Like everybody who worked on Nine’s broadcast of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, backing up just a fortnight later to do the swimming for Paralympics – and working overnight in Sydney on “Paris” time – was physically demanding, not to mention researching 141 events in the pool (versus 35 for the Olympics).
This time I had the privilege of working alongside one of Australia’s best sports broadcasters Brenton Speed (aka ‘Speedy’) and four-time Olympian Cate Campbell who provided expert commentary, with Annabelle Williams OAM PLY on pool deck in Paris.
When Speedy asked me to compile brief notes on each swimmer for every heat and final, I didn’t anticipate it would amount to creating a 20-page document each day and updating it for that evening’s finals, but thanks to Andrew Hawkins and Austen Krueger – as well as Kristina Rosengren-Fowler – we pulled it off, often with just minutes to spare before the session started.
Thanks also to Michael Anderson OAM PLY and head coach Greg Towle for making themselves available with invaluable insights and updates on the Australian team ahead of the Games.
Bring on Los Angeles 2028 Olympics & Paralympics!