A Peek Behind the Curtain

Once again, we found ourselves in an Olympic year and for those fortunate enough to have watched the Olympics, it was easy to get swept up in the moment and the atmosphere. However, all of the planning, effort and people that are needed to make the three-week event run as smoothly as it usually does is often overlooked. So how, then, is the experience different for the athletes? Fortunately, we happen to have some former Olympians in the village. I spoke with 2012 Olympic swimmer Grant Turner as well as 2008 and 2012 swimmer Ross Davenport who shared their own experiences.

As you might imagine an athlete’s Olympics does not begin at the start, but rather, around two months before when they go on a six-week holding camp before returning home ten days before the opening ceremony.

Our athletes recalled four days before the Big Start, they moved into the Olympic village. The village itself was (and I am sure still is) an impressive feat; 40,000 athletes from different countries, backgrounds and sports all coexisting together. The ‘Hogwarts style dining hall’ was the size of fifteen aircraft hangers with long benches down the middle and every conceivable food from around the world to ensure that everyone had a little taste of home. Athletes were free to eat whatever they liked, however, before their event they would most likely stick to their specific, healthy diet. Afterwards was a different story! There was a 24-hours McDonald’s on site, but more on this later. It’s important to stress that even something that size is a temporary building, as were all the training facilities which for swimmers included three 50 metre pools. As someone who has spent a large amount of my life in one pool or another, the idea of one being referred to as “pop-up” seems unfathomable.

The bedrooms themselves, however, were not temporary. They have, of course, been repurposed since their construction but at the time were all Olympic-themed and similar to how you would imagine high-end student accommodation. Each apartment contained eight beds with two athletes to a room. Once they arrived, athletes went through a ‘kitting out’ process in which they received a personal shopper who went around with them to help pick up everything they may have needed during their stay. It was not uncommon to end up with around 70 kilograms of kit by the end of the day, which is probably more clothes than I own in total, and that’s before all of the free stuff given out by brands. Another interesting thing about the village was how athletes were completely free to interact with each other. You could be sitting in the canteen chatting with your teammates and have Michael Phelps with his team on your left and Usain Bolt on your right. Naturally everyone was very respectful of each other but there could still be an air of celebrity around some of the more famous faces.

As always, the games themselves always begin with the Opening Ceremony, which is definitely more fun for the spectators than the athletes. On TV this grand spectacle lasts for about three hours, but for the athletes it involves an additional five hours beforehand to get organised and into position as well as another hour afterwards. Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on your opinion), the swimmers almost never attend the ceremony. This is because the aquatics events are always in the first week and they don’t want to be tired come race day which could be the following day, or in Grant Turner’s case in 2012, literally the first event of the entire games. The flip side to this is that, as you would expect, the nervousness of competition day is over much sooner; plus, the swimmers get more time to experience the rest of the games and support their teammates.

Athletes entered into a ballot to get tickets to other events which meant that they could get tickets to pretty much anything from athletics, to gymnastics, to dressage so it gave the chance to experience sports that may be wildly different from their own. They had quite a lot of free time throughout the games, both before and after their event so it was important to remember that even though they may have finished their event, others may still be prepping. Afterparties, then, weren’t as common as you might think. Not until the end of games at least. Instead, this free time was often used to eat everything in sight, which I understand completely. Pre-event athletes self-regulate their diets to put them in the best possible condition come race day, but afterwards, it’s open season. As mentioned, the canteen was filled with all sorts of cuisines from all over the world so it was a fantastic opportunity to experience other cultures and try something new, especially since it’s free. On the topic of eating too much, this is where the 24-hours McDonald’s came into play, because I have heard tales of a challenge known as the “Centurion”: 100 nuggets in 100 minutes. Sounds tough, but then again, so does competing on the world stage.

Elliot Wilkes