Thrilling three days with Olympians (and families)

OLYMPIC fever gripped the French fans as the Stade de France turned into a karaoke sing-along, the kayak cross made its Games debut in Vaires-Sur-Marne and 25 fan zones opened up across Paris for people to congregate.

Last week I went to three days of events at the Games, in what was also my first time in Paris. The kayak cross, happening in the Nautical Stadium on the Monday, saw four racers go head-to-head on the rapids, with the combination of strong currents and inevitable collisions.

The event, known as extreme kayaking, was a scrummage for dominance as competitors launched from a ramp at the same time, more than five metres above water, as they navigated downstream and upstream gates.

My dad, Paul, and I were seated near the back of one of the horseshoe grandstands, which were packed out with fans thrilled to be there for the event’s launch.

Many French fans sported the smiley Phryge mascot hat, France caps they had purchased from one of the many official merchandise shops propped-up in Paris or wrapped themselves in flags, painting their faces in blue, white and red.

A little girl seated next to us sported a small French flag clipped into her ponytail squeezing tightly on to her toy Olympic mascot, squealing and clapping as she watched the mascot pop up on the green of the slalom course.

The crowd were encouraged to scream and shriek to the pumping music including Freed From Desire by Gala Rizzatto and Don’t Stop Believing by Journey and a live drummer between each of the races, with the addition of a comical Australian tannoy announcer, who liked to end his sentences with “mate”.

Olympic volunteers danced behind the Phryge mascot on the event’s opening, who guided dance routines in the 30-degree heat to warm up the spectators basking in the full glare of the afternoon sun, where there was limited shade.

The only shade in the grounds of the event was under an overcrowded purpose-built canopy, where visitors flocked to cool down and eat their lunch.

Among the fans were a musical entourage of French supporters, who tooted red horns in support of kayaker Boris Neveu as they entered the venue fist-bumping the air and wore t-shirts with large “Bobo” text printed across the front and back.

The athlete received screams and cheers from the crowd, who shouted his nickname during the second semi-final but he unfortunately got knocked out after being overtaken by Noah Hegge, of Germany.

There were also big cheers for France’s Mallory Franklin as she paddled with gusto past the start line but was disqualified in the quarter-finals for not rolling early enough before one of the gates, which was met with boos from the stands.

Great Britain’s Joe Clarke and Kimberley Woods claimed kayak cross medals after breezing through the quarter- and semi-finals, which were held mid-afternoon.

Woods scooped bronze behind Angèle Hug of France and Noemie Fox, who won gold, after Ricarda Funk of Germany missed one of the last gates on the course which pushed Woods into the medals. Clarke was cheered on by his wife Annabel, son Hugo and mother and father Amanda and Shaun Clarke from London, who all hugged him after he crossed the bridge over the slalom course to greet and wave to the crowd following his medal ceremony, where he won silver.

By this point, the crowd had started to disperse and we were able to get a close-up view by the barrier closest to the bridge where some athletes paraded each side of the river with their medals.

Clarke’s family wore the same graphic T-shirts which had “Go Joe” printed across them with the GB flag in the corner.

Amanda said: “We’re made up for him. He’s fabulous at kayak cross. He’s a three-time world champion so it’s absolutely fabulous.

“He’s been into kayaking since he was 11. He started at his local club where we live. We just wanted him to do his best and be happy with what he’d done. When you’re parents, that’s all that matters. He was also in the men’s slalom event. He’s a full-time athlete.

“When I saw him afterwards I felt very emotional.” To reach the course, there was a 25-minute walk from the Metro Station Gare de Vaires Torcy. My dad and I travelled from our Airbnb flat in Créteil in the southeastern suburbs of Paris.

Olympic volunteers lined station exits to greet fans. Some volunteers, with microphone headsets, danced and sang on the steps to Reach by S Club 7 waving their handkerchiefs in the air to get supporters into the Olympic spirit.

The second and third day of the trip was to watch athletics events at the Stade de France. On Tuesday last week we watched the men’s 400m semi-final, women’s hammer throw final, women’s 400m hurdles semi-final, men’s long jump final, men’s 1,500m final, the women’s 3,000m steeplechase final and the women’s 200m final.

The stadium came alive as if it was a football match being played with fans creating new sing-alongs for different French athletes. Most notably were the cheers which erupted from nations across the stands as underdog Alice Finot of France, who was trailing behind, overtook athletes including Sembo Almayew of Ethiopia, Elizabeth Bird of Great Britain and Beatrice Chepkoech of Kenya in the final leg of the steeplechase to finish fourth.

Fans in our stand sang The Jam’s A Town Called Malice and screamed “Allez, allez, allez, Alice” at the top of their voices each time she passed us.

Despite sitting in a higher stand, we enjoyed soaking up the atmosphere and were still close enough to witness the moment where Finot learned she had set a new European record, which my dad and I thought may be down to the overwhelming support from the crowd.

It was on returning back to our flat in the early hours that we discovered Finot got down on one knee after her win and proposed to her boyfriend Bruno Martinez Bargiela from Spain.

She attached a “Love is in Paris” pin on his shirt after she’d told herself she’d propose if she achieved a time under nine minutes, the number of years the couple had been together.

British supporters in our stand stood up on Josh Kerr’s entrance who, like many athletes, wore wrap-around Oakley sunglasses, which have been ubiquitous at the Games. Some British fans in our row held their head in their hands in disappointment as they discovered Kerr had narrowly missed out on a gold medal.

On Wednesday last week we were lucky enough to be seated in the fan zone, a stand closest to the athletics track about half-way up the course and directly opposite the pole vault.

My dad had been informed by email that this zone was dedicated to help the athletes win gold, and that we would be spurred on by spirited team leaders, where we would need to cheer on the Olympians as loud as we could.

Two “team leaders” dressed head-to-toe in France memorabilia held megaphones to encourage the crowd to repeat songs after them for each of their French athletes.

We were seated 11 rows from the front, and fans were close enough to high five and greet athletes after their events by squeezing through the crowd at the barrier.

Each guest in this area was provided with a foldable official Paris Olympics “clapper” and we wore our Great Britain T-shirts, waved Union flags and I sported a white Paris 2024 bucket hat purchased for 30 euros from the merchandise shop at the kayak cross event. Events on this night included the men’s triple jump qualification, men’s 400m hurdles semi-final, men’s 200m semi-final, men’s discus throw final, men’s 400m final, men’s 3,000m steeplechase final and the women’s pole vault final.

The pole vault was held for more than three hours and we were encouraged to stand up and sing “Allez, allez, allez” as athletes Marie Julie Bonnin and Ninon Chapelle prepared for their run-up.

Our view meant we could see the facial expressions of the athletes as they competed and arrived on the track, with the biggest and most deafening applause going to Noah Lyles, “world’s fastest man” from the United States of America in the 200m.

The pole vault champion, Nina Kennedy of Australia, ran to greet Australian fans and her family from our stand on receiving her gold medal.

We had positioned ourselves so we could congratulate Kennedy and my dad received a tap on the shoulder by her dad, who asked to come past us so he could praise his daughter.

As the crowd dispersed at the end of Wednesday evening’s events, we waited by the barrier to get a photograph with the silver medal winner in the 3,000m steeplechase, Kenneth Rooks of the USA, who was elated to be celebrated by fans and we were thrilled to congratulate him on his achievement.

These Games have served as a salutary reminder of the sheer, transcendent beauty of sport and my first trip to Paris was unforgettable.