Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened.

By Michael Weadock, Sept 2024

I don’t often find myself quoting Dr. Seuss, but it felt apt as I put pen to paper, or finger to keyboard, for my final despatch from the Olympic Games in Paris.

Previously, I wrote about my top ten favourite moments covering the athletics where my main role was reporting and interviewing trackside and where I also had the opportunity to commentate on a couple of morning sessions too. A great thrill. My other role at the athletics was to accompany Daley Thompson on the train back to the hotel every evening. Also, a great thrill.

You can hear our epic round up podcast here:

Paris 2024 afforded me opportunities to cover many more sports, disciplines and events beyond the Stade de France. Starting with the Opening Ceremony…

The Opening Ceremony

Now, I’ve never been very ambitious or pushy in my career, but I did put myself forward quite forcibly for the prime commentary position for the Opening Ceremony. I had long dreamt about uttering the words as the Olympic Cauldron was lit and often imagined myself doing it back in the day whilst listening to David Coleman and Barry Davies. So, I was feeling pretty pleased with myself as I took up my seat with a view of the River Seine, Eiffel Tower and Place de la Concorde. I even managed to fake some sympathy for John when he said he was at a concrete factory which was doubling up as the launch place for the boats carrying the national delegations! Then the heavens opened, and the rain came. And, came. And, came some more. My carefully prepared notes turned to mush. Our equipment became waterlogged and slowly it began to fail. The information service supplying us with some of the key ceremony details crashed, our batteries were fast running out and the rain meant plugging in to a power source was not an option and there was the dawning realisation that at least the concrete factory might have had some cover! But, we stayed on air and kept the broadcast going describing the key moments as they happened. Before finally, the final two torch bearers of judoka Teddy Riner and athlete Marie-Jose Perec, standing side by side, with torches above their heads stood underneath the balloon that was soon to become the Olympic Cauldron. Presenter Natalie Sawyer handed over to me and I said the words: “For the third time in its history, Paris is an Olympic City. Let the Games begin.” You would have thought I might have come up with something slightly more original and memorable having been rehearsing it in my head for forty years…

Helen Glover

You will recall it was Tom Daley and Helen Glover who carried the Union flag for Great Britain and Northern Ireland on the boat at that Opening Ceremony. talkSPORT listeners had enjoyed a bit of an exclusive with Helen earlier in the day. When Tom and Helen were formally announced in the role – we had long predicted they would be the pair given the honour – the interviews were done under a pool arrangement. This is standard practice in the industry where one broadcaster carries out the interviews and distributes to all broadcasters to use. It meant Tom and Helen didn’t have to do a lengthy round of media interviews so close to competition. But, it was disappointing not to be able to personally chat to either and offer our congratulations. That is until Shelley at British Rowing stepped in. Now, I can’t list everyone here that helped us do our jobs in Paris. I would definitely miss someone out and that wouldn’t be fair. Shelley messaged knowing we hadn’t spoken directly with Helen and also knowing that she had a great relationship with talkSPORT and had helped us record some special pieces in the build-up to the Games all about her crew which Helen had appreciated the opportunity to be able to do for us. So, it was a lovely surprise to be told that Helen was close by and free for a few minutes and if I wanted an interview for radio just ahead of her leaving to fly the flag, she was more than willing to help out. John had a similar experience at the concrete factory when Ruth from Paddle UK sent a couple of canoeists his way before they boarded the Team GB boat. It’s about contacts and doing the hard work in all the weeks when the spotlight doesn’t shine so bright.

Commentary

I’ve been a sports commentator for nearly 25 years. For the presenter of Anything but Footy, it may come as a bit of a surprise to hear that my main sport during that time has been… football. But, I’ve also made no secret that I fell out of love with the sport spectacularly and certainly had my confidence knocked towards the end of my time at Leeds United where I commentated for LUTV for 12 seasons. More about that in the book… But, as a commentator I have been put back together working on some world feed football, with the lovely people at Rams TV and also with National League TV. I have also dabbled in commentary on various other sports – I did the British Championships for British Athletics TV and regularly covered cycling and triathlon for regional radio too. I’ve never commentated on tennis though. In fact, when we covered Wimbledon last summer, I was happy to sit back and let John lead as he knows far more about the sport than me. So, at what point did I think it was right to try my hand at play-by-play tennis commentary? The moment came at Roland Garros with Andy Murray and Dan Evans facing five match points – where else to start a tennis commentary career? I felt I could negotiate my way through the inevitable, imminent end to this match easy enough, list some Andy Murray achievements, utter a few superlatives and congratulate him on a career well done. An hour later, flying solo, I was able to pronounce that the pre-advertised end of Andy Murray’s career was in fact said in error and he and Dan Evans were into the next round. I’ve listened back to my first ever hour of tennis commentary since. It wasn’t terrible.

Triathlon

I was definitely more comfortable knowing that I would be on commentary duties for the individual triathlon races. I was also pretty confident I would have a couple of medal moments to describe – ensuring my place in those end of day montages to Spandau Ballet’s Gold that broadcasters like to compile. I was on my own at the triathlon finish – no co-commentator, no reporter, no producer and no official commentary position. I had equipment which allowed me to broadcast live whilst roaming about, a vantage point overlooking the finish and transition area, and my years of getting to know those in and around the sport to lean on. And, to be honest I was actually more proud of the overall coverage that morning than whatever nonsense I said on commentary in the moment! Firstly, we had Beth Potter winning her bronze medal and live commentary of her finishing before a quick interview which we were able to record just after she crossed the line. In the frenzy after the race, I missed seeing Georgia Taylor-Brown who I would have also liked to have spoken to after her top six finish. It was only when I was in the middle of commentary on Alex Yee’s race that I spotted Georgia sitting along from me watching intently. She spotted me also – I’ve interviewed Georgia many, many times – and I beckoned her over and before she really had time to think about it, she understood the assignment, had a microphone in her hand and I had an expert co-commentator alongside me for a spell as Alex Yee swam, rode and ran his way to gold. I had another piece of luck in the moments after Alex crossed the line as I spotted two-time Olympic Champion Alastair Brownlee in the crowd. I’d let Georgia go by this point. My days at Yorkshire Radio paid off here as Alastair saw the plea in my eyes about what I wanted and joined me on the radio for some post-race analysis. The interview area for the triathlon was bedlam with reporters and camera operators from across the world climbing over each other and jostling for position in an area which was clearly not designed for so many people. Everyone was trying to grab chats with the different athletes. Understandably, Alex was a man in demand, but seeing me in amongst the scrum, he came across and we carried out another lovely interview. I’ve known Alex a little while now and he’s a very unassuming, unfailingly polite, nice individual and once again I was grateful for that, as well as the groundwork John and I had put in over the years to get to know these athletes and gain their trust. I was more than happy with my morning’s work at the triathlon. It was only later I realised I had commentated on the moment Team GB had won an Olympic gold medal. Pinch me.

Cycling

I was very lucky to witness cycling medals in all the disciplines – road, mountain bike, BMX and track. The finish of the time trial was at the same location as the triathlon and where I had spent some time commentating during the Opening Ceremony. We had strongly suggested that Josh Tarling would win a medal. In fact, British Cycling’s Performance Director Stephen Park had told us Josh was his one to watch. A puncture cost him a medal and he finished fourth. In the women’s race, Anna Henderson won silver. I had last seen her, just before the Olympics, riding around my hometown in the national championships. Meanwhile, a puncture didn’t halt the progress of Tom Pidcock at the mountain biking. This required a trip out to Elancourt on the outskirts of Paris, but it was well worth it to witness an unbelievable comeback by Tom to win the gold. In the women’s race, the host nation had a gold medallist with Pauline Ferrand-Prevot winning the title against a backdrop of French flags and a wall of noise as she crossed the finish line. On the way back, I was called upon for a two-way interview live on the radio to reflect on what I had seen which I did whilst on the bus. My good friend and colleague David Easson who was working for the Olympic Broadcast Service, and also on the bus, told me afterwards it was a solid 8/10 broadcast. His students at Huddersfield University will do well learning from a man with such high standards, I had personally rated it at 8 and a half. BMX afforded me the opportunity to spend some time in the urban park created in the centre of the city. My first impression was of the music played by the DJs in the venue. It contained some very fruity language which must not have been translated accurately for a family audience. It definitely bought out the Dad in me! But, aside from the playlist I was there to report on the BMX Freestyle and Kieran Reilly. Now, I had never commentated on BMX freestyle before. But, armed with some notes containing words like ‘tailwhip’, ‘goofy’, ‘barspin’ and ‘rollback’ it was time for another broadcasting first. Kieran duly won the silver medal, and I won a gold for blagging as it emerged that I didn’t have the correct pass/lanyard/sticker/armband for the interview zone. In the end I showed my actual accreditation, my sticker from the opening ceremony, my armband from the athletics and a lanyard I had left over in my bag from the World Snooker and was given the golden ticket. I finally made it to the velodrome to see a track medal on the final day and it was brilliant to interview Emma Finucane after her history making medal haul of three in a single Games. By this point I was exhausted, sweaty (the velodrome was very, very hot) and also very conscious that I needed to get my interview with Emma quickly as I needed to get to the Olympic Village for a secret mission involving the revealing of the identity of the flag bearers for the closing ceremony. Thank you to my colleagues at Irish Television who hearing my predicament, offered to share their priority booked space with me, allowing me to get my interview quickly and get away. All I did to secure this favour was drop in a few place names from childhood holidays spent seeing my family across the Irish Sea. For my Irish genes, thanks again, Dad.

Diving

From BMX back to my comfort zone. Diving is a sport I know and understand. The venue was located next to the Stade de France so logistically it made sense for me to double up on diving and athletics some days. It was good fun. I commentated on Tom Daley and Noah Williams winning their medal in what turned out to be Tom’s final professional competition. I’ve blogged here before about my admiration for Tom so no further words are really needed. I was also struck by a tearful Noah and how he took the circus that surrounds Tom completely in his stride. And, talking of the circus. There were an awful lot of people in the interview room wanting to speak with Tom that day. Like the superstar he is, he made talkSPORT a priority, with an appreciation of the support he has in the UK and the importance of UK media both personally and for his sport, before working his way around the world’s media. I hope the people of Macau appreciated the personal message of thanks Tom gave them when chatting to their TV crew. I commentated on plenty of diving in Paris. I also got kicked out of the diving in Paris due to a mix up over what exactly my accreditation allowed me to do. It was a moment brilliantly captured by Team GB and British Shooting’s Craig Davies who photographed me being escorted away and shared the picture and continues to share the picture, on all the social media platforms, with everyone we both know… Common sense prevailed, and I was eventually allowed to continue my work. I was personally delighted for Lois Toulson winning her bronze medal, together with Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix, and Lois’ partner Jack Laugher who won yet another Olympic medal. They are two other athletes I’ve known since my days at Yorkshire Radio. Jack was on the receiving end of a particularly nasty question from one of my media colleagues following his 7 th place finish in the individual competition and told me he was relieved to see me next in line for an interview as I would be ‘fair’ with him. Firm but fair, is how I would have been had I chosen teaching a profession!

Break Glass in Case of Emergency

I’m quite certain that every Olympic Summer Games I watched growing up took place in glorious sunshine. I’m also quite certain my memory is playing tricks on me because that certainly hasn’t been my experience. From the deluge at the Opening Ceremony in Paris to a thunder and lightning storm that took our talkSPORT rooftop studio off air one evening. I know this because I was sat in my hotel bar enjoying a beer when the call came… The brilliant presenter Natalie Sawyer and her guests had been ‘evacuated’ and they needed someone to get on the radio now and just ‘talk about the Olympics’. I was the first person they got hold of. It was the job I was born to do. I fired up my broadcast kit – still in the bar – and for 40 minutes, assisted by swimming commentator Jon Anderson who had just finished his shift calling the action at the pool, we had free rein to ‘talk about the Olympics’. At times, I even let Jon have a word or two and was most disappointed when I was informed that they had presenters in place again back at base and we could hand back. I was tempted to ignore the message and carry on and, in all honesty, would probably still be there now to ‘talk about the Olympics’ whilst engineers in London wrestled with how to re-take control. I updated LinkedIn about being a ‘national radio presenter’ before I had even finished my pint!

Final Thoughts

In total, I reported or commentated on a dozen sports in Paris – athletics, diving, triathlon, cycling, tennis, rowing, swimming, taekwondo, gymnastics, rugby sevens, football and canoeing. Canoeing meant commentating on Joe Clarke in the canoe slalom final. Joe and I have history. Good history involving a very good night at the Team GB Ball in 2016 and queuing for a taxi ride home… It will be in the book…. So, I was personally a bit gutted that he didn’t win a medal that day, but delighted that John was able to describe his run in the canoe slalom cross a few days later when he won a silver. The question I’ve been asked most since returning home is what my favourite moment was. I answer by saying it was the fact that we did it and did it really, really, well on talkSPORT. When I first messaged John and said I thought there was an opportunity there for talkSPORT to get the full broadcast rights, he pushed it forward in a way I never would have. It would never have happened if it hadn’t been for his tenacity in pursuing the opportunity. Together, we put a broadcast plan together that was ambitious but achievable, helped to assemble the brilliant team on and off air and then went out there and contributed to what was heard on the radio. John was at Team GB’s first and final medal – as well as many in between – and that wasn’t a coincidence. We worked hard plotting the potential medal moments and having a strategy for each one to ensure we would cover the story properly. John was my key sounding board throughout the planning, preparation and execution. He even calmed me down the night I told an operative from another broadcaster that he was going to lose me my job and the only thing I would witness the next day was the Eurostar – another story for the book.

In my career, I’ve never felt part of something as big or something where I felt so supported and that’s a heady combination I might never feel again. So, I won’t cry because it’s over, I’ll smile because it happened.