked until my feet hurt, but I love it.

Collins: Fantastic. That鈥檚 great. An Olympic event of its own.聽

Porter: [Laughs.]

Collins: So, we鈥檙e speaking on the Tuesday of the game鈥檚 final week, and so there鈥檚 a lot still to come. You mentioned basketball. You spoke to editor Mark Sappenfield last week about just the sheer power of the fandom in Paris. And there鈥檚 been a lot of spectacle and of course, so many highlights.

In track and field alone, we had that wild women鈥檚 5,000 meter race. We had Noah Lyles by a 5,000th of a second in the men鈥檚 100. We had Femke Bol come from behind in the mixed 400 relay to take gold. All amazing sights. What for you have been the most memorable sports moments so far?

Porter: So a little bit of, of all of that, and I鈥檒l go into a couple of 鈥檈m. I think so far my favorite definitely was the [U.S.] women鈥檚 gymnastics team gold, the all-around team gold. It was so packed in the press box in the Bercy Arena that I couldn鈥檛 even get a seat for the first half of the show.

You know, Simone Biles was just incredible. I mean, the whole team was incredible, but to watch her perform some of her signature moves and to see the way that she executed was just amazing. And I鈥檒l give credit to the Italian gymnast who really shocked people and they won the silver.

For 鈥� all around because they performed really well, and so I think that was a standout moment But to go back to what you just mentioned at the Stade de France, that 400 mixed relay I could not believe and I have to give all of the credit in the world to [Bol of] the Netherlands that, that last leg when she came back It was just like a burst of energy and it was going with the crowd like as the crowd roared I don鈥檛 know how she picked up speed and came and really zoomed past the U.S. because in the semifinal, they set a world record. So, I just thought they were going to blow everyone away. And then she came out of nowhere and smoked the girl, really.

Collins: Just found another gear, clearly, in that home stretch.

Porter: Yeah.

Collins: You鈥檝e written some really compelling stories about this being a big Games for women, about athletes taking care of their mental health, and we鈥檒l link to all of those stories in our show notes. As an American, you鈥檙e probably finding your attention pulled to some American stories: U.S. women鈥檚 rugby team beats Australia on the final play. You just mentioned Simone Biles. You know, she piled up gold, Katie Ledecky dominating in the pool, you mentioned men鈥檚 basketball, that鈥檚 gonna get heated up in the next few days, just the star power.聽

How do you make sure you don鈥檛 miss, you know, the teen and the preteen skateboarders, the table tennis players, the Thai boxers, the German kayakers 鈥� I mean, it鈥檚 a smorgasbord.

Porter: It is. And to be completely honest, I haven鈥檛, and I have really criss-crossed this whole city. I鈥檝e been outside of the city to like Roland-Garros and even to Stade de France is not actually in the city of Paris. But I haven鈥檛 been to every event. I鈥檝e just been reading about them and, you know, when they send the daily press releases and I鈥檝e watched replays.

Some of the viral moments that we鈥檝e seen on memes, like I wish I could have seen the Turkish shooter who looked so cool with his hand in his pocket. He鈥檚 so, like, just nonchalant when he鈥檚 firing the weapon.

So I didn鈥檛 catch all of those memories, all of those moments, firsthand. This was a team effort, what we thought would be some of the more compelling stories, some of the more compelling moments for our readers and our followers, and I had to go from there.

Collins: Yes, there鈥檚 something that looks to you like a Monitor story, when you鈥檙e surveying the possibilities, what is it you look for?

Porter: So, several themes, right? So I wrote something recently about perseverance, with track and field, and I looked at Grant Fisher. And he won bronze for the 10,000 meter race. And so, this is a race where they run for almost a half an hour. It鈥檚 more than six miles.

I think his time was just under 27 minutes, I think, and he really 鈥� it almost was like a replay of the 400 mix race, because he was going to get second and then there was like a burst of energy from a runner from Ethiopia. You know, maybe the last 50 feet who took him out, but so that was a story of perseverance.

Porter: You know, he spoke about how growing up, he always heard that, you know, there鈥檚 no way you can beat a runner from Africa. There鈥檚 no way you鈥檙e going to be able to compete with the European runners. And he did it, and he performed well. I mean, I thought he was consistent the whole time, and I鈥檓 in the stadium in my chair and I鈥檓 wondering like, how can they do this?

They had to run around the track 25 times and I鈥檓 thinking like, I probably got four laps in me, if that. But they pushed their body to do it.

Collins: So what has a typical day been like for you? You wake up, you lace up your shoes, you get a huge breakfast and pick what you鈥檙e going to do? Do you ever change course midday based on what you鈥檙e hearing? And do you catch up at night on the moments you might鈥檝e missed?

Porter: I do all of that. So, you know, in preparation for this, I made a schedule of all the events I was going to try to get to. I have kind of like a map of where every stadium is. One of the great things that they did is, I have a Metro card that allows me to get, ride the subway, the bus is the subway, and just unlimited.

And so I鈥檓 really, you know, zipping from like the main press center to say like the La D茅fense Arena, which is like two or three stops on the same metro line. But then going to the Stade de France, is all the way on the other side of town. And then going to the Bercy Arena is, you know, probably another 30 minute ride from there.

Porter: And I say that because, those are where some of the more popular sports are happening, and that鈥檚 where I鈥檝e been. Or like Roland-Garros; going there, watching tennis, and you get off and you have to walk like another 20 minutes just to get to the stadium.

The same thing with the stop at the front, so I鈥檝e been having the same kind of breakfast, just a bowl of cereal and some fruit, kiss my family goodbye, and I鈥檓 gone.

Collins: Wheaties?

Porter: Well, it is, it is like their version of Wheaties. And then at night, you know, I come home, I鈥檓 typing up notes and I am online looking up, like, all of the memes and all of the viral moments, thinking about how I can include those in a story, in [an Instagram] Reel. Just catching up.

Collins: So politics and other controversial topics inevitably tend to bubble up at the games. We saw a Ukrainian high jumper who got to hear her national anthem played. You know, there was a big story around gender misconception. On the conflict part of that, how much attention seems to be on things like the presence of Palestinian and Ukrainian athletes, for example, how much attention in general are controversies getting in Paris?聽

Porter: From what I鈥檝e seen, not a whole lot. I mean, there are, you know, athletes who have been booed. When their name was announced, or when their country was announced, but other than that, I haven鈥檛 seen, like, any protest, I haven鈥檛 seen police having to, like, corral anybody from trying to cause a scene or anything like that.

I think it鈥檚 been peaceful so far, granted, you know, I鈥檓 sure that the papers here are writing a lot about different themes or, you know, wars going on or politics, but inside of the stadiums, I mean, outside of like a few boos here and there, I haven鈥檛 seen too much.

Collins: And you know, your colleague and mine, Colette Davidson, wrote about the French sort of, getting into it a little bit, which is nice as hometown fans.

Porter: So they are really into it. Probably like the standout, I would say, French athlete 鈥� his name is L茅on Marchand. And he probably was the best swimmer of all of the swimmers. He won four gold medals and, you know, the energy that they had for him, I鈥檓 sure he will have to remember it for the rest of his life because they were just so in his favor, so behind him and I鈥檓 sure I鈥檒l see it today.

Everywhere I go, there are French flags. People have their faces painted and they have a phrase, they say, 鈥淎濒濒别锄!鈥� They shout that over and over. They are really into it, I feel like even, you know, from the opening ceremony. They crowded the streets for all of the fans who couldn鈥檛 get down onto the river, on the banks.

They were outside. In the rain, in the mud, and they watched from big projector screens that they had on the street. They seemed like they were all in it to me.

Collins: That鈥檚 great.聽

You departed from a pretty fractious United States, when you went on this trip and you stepped out of a news cycle that鈥檚 been pretty tough globally. We have war and we have looming war. We have financial chaos right at the moment. We have destructive storms here and there.

Would you say that immersion in the games has affected in any way how you鈥檙e feeling about the world?

Porter: In a good way. It鈥檚 a good way, like, cause it鈥檚 a cool distraction from me having to think about, or watch images of children being bombed, or back and forth with the war, or even the shakeup in American politics. We were having dinner when the president announced that he was stepping down [as a candidate for the 2024 race], and my wife and I just looked at it and just like 鈥� wow. Right?聽

So we missed that moment because it happened while we were over here. But I think overall, it鈥檚 been a cool distraction for me. Like I鈥檝e solely been focused on just falling in love with this city and, you know, being at as many sporting events as possible. I haven鈥檛 really had a moment to take in or really just kind of like chew on all of the stuff that鈥檚 going on in the world.

Collins: Not a bad thing. Thanks, Ira. Continue to enjoy the revelry over there. Say hey to Snoop Dogg and Martha Stewart if you see them.

Porter: Will do. Maybe I will. Fun fact: So I ran into [Spanish former NBA star] Pau Gasol on the street. I got a picture with him. And this was, this would be in like my Olympic bloopers. Like I ran into the gymnast Aly Raisman, but I didn鈥檛 remember who she was at first. And I ended up having to apologize to her because I looked at her 鈥� this was after the team gold final 鈥� and I said,鈥� aren鈥檛 you a gymnast?鈥�

She鈥檚 like, yeah, I am. Nice to meet you. Right. And then I looked at her name tag and I was like, 鈥淥h my God, I feel so foolish.鈥� And so a couple of nights later, we were at a press conference together and she asked Simone Biles a question.

And after the press conference, I went up to her and just apologized and she laughed. She laughed it off and was like, 鈥淥h God, you know, you didn鈥檛 do anything to me.鈥�

Collins: That鈥檚 great. You know, I think a lot of people probably remember when you talk about memes and things, there was a camera trained on Aly Raisman鈥檚 parents when she was doing one of her events and every parent was watching how they were trying to will her through her routine. It was quite something.

But that鈥檚 great. Nice. Well, I hope you continue to have some great celebrity encounters, [with] athletes and otherwise, while you鈥檙e there.聽

Porter: Me too.聽

Collins: Appreciate your being here.

Porter: Thank you.

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Collins: And thanks to our listeners. You can find more, including our show notes with links to Ira鈥檚 stories at CSMonitor.com/WhyWeWroteThis. This episode was hosted by me, Clay Collins, and produced by Mackenzie Farkus. Our sound engineers were Alyssa Britton and Tim Malone, with original music by Noel Flatt. Produced by 海角大神, copyright 2024.