As 2024 draws to an end, three Brits who supported the Paris 2024 Games look back on an incredible summer of sport and share some behind the scenes insight on what it's like to work at the biggest multi-sport event in the world.
The Paris 2024 Para Archery event showcased the inclusivity of our sport with inspiring performances and exciting matches. Our ParalympicsGB archers did us proud, all finishing in the top eight in their category and bringing home bronze and gold medals.
And there were four Archery GB members who were there to see it all. Katy Lipscomb was Chairperson of Judges and could be seen every day sitting just to one side on the Finals Field of Play, keeping a watchful eye over proceedings to ensure that all matches were fair and followed World Archery rules. Robert Potts spent his time up in the OVR (On Venue Results) area with a bird's eye view of the finals field. Robert was the Director of Shooting for the Paralympics, so he controlled the equipment signalling when each end of a match was to start and had finished. These are two of the highest pressure roles for the running of the event and it is testament to the internationally recognised capability of Katy and Rob that they were appointed to these roles by World Archery.
Left to right: Katy Lipscomb, Hilda Gibson, Pippa Britton and Robert Potts at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games
More in the background were Pippa Britton and me, Hilda Gibson. Pippa was Chairperson of the Jury of Appeal. Pippa's job was to lead the three person Jury, watching every second of the matches so that, should there be an appeal, they would be ready to adjudicate on the matter raised. There were no appeals, but the Jury had to be ready to respond at any moment.
I worked in Paris for four months as a member of the Paris 2024 Archery Sports Team, ensuring that the World Archery delegation (staff, Executive Board members, and guests) and all the Technical Officials (Katy, Robert, and the rest of the judging team) had everything they needed to be effective at both the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Being directly involved in the running of these pinnacle events of our sport demands intense activity and very long days. It is also a huge privilege to be so close to the action and experience the buzz every day. Looking forward to LA 2028 already!
I attended the Paris 2024 Olympic Games as a journalist for World Archery. It's the third time I've attended an Olympics after doing similar roles in Rio and Tokyo, and each time has been completely different. I'm not unique – almost 6,000 journalists and photographers attended the Paris Olympics, and over 18,000 TV and broadcast people. That's a lot of media people to deal with, although I'm in the relatively rare category of 'sport specialist', doing archery and nothing else.
A lot of my time was spent in what is called the 'mixed zone', a feature of all venues where the athletes have to pass through after their matches and face the media, lined up in a strict pecking order – TV first, then everyone else. Athletes are not actually obliged to say anything, but if you stop, we'll be trying to tease something interesting out of you, so beware. Sometimes they laugh and joke and can't shut up, sometimes they cry and look at their feet. I am the conduit for it all.
You need to enlist help as well; none of the current Korean team speak 'interview English' and my job depended on roping in a selection of people who had the ability to translate at exactly the moment the athletes appeared in front of us.
It was very hot – over 36 degrees on two days – and our press tent was only air-conditioned to 29 degrees, which made it meltingly difficult to work. But our wing of the venue did include Korean legends like Ki Bo Bae, Park Sung Hyun and Chang Hyejin, all there to commentate for Korean TV, all hanging around backstage.
The mixed zone is the first place athletes must pass through once they leave the field of play
The World Archery office door in the press tent was kept open all hours, literally and metaphorically, for answering questions, and a chunk of my time was spent dealing with enquiries for a variety of journalists new to the sport who had little or no idea what archery was or how it worked. I quite enjoyed that bit, although one well-known journalist from a well-known UK broadsheet newspaper did angrily demand to know why the ranking round wasn't being televised. I did wonder if that meant he could have spent the morning in bed.
You get to see the press conferences held after every Olympic medal event in the press tent; these often don't produce the most scintillating material, but here were actually fun and added a lot of value. The last one, with Brady and Woojin laughing and joking around with each other, was the most fun of all, after watching probably the greatest men's archery match of all time. "As Messi and Ronaldo are to football, we are to archery," deadpanned Woojin, to a roar of laughter from the assembled press pack. It really is a job, and it's a long sequence of long days without breaks, but for an archery fan, it's a great joy and privilege. Maybe I'll see you at the next one.
I was appointed as a judge for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and had the honour of being appointed for 'that' men's gold medal match. Having been the Chair of Judges at Tokyo 2020, the difference in the events was immediately noticeable. People! People, spectators, atmosphere were all there. It was like the world was celebrating that sport was keeping us together and we weren't going to be beaten.
As a judge, leading the coaches and athletes out on to the field of play to the roar of a crowd was insane. When the French archers were introduced I could barely hear myself think, let alone the countdown to start the match!
As a judge on the field of play, it is our job to check that the venue is safe, legal and has all that the athletes will need during the qualification. We check the equipment just as we do at home events, this time with the added challenge of Rule 50, the rule that prevents logos and advertising of brands at the Olympics. It really is amazing how many times a manufacturer can put their logo on one piece of kit. I think the most I had was 13 on one scope – 12 of which had to be covered up!
On to the shooting and we are looking at the timings, the arrow calls, the yellow cards, and making sure the right athlete shot at the right time. When there is so much at stake for the athlete, you can feel the pressure oozing from the place. When the clocks fail, or there is a security announcement about a random bag that has been found, it's time for me to step in, hold the line and allow the issue to be sorted. Then reset the athletes and get them going again.
This Games for me was very different to Tokyo, here I had to concentrate on just my matches and getting those right, in Tokyo I had the entire event to think about and get right. This meant that this time I could savour the atmosphere, see the city and was lucky enough to see some other sports too.
The final match was the men’s gold medal match and what a match it was. Having the prime seat in the house to witness the excellence that was put on show for us all is one memory that I won't forget in a hurry. When a gold medal comes down to a single arrow and the thickness of a line, you know it's been a good event.
Hannah's highlight was the gold medal match in the men's team event at the Paris Olympics
To read more highlights of the Paris 2024 Games, check out the latest edition of Archery UK, your Archery GB members' magazine. Available in print or online behind sign in on our website.
