I Stood Today on the Gold Medal Platform
Only a few hours until the Opening Ceremony of the 2018 Winter Olympics…
We have been busy with onsite training.
I am part of the Ceremonies team, and we are rehearsing the victory ceremony, which will take place at the end of each competition.
Let me explain…
In the Winter Olympics, most of the medal ceremonies take place in the evenings at the Medals Plaza. But first we celebrate the medalists right after the competition ends with a small ceremony at the competition venue — in my case: the Olympic Sliding Centre, where the Bobsleigh, Luge and Skeleton events will take place.
During the rehearsal our team leader asked that some of the volunteers play the role of the medalist winners. I was selected to be the gold medal winner.
We marched out to the podium. We role-played the announcement of the winners. The presenter handed us a ceremonial gift. And then we posed for photos atop the podium.
Why do this?
Just like any performance, it’s about preparation and practice.
The athletes have trained for years up to this moment, but you can bet they are practicing at the sliding center every moment they can so they become familiar with the course.
Each operational area involved in the Olympic Games wants to ensure that they have planned for the details. So this includes not only the Ceremonies Team (my team), but also the Sport Support Team, the Medical Team, the Transportation Team, the Press/Media and their support team, the Event Services Team, and on and on.
Our team has been fine-tuning that celebratory moment — so that it runs smoothly and is meaningful for the medalists. We have only five minutes between the end of the competition and the start of the ceremony. So we need to know the answers to these kinds of questions:
Where precisely will the podium and backdrop be set up?
How long does it take to set up?
Where should the cameras be positioned to get the best angle?
What will the announcer say?
How do the athletes approach the podium? And when?
When do they step on the podium?
Who will escort the athletes?
And specifically my role: How do we explain in just a few minutes — to a thrilled athlete, who just realized a lifelong dream — what will happen, where they need to go, what they need to do, and what they should not do? And all of this will likely happen in a second language for them.
So we rehearse while the athletes take a lunch break.
I can’t help but get caught up in the moment. I love watching the Olympics anyway — and now here I am in the middle of it.
I chat on the shuttle bus with representatives from media outlets all over the world.
I help a lost cameraman from USA Today get pointed in the right direction.
I pass athletes from all over the world in the hallway — athletes who are the best in the world in their disciplines.
Every two minutes another bobsleigh wooshes to a stop just a few feet from where I stand.
And then the music starts up as we rehearse.
I’m just a stand-in, but I march to the podium. And then I step onto THE gold medal podium that will be used for the events at the sliding center.
Okay, this isn’t me. I didn’t think ahead to have someone snap my photo. But it happened!
I didn’t really win a medal.
But who cares?
I reiterate: I stepped onto THE gold medal podium that will be used for the events at the sliding center.
For a guy who has been entranced by the Olympic Games since he was a boy, that was the same as the thrill of victory.
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