Avid sports fan or not, it is impossible to deny the presence that the Paris 2024 Olympics held throughout this past summer. Maybe you had a strong opinion on the controversial opening ceremony, followed Simone Biles’ incredible performance after her last Olympic season, or only paid attention to this years’ events when highlights appeared on your TikTok feed. Either way, this summer bore witness to some of the most iconic moments in Olympic history.
It is easy to turn on the Olympics to watch as background noise, or cherry-pick an event to follow and ignore the rest. For most of us, the final results do not hold any real weight in our lives.
However, GA student Brynnley McKee ’27 was able to travel to Paris for seven days and watch some of the Olympic fencing matches in person. She had a rare opportunity to personally experience the Olympics, rather than following the matches through a screen along with the majority of the world.
Brynnley shared with me a little bit about her time in Paris. She primarily went to watch Ziad El-Sissy, her fencing coach who represented Egypt in his matches and landed an impressive fourth place. During her time in Paris, she also saw three of her other coaches fence: Eli Dershwitz (USA), Filip Dolgewicz (USA), and Mohammed Amer (Egypt). Brynnley described the experience as “exhilarating,” particularly since she was familiar with many of the competitors and viewers from her fencing community.
When asked about an interesting part of watching the Olympics in person, she emphasized the intensity of France’s team spirit and enthusiasm. Brynnley described how the predominantly-French crowd would erupt in roaring cheers only when a point was called in their favor. She continued to explain cases of how she would be at dinner miles away from the Olympic village, and was still able to tell when France had scored some victory by solely the noise and volume of the cheering.
Brynnley’s description of the Grand Palais (where the Olympic fencing matches took place), the frenzy of French pride, and her tone of awe and admiration as she recalled her favorite moments from the trip, was further proof of the mark that this year’s Olympics left. In both Paris, and across the globe, the Olympics were a vital component of this summer.
LA has their work cut out for them in 2028. Will they be able to match the ferocity that Paris showed this season? TBD! See you in four years for that answer!
