‘Merci, Paris!’ Our Olympic reporter pens a love letter to the City of Light.

Covering the 2024 Paris Olympics has been the best assignment of my career. I haven’t run one race, dribbled a single ball, shot an arrow, or soared over any hurdles like the thousands of athletes who competed here in Paris. But like them, I stayed in the moment and tried to grab slices of the world they created through competition at venues throughout this beautiful city.

Athletes train for years to get here. They maintain strict diets, keep odd hours, spend countless amounts of money training, and as we have seen in these games, sometimes endure painful injuries to perform for the world. They know nothing is guaranteed. I tried to bring the same energy and dedication as the Monitor’s correspondent.

I crisscrossed the Seine River by train and foot every day, taking notes as fast as I could about the atmosphere in the Bercy Arena as Team USA women’s gymnastics recaptured gold in the team all-around competition. And like audience members, I marveled in surprise when the men’s team broke a 16-year drought and won bronze.

It got so hot at Eiffel Tower Stadium while journalists jotted down notes and took pictures from the press box as Team USA’s beach volleyball team beat France in straight sets that a stadium volunteer sprayed us down with water. That experience, I wasn’t fond of. After the women won, I stayed to watch a men’s game between Chile and the Netherlands, when the sky opened up and sent me running toward the press center to type up my notes.

Just like the weather, my experience in Paris has been unpredictable. There were ridiculously loud arenas, like La Defense, where swimmers literally soaked in the chants of their countrymen to win gold, silver, and bronze. I looked on with great empathy as unsuccessful athletes cried after falling short of their goals. The opening ceremony was a soaker, but worth more than three hours in the rain to watch brilliant French performers and athletes on ships sail by, waving hands and flags at onlookers.

I saw indelible moments get sketched into history books at Stade de France, as only racing feet can do, while the world gaped in awe at the speed of contests decided in seconds. Witnessing these feats filled my imagination with themes for stories to write. Perseverance, resilience, and bravery are just some of the words that come to mind. Or trendsetter, like Simone Biles. The best gymnast in the world couldn’t complete a majority of events in the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, partly because of mental health issues, which she has spoken openly about both before and at these games. Even here, she shied away from the village where athletes are housed, because the pressure gave her anxiety. By putting herself first, returning to her sport, and dominating, she set the new standard that all athletes can follow.

Thursday night, I watched one of the best games that I have ever witnessed in person as Team USA men’s basketball survived a scare from Serbia. The U.S. trailed all game by as much as 17 points. With less than 5 minutes left, they stormed back, intensified their defense, and fed the cheering crowd, who in return propelled them to victory. Team USA will next face France in the finals. This win is the embodiment of what the Olympics are. One shot to prove yourself and leave it all on the court. I bet the more than 16,000 fans in the Bercy Arena will remember this forever. I will.

I can’t play sports as well as any of the 10,500 athletes who competed in Paris over these two weeks. But I sought to bring a similar rigor and commitment to long hours when presenting this experience to Monitor readers. When readers look back at the first post-pandemic Olympics, I hope they notice the variety that we thought about in our presentation. I hope they can see the trends that we picked up on, like this being the first Olympics where there was gender parity, with about equal numbers of men and women athletes and equal medals up for grabs.

My one wish is that I could have covered more. I wish I could have somehow visited all 35 venues where Olympic competitions were held – with backpack, water bottle, computer, digital recorder, and notebook in tow – and meticulously played back for readers every drop of sweat, fist pump, or cheer.

This was my first visit to Paris, but you better believe I’ll be back. My wife, son, and daughter came with me, so we got a chance to create some family moments with the scenic Parisian landmarks as our background. It was the perfect blend of building a life and a career for me, and hopefully teaching my children to allow their lives to expand by having courage and taking chances. This was the first trip out of the country for my children, who anxiously wondered what tasty food would be served on our flight. In Paris, I have smiled at them trying desperately to grasp at the language and greet strangers on the subway, at restaurants, and in playgrounds.

I walked all over this city, until my feet hurt. I tried to absorb as much as I could, from gazing at the fading salmon-colored sun I could see in the Arc de Triomphe to dancing outside Paris City Hall. I absolutely ate excellent crepes and baguettes, but also delicious doro wot from an Ethiopian place in my neighborhood, a great Vietnamese bahn mi, and incredible Lebanese food. The R&B group The Whispers released a song in 1972 that sums up how I feel about the City of Light. It goes: “I said I only meant just to wet my feet / But you pulled me in where all the waters of love run deep.”

I love you, Paris. I only meant to come here, work, and put my stamp on these games – to take the job that was entrusted to me seriously. But I fell hard for you. Merci!