Back In The (Blogging) Saddle Again

Whoa! The Rio Olympics sort of kicked my ass.

Following a troublesome mid-Games trek to the Deodoro venues in search of Olympic shooting, I was pretty much done, cooked, completely spent and downright cranky about the host city, a five-ringed first!

Years ago in Blogging 101, they taught us to avoid posting while angry or overly negative. So, I created the end-of-Games roundup of medalists and took a breather.

The good news, however, is that in spite of my frustrations the second week of the Games provided an array of exciting experiences, providing content for many future posts.

And with a month of rest and recovery under my belt (now about five weeks since the Closing Ceremony), a trio of Team USA-related events in Washington revived my enthusiasm for posting here.

It makes me happy to feel "Back In The Saddle Again" just like Gene Autry or Aerosmith.

With thanks to the U.S. Olympic Committee communications team for a media credential, on Wednesday evening I enjoyed collecting interviews and photos on the red carpet for the 2016 Team USA Awards presented by Dow.

Held in the historic McDonough Gymnasium at Georgetown University, the wear-your-best-suit or don-your-most-glamorous-dress event featured Akbar Gbaja-Biamila and Matt Iseman of "American Ninja Warrior" as co-hosts, with more than 500 Team USA Olympians and Paralympians as VIP guests.

Just like the red carpets for the Oscars, Emmy's or Grammy Awards, reporters and photographers had their hands and heads full trying to keep up with all the A-listers making their way to the arena.

With the help of the USOC's designated handlers, I enjoyed a few minutes of conversation, photo access or pool Q&A with the following Olympians:

• Four of the "Final Five" women's gymnasts -- Simone Biles, Laurie Hernandez, Madison Kocian and Aly Raisman
• Olympic swimming champion Katie Ledecky
• Sprint star Allyson Felix, the most decorated U.S. woman in Olympic track and field
• LaShawn Merritt of 400m and 4x400m medal fame
• Beach volleyball's April Ross

A special highlight of the red carpet experience was spotting Paralympic shooting athlete Tricia Downing, with whom I was a U.S. Olympic Committee intern in the summer of 1995.

At events like this, it's not too shabby catching up with journalist friends like Examiner.com's Olympic beat writer Tom Burke or USA Today's Roxanna Scott while meeting other Games-minded journalists.

Each of us had Rio tales to tell, not to mention a bit of anticipation for the following morning and Team USA's visit to The White House (for which I was biting my nails over press credential approval until the very last minute -- more about that experience in a separate post).

Check out this gallery for a broader view at the scene outside the arena.

The red carpet media opps also included conversations with living Olympic legends or family related to other legendary athletes:

• Carl Lewis, who recently donated nine of his 10 Olympic medals to the new National Museum of African American History and Culture
• Swimming superstar and LA2024 Olympic bid executive Janet Evans
• Mexico City 1968 Olympic medalists Tommie Smith and John Carlos (enshrined in the NMAAHC as a large medal stand statue)
• Lonnie Ali, accepting an inaugural Team USA honor presented posthumously to her husband Muhammad Ali
• Marlene Dortch, granddaughter of Jessie Owens and Georgetown alumnus.

I'll post videos, notes or additional images from these many conversations.

Once the busloads of athletes had all arrived to a hero's welcome that included Georgetown cheerleaders and hundreds of excited students, inside the arena the Olympians received their official Team USA rings before the live show began as cameras rolled.

Turns out the Team USA Award trophy is a three dimensional object, usually in the likeness of an Olympic torch. During the event I got a peek at Katie Ledecky's trophy as she carried it back to her seat (see photo), and post-event I found this link with brief details from the designers.

A list of the winners is available via the Team USA press release here, and fans can tune in watch the taped ceremony on NBC Sports Network on Oct. 4 at 10 p.m. ET. My favorite presenter: U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry.

The Team USA Awards post-party was spectacular, and its organizers deserve gold stars or perhaps a gold pin like the ones given to athletes as their "ticket" and Olympian status for security purposes (yes, I did manage to trade a Rio blogger pin for one of the auric mementos).

With an excellent DJ setting the scene musically, I had never seen so many Olympians dressed to the nines and dancing/partying in one setting ... or ever.

Held in an elaborate meeting room overlooking the Potomac and high rise towers in Rosslyn, Va., the catering was superb and most athletes lingered until the final fleet of buses arrived to whisk them back to their hotel. And were it not for the rain drizzling on the party venue's overlook patio, the revelers may have spent more time enjoying the early autumn breezes outside.

It was fun to get acquainted with more Olympians during this laid-back event, including a follow-up conversation with 2012 silver medalist diver/medical student Abby Johnston, first met at the Team USA Media Summit earlier this year. We swapped stories of Rio pedestrian and security headaches, and also tracked down Uber options as the party was winding down.

Also enjoyed an extended conversation with Olympic diver Katrina Young, who I previously met in the rain behind the Carioca One arena just before the gold medal men's basketball game in Rio. On that day in August, we were both in search of tickets or special access, and during our post party D.C. chat she cheerfully shared how she scored court side seats while I explained the paths bloggers take to get last-minute access. Very fun to learn Young studied music at Florida State -- check out her YouTube Channel for some great performances away from the pool.

It was also a wonderful surprise to bump into Atlanta-based "Olympic Pride, American Prejudice" documentary filmmaker Deborah Riley Draper and her Coffee Bluff Pictures colleague Lacy Barnes to catch up on the film's journey to mainstream release, and the duo's role in a special presentation to surviving family members of the 1936 Berlin Olympiad. More on that soon.

Photos by Nicholas Wolaver except Katrina Young's Instagram photo, and the topmost ticket image cropped from the site for the artists selected to create the Team USA Awards trophy.

Meet Some Olympic Medalists

The morning of my most recent post, I exited my Ipanema apartment pumped to see Kim Rhode compete in Olympic shooting.

My friends who've seen me since that afternoon will tell you the toll that commute took on me.

Sadly, getting to the most remote venue in the Deodoro Olympic area northwest of Rio forever tarnished my to-that-point positive impressions of 2016 Games execution.

I am convinced the Rio 2016 planners who created the spectator pathways are either complete morons, heroin addicts, masochists or some combination of the three. More about these observations will be shared later. 

Meanwhile, the last 16 days provided many positive interactions with Olympic medalists from around the world.

Since I am dog tired and prepping for the final day of the Games including tonight's closing ceremony, presented here is a partial roundup of Olympic champions and silver or bronze medalists encountered in Brazil, some as recent as last night at basketball and the track.

Enjoy!

All photos by Nicholas Wolaver may not be used without permission.

Days Blurring, Long Walks Recurring

Monday to Thursday brought an array of astounding moments at Rio 2016.

Trading a pin to get in for Michael Phelps' first of several new Olympic gold medal swims probably tops the list.

Witnessing follow up medals for other USA swimmers and Hungary's "Iron Lady" also proved remarkable. 

I'm finding the combination of my Carioca 3 Press Mixed Zone credential, Rio Media Center badge and a pin with a smile usually does the trick to get most anywhere. 

Case in point, yesterday afternoon at the women's gymnastics individual all around finals, I arrived with a new Canadian friend from USA House and in lieu of heading to my section 40 seat it was easy to stroll in to the NBC executive seating area (just outside the Olympic Family lounge) and sit a row or two from Nastia Liukin and her colleagues providing live commentary from the event. 

SNL cast member and "Ghostbuster" Leslie Jones was there as well (see woman in white hat) cheering on Team USA. 

As she climbed the steep stairs in our section I loaned Jones a hand and told her my love and admiration of her comedy work (she was very friendly). 

We arrived for the third and fourth rotations, and it was very satisfying to watch Simone Biles and Aly Raisman on the balance beam and floor exercise before their medal ceremony. Raisman wept with joy upon completing what may be one of her final Olympic performances. Biles was simply beaming from the end of her routines to the medal presentation.

Here's a video interview with Raisman filmed at the Team USA Media Summit in March:

In the press mixed zone at fencing (personal photos not permitted), it was great fun to see Daryl Homer make Olympic history while earning a silver medal. Standing on the athlete side of the fencing, I offered to hold the mobile phone mic of USA Today columnist Christine Brennan, who used the recording for quotes in this report filed from the venue's media center. 

Chatting with Brennan after the Homer interviews, we compared notes on sharing May 14 as a birthday. She showed me a beautiful diamond and emerald ring she was given on her sixteenth birthday (my first birthday) and we talked about memories from the Los Angeles 1984 Games (her first as reporter and my first as fifth grade fan). 

In general the volunteer assignments at Carioca 3 (for Rio 2016) and at USA House (for U.S. Olympic Committee) proved very rewarding so far. In addition to the in-venue access, I'm earning a better understanding of the press selection process and the immense planning behind each media zone.

My confidentiality agreement for the USA House gig prevents me from detailing much about what I've seen and who I met inside, but it is fair to say more than five top American Olympians have come up to me to ask "Nick, what are you doing here?" leaving me beaming that this blogging is gaining more recognition after eight years of chipping away. 

The Los Angeles 2024 Olympic bid presentation there is magnificent, and I hope they will grant permission to film it later during the Games. 

Outside of USA House on Wednesday night, as a parade of International Olympic Committee members exited to await their ground transportation, it was easy to strike up conversations with Kevin Gosper (Australia), Sergei Bubka (Russia) and several of their colleagues -- walked away with significant National Olympic Committee (NOC) pins including Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Chile and several small islands. Meeting the Japanese IOC members to talk about Tokyo 2020 was enriching. 

I feel pleased to have made several new friends each day. My flatmate Joanne, who is heading  back to the USA this afternoon, seems to have loved her first Games experience (she just texted from the Christ the Redeemer statue where she posed for a selfie with Olympic diving legend Greg Louganis). 

The long walks from transportation to the venues -- and the lack of in-venue food -- are my only complaints. But it's all good. Why Dr. Scholl's is not here peddling foot pads is beyond comprehension. 

Heading soon to watch Kim Rhode in her sixth Olympic skeet shooting match. More updates during the weekend. Thank you for reading and sharing the blog!

Photos and video by Nicholas Wolaver

Olympic Surprises All Day and Night

It felt like Christmas on August in Rio de Janiero on Friday.

Like waking up with anticipation to see what gifts Santa delivered, I rolled out of bed  unsure of what to expect from the Olympic opening ceremony. 

After spending most of the morning tending to light housekeeping in the apartment (i.e. more unpacking and organizing pins), I embarked to Copacabana to check out the daytime elements of the Olympic Torch Relay. 

It was fun to see the Nissan Chairman and CEO Carlos Ghosn pass the flame to a Brazilian celebrity only steps from the beach (disclosure, Nissan is a client of UEG Worldwide, which engaged me on some freelance work for Rio). 

It was astounding to share a pre-Games conversation with three-time Olympic gold medalist Kerri Walsh-Jennings! Hello! 

The surprise visit took place when I stopped by a colleague's hotel to drop off some Olympic tickets. 

Walsh-Jennings was finishing lunch with her parents and sister, and she graciously shared about five minutes with this fan looking to cheer her on at her fourth gold medal match. 

I mentioned to the beach volleyball icon my thanks for her answering my questions at past Team USA media events. One of my questions to her at the spring Media Summit -- asking about the extent to which parenting shifted career opportunities -- apparently appeared in the new documentary film "Kerri Walsh-Jennings: Gold Within" inspiring a bump in blog traffic.

Also thanks her for three Olympiads of memories as I attended all three of her gold medal Games. 

Walsh-Jennings is definitely in it to win it, bringing up her No. 1 goals and punctuating them with "when we win gold" multiple times. 

In response to the Rio 2016 blogger pins given to her relatives, she presented me with her personalized golden pin for this Olympiad (now a treasured keepsake of our chat). 

I headed back to Hotel Vermont to meet my inbound-from-Minneapolis long-time friend Joanne, who flew in to Rio on her 43rd birthday. Her arrival was surprisingly early, and we had just enough time to hit Ipanema Beach then grab coffee and a snack before heading to Maracana stadium. 

Back at the apartment to get dressed for the ceremony, Joanne entered our ninth floor open-air unit to find a stray pigeon in our bathroom. She ducked, I hollered, the bird fluttered out the panoramic window and we exhaled and exclaimed "that was awesome!" a la "Tommy Boy" Chris Farley.

Brazil's Olympic opening ceremony impressed me on many fronts. I loved most the portrayal of the city and favela construction, the aeroplane launch, amazing music and the energy is provided, and the magnificent and new mobile that encircles the Olympic cauldron (a new twist on cauldron design). 

Back in Atlanta, my mentor and friend Lee messaged me the hometown broadcast was "trippy" in his eyes, and I concur with his description. 

But for every psychedelic and colorful element, a more somber segment dropped in with interesting results. That cauldron stole the show with both conservative/simple design and thoughtful points of light reflection. 

From our twentieth row seats in section 124 -- steps away from the athlete parade entryway -- we snapped photos of Michael Phelps carrying the flag for Team USA, IOC President Thomas Bach's on-stage remarks, and one or two thong-wearing dancers before the Olympic flame's arrival. 

Very best surprise: The brilliant idea for the athletes to help plant an Olympic forest as a major Rio Games legacy. The poem read by Dame Judi Dench, the mirrored seed carts and their magical unveiling of fully-grown ferns was extremely creative. 

Immediately following the event's final fireworks, Joanne and I spent a few minutes on a "ticket walk" (retrieving left-behind tickets to sell and fund future Olympic travels). 

My tired eyes spotted an open door to the floor of the stadium, and without a single sideways glance from security, the two of us walked out across the entire Maracana floor to photograph selfies with the new Olympic cauldron. 

We stopped short of running up the steps where the final torchbearer took care of business only minutes before. But we learned and appreciated the three-dimensional golden spiral that spread the light of the Olympic flame across the venue. 

Our final surprise was discovery of access to a VIP dining area and views from the press tribunes, where we snagged some media guides to translate the opening ceremony's meaning. 

We discovered that children or volunteers meticulously wrote messages of good luck and other well-wishes on the individual pieces of confetti flown over the athletes, a nice touch!

I'm satisfied to post this summary without reading it, ready to dream about the next 16 days and get going to athletic events on Saturday. Will also post video tomorrow featuring the mobile cauldron in action on Friday night. 

Bravo, Brazil!

Photos by Nicholas Wolaver