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Ciao from beautiful Milan, where I’ve begun to settle in after arriving Wednesday afternoon in a sleep-deprived haze, fuelled by equal parts excitement and nervous energy. That also explains why this weekly missive is arriving in your inbox a day later than usual.
Covering my first-ever Olympics is intimidating. I have high expectations of myself, I want to make every minute count, and I aim to deliver the best bang for the proverbial buck on behalf of my employer during the 19 days I’ll be on the ground here.
No pressure, Mike.
Add in experiencing an entirely new city, country, culture and language at the same time, and it’s a lot to absorb.
(Mike McIntyre / Free Press)
Fortunately, the people here have been welcoming and extremely helpful. I also love the fact that “ciao” doubles as both hello and goodbye.
And my goodness, is this place ever stunning.
(Mike McIntyre / Free Press)
Much to my surprise, Milan is fairly easy to navigate despite its size and the way Olympic events are spread out across the region.
A very handy transportation app created by the organizing committee has made subway-hopping a breeze.
(Mike McIntyre / Free Press)
It also doesn’t exactly feel like the Winter Games. The mercury has climbed into the teens every day so far, the grass is green thanks to plenty of recent rain, and the only ice to be found is inside the newly constructed skating and hockey venues.
Early highlights include a tour of the Olympic Village on Thursday, complete with an up-close look at the rooms the athletes are staying in.
They are… cozy, to say the least. I’d describe it as essentially a cross between a dorm, a cruise-ship room and a jail cell (with better amenities, of course).
(Mike McIntyre / Free Press)
I loved the addition of a big red moose outside the Canadian HQ.
(Mike McIntyre / Free Press)
There’s ample recreational space for athletes to unwind, including lounges to gather with teammates and common areas where they can mingle with competitors from other countries.
They have just about everything you can imagine — board games, cards, table hockey, foosball and a computer lounge — along with things you might not expect, like the ability to put your face on a can of Coke (yes, I did it), chat with a robot and explore an array of high-tech gadgetry.
(Mike McIntyre / Free Press)
I also spent a few hours working out of the massive Media Centre, which is quite something. Being among hundreds of journalists from all over the world under one roof is a pretty cool — and honestly inspiring — feeling.
This morning brought one of the staples of any Olympics: the frenzy known as pin trading. It’s a highly organized tradition, with devoted collectors from around the globe swapping keepsakes.
One of them is a fellow staying at my hotel who allowed me to tag along and see how it all works. He’s from Ontario, this is his 14th Olympics, and he owns more than 7,000 pins — each one with a personal story attached.
There was literally a lineup out the door for this particular event.
(Mike McIntyre / Free Press)
It was a good reminder that great tales can come from anywhere, including the breakfast room of your hotel.
I’ll be writing more about him later today in a feature set to appear online this evening and in Saturday’s print edition of the Free Press. It’s essentially an Olympic scene-setter, filled with colour, observations and anecdotes drawn from my first 60 or so hours here.
It will also include reporting from tonight’s Opening Ceremonies, which I’m pumped to attend alongside roughly 75,000 other spectators.
On the work front, I’ve been happy with the handful of early stories so far.
My first focused on Oakbank’s Greg Ewasko, who is in charge of making the curling ice up in the mountains of Cortina. As always, I try to find the humanity in what I write, and there was plenty of it in this piece.
That was followed by a fun feature on Swiss speed skater Kaitlyn McGregor, who has her Manitoba family — and Winnipeg legend Cindy Klassen — to thank for the idea and inspiration behind her career. A very cool origin story, and another athlete for folks back home to cheer for.
Then came some breaking hockey news, with Winnipeg’s Seth Jarvis added to the Canadian men’s team at the last minute.
I’m thrilled for Jarvis — and for myself — as it’s nice to have another local product to cover here. His inclusion brings the Manitoba contingent to five athletes (all in hockey), along with four members of the Winnipeg Jets I’ll be reporting on frequently.
My plans to watch Winnipeg’s Kati Tabin make her Olympic debut Thursday night, and Ste. Anne’s Jocelyne Larocque lace up her skates for a fourth Olympics, were pushed back 48 hours when Canada’s scheduled opponent, Finland, was hit by a norovirus outbreak.
It was an early reminder that flexibility is essential at an event like this. I’ve got plenty mapped out, but you never know when something will come out of the blue.
In addition to today’s scene-setter, I’m also working on another story I hope readers will enjoy: a fascinating connection between Winnipeg and the upcoming bobsled competition.
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Once the weekend arrives, it’ll be a heavy dose of hockey. The women’s team plays its first game Saturday, while the men will hit the ice for their opening practices Sunday, ahead of tournament play beginning Thursday.
Who will Jarvis, Mark Stone, Travis Sanheim and Josh Morrissey line up with? Is Connor Hellebuyck the Americans’ starting goalie? Who are Kyle Connor’s linemates? And what did Nino Niederreiter think about serving as Switzerland’s flag bearer at tonight’s Opening Ceremonies?
I’ll bring you those answers — and plenty more — in the days to come.
There are other local angles I’m chasing as well, and as always, my inbox is wide open for ideas or suggestions.
I’m here to be your eyes and ears.
Ciao, for now.
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