A Change of Scenery

It is not uncommon for an athlete to retire and work for NBC as a broadcaster. What is much more uncommon is for someone to do this in reverse. That is what happened to me, and the experience of working in the last Olympics has clearly given me a different perspective and appreciation for my experience now as an athlete.

Four years ago, I had an amazing opportunity arise. After failing to qualify for the 2004 Olympics, NBC hired me to work for them in Athens. It was bittersweet to be there watching others compete in an Olympics I thought would be my own, but working for NBC proved to be an awesome fallback.

Probably the best part of my Athens experience was getting an “Infinity” pass with an NBC credential. At the Olympics, everything is highly secure and there are security and ID checkpoints around every corner. In Athens, I quickly discovered that the credential NBC issued me was my ticket to see and do virtually anything (with the time I had left after working 16 hour days). I was able to walk around any venue and had full access to anything I needed for my job. Of course, as an Olympic junkie, I took some liberties with my access and found myself in a number of unusual places (like the swimming warm up pool, the floor of the gymnastics venues…)

I had not realized how spoiled I was until I arrived here in Beijing. This time, I have an athlete credential (which does not sport an infinity pass). It did not occur to me that my access had been significantly diminished until I tried to go to the swimming pool to meet with Speedo and pick up a new LZR suit. After four failed attempts to find an athlete entry port, I finally found it. Feeling a bit frustrated, I could not put my finger on what bothered me about having to search for the athlete entry. Then I realized that four years ago, I had never been denied access to any facility. I started wondering if I had been demoted…

In Athens, I worked with Andrea Joyce of NBC at Opening Ceremonies. We were there several hours ahead of time to scope out the infield. At some point, our sense of timing became lost and suddenly opening ceremonies started with us on the field. Rather than walk through the ceremonies, we sat under a speaker for the duration of the ceremonies. It was surreal to watch the entirety of the ceremonies from on the track. My view was spectacular and we were quite comfortable watching from the speaker. But again, it was bittersweet. I had the best seats in the house, but part of me was still somewhat disappointed that I would not be marching in with Team USA.

This year, I had a pleasant change of scenery. At the start of opening ceremonies, I was not sitting in a cool shady spot on the track. I was sweating like a pig in the athlete staging area along with all the other athletes. It must have been 85 degrees in the gymnastics hall where we waited for nearly two hours to march. It was pushing 90 outside when we walked to the stadium.

By the time I reached the stadium, my body was soaked in sweat; and I had consumed nearly a gallon of fluids to stay hydrated. The Ralph Lauren outfits were spectacular, but they were not designed to be cool and comfortable in extreme heat and humidity.

Four hours after arriving at opening ceremonies, Team USA finally made it to the tunnel that leads to the track. You could smell the sweat of thousands of athletes who had just passed through the tunnel. Nearly everyone’s faces were drenched with sweat from the heat. It was not comfortable.

Walking out of the tunnel onto the field is something I will remember for the rest of my life. Unlike Athens, this is my Olympics. The crowds waving US flags were waving for me and my team. A billion people would watch my Team USA compete now. The emotions are really indescribable.

After marching onto the field, we parked in our holding position and waited. By the time the torch was lit, we had been standing for nearly 4 hours. I was tired, jetlagged, and near exhaustion from two hard workouts earlier in the day. But it was all worth it. This time I was watching my opening ceremonies.

So maybe I took a bit of a demotion when I lost my infinity credential and picked up an athlete credential. I can’t go anywhere unquestioned anymore. Rather than sitting in the best seat to watch opening ceremonies, I had to stand for four hours. Instead of having a driver, I take public transit or an Olympic bus. But one thing is for sure: I have it way better off this Olympics than last.