Week full of celebrations for the Olympic movement. Tuesday July 16, the IOC and the OCOG Paris 2024 met in Olympia for the lighting of the flame. The next day, the Parisian team counted 100 days exactly before the opening of the Games. This Friday, April 19, the World Anti-Doping Agency is celebrating the 10th edition of its Play True day. A first decade which coincides, with perfect timing, with the 25th anniversary of WADA.
For the occasion, FrancsJeuxasked a major player in the fight against doping, Ryan Pini (photo above, carrying the flag). The former athlete from Papua New Guinea, four times Olympian, first swimmer from his country to be an Olympic finalist (100m butterfly at the 2008 Beijing Games), chairs the WADA Athletes' Council.
Ryan Pini is also the chef de mission of the Papua delegation to the Paris 2024 Games. He sheds sometimes unexpected light on the preparation and expectations of one of the small countries of the Olympic movement for the next Olympics.
FrancsJeux : What will the Papua New Guinea delegation look like at the Paris 2024 Games?
Ryan Pini : We are still in the qualification phase for several sports, including rugby 7. In the best case, it will include a maximum of 46 athletes. But being realistic, I rather expect a participation of 8 to 10 athletes, as in previous editions, or a delegation of around twenty people. We should be present in weightlifting, taekwondo, swimming, athletics, breaking, boxing, and perhaps rugby sevens.
How will a small delegation like yours carry out its final preparation? Will you have a base camp before joining the athletes' village?
No. Athletes cannot free themselves long enough to participate in the Games and prepare in advance away from the country. Same thing for coaches and officials, all volunteers. It is impossible for them to stay away from their family and their professional obligations for very long. The athletes will arrive in Paris one week before the opening ceremony, or before their event, directly at the Olympic village. We will be a small team, which will not travel together, but according to the schedule of events. But my personal experience convinced me that it was best not to arrive too early. I always preferred, when I was a swimmer, to stay training as long as possible in my usual preparation place.
After Tokyo 2020 and the heavy context of the pandemic, what do you expect from the Paris 2024 Games?
The Tokyo Games were a difficult experience, especially for new Olympians. For Paris 2024, enthusiasm is at its peak. The athletes are very impatient to discover Paris and this iconic part of the world. The youngest, especially, who will experience their first Games. Personally, I will be taking on the role of head of mission for the first time. The experience will be very special for me, as my grandfather was chef de mission of Papua New Guinea in the 70s. I will do everything to create the best possible environment for our athletes. With the other delegations from Oceania, Fiji, Vanuatu, the Solomons, we form a family. We share our ideas, our initiatives. We met in Fiji two weeks ago for a workshop in preparation for the Paris 2024 Games.
What do you think about the preparation for the Paris 2024 Games, less than 100 days before the opening?
The organizing committee had quite a few challenges to overcome. For sure. I was able to see this last year during the heads of mission meeting. But the team rose to the challenge. Today, everything seems to be going in the right direction. The sites are ready or will soon be ready. The athletes' village promises to be extraordinary.
Security remains a concern, particularly for the opening ceremony. Does this worry you?
I wouldn't say we're not concerned. But I trust French expertise to organize safe Games for everyone, Games that reflect the values of Olympism, starting with universality. In Papua New Guinea we have our own problems with crime and insecurity. We are no strangers to these questions. In Paris, we will follow the instructions given to us by the organizing team.
What do you think, as head of mission and former athlete, of the opening ceremony organized outside the stadium, on the Seine?
I participated in two opening ceremonies as an athlete. I have never forgotten the moment of entering the stadium, when the name of my country was announced. The emotion is incredible. I loved. This time the experience will be very different. The athletes are not actually going to march. I wonder how the countries will be announced. For the athletes, certain aspects of the ceremony will be missed, that's for sure. But the experience promises to be unique. We will see.
A question for you, President of the WADA Athletes' Council: will the Paris 2024 Games be clean Games?
I think so. WADA, ITA and the IOC are working hard to achieve this goal. The athletes present at the Games will have been tested before the event, the biological passport works. Everything is done today so that athletes can evolve in a clean and honest environment.
