THE TWISTIES ARE a gymnastics phenomenon that sees the athlete dangerously lose their positional awareness while manoeuvring in the air.
It’s a shiver-inducing thought even for someone who can’t even do a cartwheel.
For Simone Biles, the greatest of all time, it became a confounding reality in Tokyo three years ago. For her own safety, she withdrew from the competition and took time away from the sport.
Having processed some of what happened during those Olympic Games, her coach reflects in a new documentary (Simone Biles: Rising, Netflix) that the lack of crowds, due to Covid restrictions, led to imperfect circumstances for the all-conquering champion.
Stark bright lights, silence, no mother, a complete lack of the usual community support and, so, her brain broke. She has spent the past three years putting it back together – and hopefully we’ll see the fruits of that labour in the coming days.
But on Day 1 of the Paris 2024 games, more of us are only coming to grips with what the athletes missed out on in Tokyo because of the extreme crowd control.
“In Tokyo we didn’t have anything of that kind,” recalls swimmer Danielle Hill after emerging from her first race at this meet – the 4x100m relay where her Ireland team came 16th with a respectable time of 3:42.67 (just 0.92 off the Irish record).
“So although it is my second Olympics, it’s the first time I’ve experienced that noise,” she says of the Paris La Défense Arena.
Usually home to Top 14 team Racing 92, it was transformed from rugby pitch to swimming arena in just two months. Today, it hosted 15,000 swimming fans – at full voice despite there being no medals at play – for the first time.
Adam Peaty’s getting ready to swim on the same spot where Owen Farrell will be taking conversions next season 😳
— Nik Simon (@Nik_Simon88) July 27, 2024
Racing 92’s rugby pitch was transformed into two Olympic swimming pools in just 36 days. Remarkable feet of engineering. pic.twitter.com/ZA3zxT24Av
“I’ve never heard a crowd like that for swimming ever in my life,” says Olympic debutante Erin Riordan.
A 24-year-old retiree, Riordan was called into the 12-strong swim team when the 4x100m freestyle team was bumped into the Olympics off the back of a Japanese withdrawal.
“I never thought I’d be here so I was just trying to soak it all in today,” the county Clare woman adds, although she also admits to ‘shaking on the blocks’ with nerves.
“It was crazy. Even people cheering for Ireland, like we never we never get that when we’re away so it was absolutely amazing.”
Hill and Riordan were joined by two other debutantes – Antrim’s Victoria Catterson and 16-year-old Grace Davison.
The Down teenager showed none of the nerves one might expect from Ireland’s youngest 2024 Olympian.
“I think we can all say that she’s held herself incredibly,” Catterson says in praise of her teammate.
“All of us, I think at 16, would have been a mess out there – the crowd that loud and stuff but, no, she has held herself so well and we’re all so proud to have her on the team with us.”
For her part, Davison said that while she has been overwhelmed at times, she did feel “really confident” walking out this morning.
The quartet had their own mini battle with the Hong Kong team during the heat, but were edged out of 7th place at the wall, a factor that Catterson, on the last leg, says is always frustrating when it happens by just that touch.
The Irish supporters made themselves known so races like today’s – the fun ones, as Hill describes relays – have helped get the nervy swims out of their systems before individual events and a second relay (the 4x100m medley).
Hill will go on to compete in the 50m freestyle, and, her favoured, 100m backstroke.
The European champion backstroker said that having the relay under her belt will be good preparation for walking out into the Paris La Defense Arena again.
The Nanterre stadium – which is a music venue, as well as Racing 92’s home – was due to host Taylor Swift on 15 May, a date organised long before the Paris 2024 Organising Committee decided they would completely overhaul their swimming plans.
Even that powerful group wouldn’t attempt to piss off French Swifties so their new blueprints entailed a 60-day (yes, day) transformation of La Defense. Rather than the initial proposal to construct a new building after fears arose of it becoming that dreaded Olympic white elephant, standing forever in mock finger-pointing of dreadful bureaucratic decisions of the past, they looked at what they had and literally moved some stuff around.
The gymnastics went to the Bercy Arena and a mobile swimming pool was ordered – one that won’t go to waste.
“All in all, we had 60 days to build this highly attractive swimming arena,” says event manager Denis Navizet.
The pool itself was installed in 36 days by raising the floor above the rugby pitch to allow for the 2.3 metre water depth.
Hill said she spoke to her coaches immediately after the race about how swimming in that rugby cauldron atmosphere made her “even more excited to get something down and get the prep under way for the 100 backstroke on Monday”.
So, I think today is a good day, but it’s only gonna get better.
“And you’ve got to be there also for other people, so I can enjoy tomorrow and cheering on Mona [McSharry] and Daniel [Wiffen]. So it’s really exciting and I’m glad to start this experience with these other girls.”
Catterson echoes the sentiment, “We’re just so proud to be up here representing our country with these girls. It’s just a once in a lifetime experience.”
The Paris Organising Committee has made countless important decisions since winning the bid but having the bravery to switch out plans and sell 15,000 tickets to each swimming session has returned a magic to the Games from Day 1.
