They’re the names and faces you’ve been seeing all over the telly as Olympic fever hits New Zealand. Now on the continent bringing us every conceivable piece of coverage from the 2024 Games, the Weekly had a chat with the Sky Sport’s Olympic team to find out what they’re most looking forward to in Paris, how many medals they reckon we’ll bring home… and who’s most likely to forget their passport!
Kimberlee Downs
There are too many incredible Kiwi Olympic moments for Kimberlee to pick “the best – the men’s rowing eight gold medal in Tokyo, the Hamish Carter and Bevan Docherty first and second in Athens, Eliza McCartney’s bronze in Rio, Sarah Ulmer in Athens, Danyon Loader in ’96… I could go on!” she exclaims.
Paris 2024 is Kim’s third Olympic Games and as an absolute lover of preparation, she’s toting a rather large file of notes with her – although, she laughs, her language skills do leave something to be desired, according to her husband, Three News sport anchor Ollie Ritchie.
“Parlez vous anglais? [Do you speak English?]” she replies to the question about her French-speaking abilities. “Ollie does despair at the state of my French – which he can actually speak!”
She’s most excited about helping tell our athletes’ stories and sharing the emotion of these historic moments with Kiwis watching at home.
The sport she’d like to include in the Olympics? “Tug of war! Bring it back!”
Andrew Mulligan
There’s the Olympics and then there’s Paris – and then there’s the Olympics in Paris! For Andrew, the combination of the two this year is absolutely delectable.
“I’m excited for Paris itself,” he says. “Only these megacities can absorb a mega event like the Olympics, like how the organising committee will base events around iconic locations.
“I’m sure the Parisians that have decided to stay are embracing the arrival of tens of thousands of fans.”
Andrew concedes fellow reporter Rikki’s worries regarding his travel prowess (right) are fair. “I once left my passport on the bed of my hotel room on assignment in London before I flew to Switzerland for 3 Sport. I had to pay £50 for a taxi to drop it off to me at Heathrow!” But now that he’s on his fourth Olympics, he’s confident he’ll be fine.
“I’ve been doing a lot of research in preparation and physically, I’ve walked a lot this year. I’ve also practiced standing and waiting – which is a lot of what working these Games is about!”
Has he promised to buy treats from Paris for the family back home?
“My wife is incredibly supportive of me, and our two boys, who are 10 and four, see it as a lucrative gift-gathering exercise from Dad.”
Rikki Swannell
When Rikki thinks of the Olympic Games, there’s one glaring memory that pops up. “A video tape recording (look it up, kids!) that my parents taped off the TV from the 1988 Seoul Olympics of Flo-Jo, Ben Johnson, Anthony Nesty, Matt Biondi, Barbara Kendall and Mark Todd. I watched it over and over. It’s all set to a song called Cry, which I now have on my Spotify playlist!”
A veteran of covering Olympic Games – this is her sixth – she’s absolutely jazzed about returning to the full Olympic spectacle after the Covid-impacted event in Tokyo.
As well as being the most experienced of the Sky team, she’s also – by mutual agreement – “the most organised and I’m keeping an eye on some of them (ahem, the boys!) when it comes to keeping passports where they need to be!”
So how’s her French? “Passable,” she tells. “I can get by with pleasantries, read a menu and order a glass of wine. I just have to try not to panic when someone responds!”
Jeff McTainsh
Jeff will never forget watching Danyon Loader win his double gold medals in 1996. “He went to Bayfield High School in Dunedin, like me, so it was very inspiring to see him on top of the podium,” says Jeff.
He especially can’t wait to see sprinter Zoe Hobbs on the track for her 100m. “She’s had an incredible run into the Olympics and it’ll be pretty special seeing her race in Paris – 100 years after Arthur Porritt won the bronze medal in the 100 metres at the Paris Games in 1924.”
Luckily for Jeff, he’s also been excused from the obligatory souvenir shopping in Paris, as his wife will join him at the end of the Games and they’ll stay on in Europe for a bit of a holiday.
But as for the final medal haul, Jeff reckons we’ll be coming home with 17, including five gold. “Hopefully more!”
The sport he’d include at the Games? “Shearing. New Zealand would clean up!”
Sky is the exclusive TV broadcaster of the Paris Olympic Games. Watch 12 Olympic channels on Sky and Sky Sport Now, or watch free-to-air on Sky Open.
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