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So close. And yet, so far.
That's 9,499 kilometres, to be precise, according to Google. And that’s the distance between Winnipeg and Beijing, where I was supposed to be headed at the end of this month to cover my first-ever Olympics.
The key word there being “supposed” to. Because, like so much about our world these days, plans change, often in the blink of an eye.
And what was truly going to be a bucket list assignment has been put on pause.
To be honest, feelings are mixed. Sure, there is disappointment about not heading to China to cover all the great Canadian athletes who will be competing on the biggest sporting stage in the world, including plenty of Manitobans.
Jennifer Jones, Kaitlyn Lawes, Jocelyn Peterman and Dawn McEwen, along with alternate Lisa Weagle, have a terrific shot at curling gold.
Jennifer Jones, 47, guided her St. Vital team to a 6-5 extra-end victory over Tracy Fleury of East St. Paul in the women’s final of the Canadian Olympic Trials (Curling Canada/ Michael Burns Photo file)
So, too, do Ashton Bell, Kristen Campbell and Jocelyne Larocque in women’s hockey. There could also be some local flavour on the men’s team expected to be announced next week.
Their compelling stories are still going to be told. Just not by me with a front-row seat to all the action. And that’s definitely a bummer, albeit a perfectly understandable one.
It’s simply not a wise decision, in our eyes, to go all that way to cover an event in this current climate and risk getting caught there far beyond the Olympic torch being put out in late February.
China’s COVID-19 rules are, in a word, extreme. And there’s a risk of being left behind for many more weeks should Omicron creep inside what is supposed to be a tightly controlled bubble environment.
In that sense, there’s also a bit of a feeling of relief on my end.
There’s other reasons, too.
China’s appalling human rights record and ongoing atrocities should have anyone leery about heading that way.
There’s also the nature of the Olympic experience itself, which is certainly not going to be normal in any sense of the word. Venues will be mostly empty, and even the competition could be severely watered down with plenty of countries and even individual athletes taking a pass.
The NHL, of course, pulled the plug on sending the best hockey players in the world to China. And now what was to be a three-week break in the regular-season schedule is going to be overflowing with action for yours truly to cover, as the Winnipeg Jets re-scheduled nine postponed games in that span.
Assuming the Winter Games go ahead as planned, I’ll still very much be a spectator. I’ll just be doing it off television from the comfy confines on my own home, rather than up close and personal.
Mike’s official media pass for the Olympics. (Mike McIntyre / Winnipeg Free Press)
At least I got a keepsake out of the whole thing, a lovely Beijing 2022 media pass that was delivered to me a few weeks ago.
And, hey, there’s always next time, right? Paris in 2024 for the Summer Games? Italy in 2026 for the next Winter Olympics?
Sign. Me. Up. Memo to the bosses: Don’t lose my number!
Mike McIntyre, Sports columnist
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