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I saw actress Juliette Binoche and Spanish former NBA star Pau Gasol on the sidewalk outside, then overheard a woman who had staked out the entrance for much of the evening tell her friend she’d spotted all kinds of people, including Spike Lee and Serena Williams. Obviously, I’d been in the presence of amateur paparazzi greatness.
So Thursday, I followed her example and arrived more than an hour before the start of the women’s all-around competition. I brought a snack, found a place to sit, wiped the sweat off my camera lens and waited.
About half an hour before the gymnastics was supposed to start, a promising development: A group of men in all-black who looked like bodyguards gathered at the limo drop-off zone that led to the good seats.
Maybe others are fashionably late?
Nope. People around me said Martha Stewart and French soccer legend Zinedine Zidane showed up even earlier than I did.
It was time for me to go see the main event, and I had consulted a professional to prepare for this as well.
During my first visit, I’d been surprised to see competition on all four apparatuses simultaneously, because television broadcasts focus on just one athlete at a time.
From my (obstructed) view, I could see not just the athletes who were performing but teammates, coaches, officials and other support personnel milling about, plus the constant taping and re-taping of body parts and stretching that, more often than you’d think, involved a gymnast putting her feet on her own head. Screens flashed important info such as scores, calls for rotation and closeups of each apparatus.
I asked my colleague and gymnastics-writing veteran Emily Giambalvo how she chooses where to look while so much is happening.
“I usually just follow the top gymnasts and pay attention to them because they’re the ones in the mix for medals,” said. “So tonight, I’ll really only be watching the rotation that includes the top six gymnasts. I don’t really use the TVs in the arenas, I just watch the real thing and sometimes use binoculars to catch expressions before and after routines.”
However, since I got in late, I ended up on the opposite side of the arena with a different (but still obstructed) view. There were fewer athletes but more fans, and they erupted giddily every time Simone Biles and Sunisa Lee got closer to clinching medals. I have never seen so many American flags in one place.
What I regret is to have missed Biles vault. She executed the incredible Yurchenko double pike, named Biles II in 2023. Luckily, Emily Giambalvo explained it to me.
At the end of the night, no one had to tell me where to focus. Biles had the floor, and no one could possibly have wanted to look anywhere else.
Pete’s adventures are mostly those of Artur Galocha, who is reporting from Paris. They’re written by Bonnie Berkowitz and illustrated by Álvaro Valiño. Editing by Jason Murray. Graphics editing by Samuel Granados. Copy editing by Mark Bradley.
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