At the Paris Olympics last month, I felt the floor beneath me move. Terrified, I looked around, hoping to find something stable to hold onto in the event of an earthquake. Everyone around me was unfazed. Turns out, it was simply a temporary manmade earthquake produced by a crowd of 70,000 people hooting and cheering on their favourite athletes at the largest stadium in France.
On a balmy August afternoon in Paris, moments before the Women’s 400-metre hurdles race, the crowd seemed bigger and more frenetic than the one you would’ve spotted at a Taylor Swift concert. So it was surprising when a simple “Silence, please” from the commentator resulted in a hush falling over the crowd. The “On your mark, set, go” sent hearts racing throughout the oval-shaped State De France just before Omega’s electronic starting pistol went off.
In addition to being my host for the Games, Omega was also the official timekeeper of this Olympics and the last 31 editions since 1932’s Summer Olympics in Los Angeles when they were called upon by the sports committee to time all the races due to their advanced equipment. On day 2, a tour of the Omega House in the 4th arrondissement of Paris revealed the secrets behind their timekeeping. Over 90-plus years, the equipment has evolved and now includes everything from advanced swimming touch pads to starting blocks with built-in sensors that measure an athlete’s force against the footrest 4,000 times per second.
“A whole era of my movies from Sarkar Raj to Dhoom saw me wearing Omega watches on screen,” Abhishek Bachchan told me over crudites and Aperol in the courtyard of the Omega House. The actor and sports enthusiast, who is also a friend of the brand, is a thoroughbred when it comes to watches from the Maison. “My favourite Omega piece is one I sourced from a Parsi aunty in Bandra,” he had revealed before we set out for lunch atthe Madame Brasserie on the first floor of the Eiffel Tower. The view looked directly down on our next match venue.
Later that evening, as the sun set behind the landmark monument, we sat right opposite it, cheering an outdoor sport you don’t immediately associate with the bustling city life in Paris: beach volleyball. As the Qatar and USA teams battled it out on real sand, a DJ worked the crowd into a mini-concert just before the Eiffel Tower lit up a cloudless night. We retired to our hotel with feelings of ecstasy, joy and awe that would continue the following day when Neeraj Chopra would throw the javelin to secure a silver medal.
With Indian flags in our backpacks and anticipation in our hearts, we set out on the final day to cheer our national Olympian. Despite the first foul, where Chopra slipped and crossed the line, Bachchan was confident that he would succeed: “We have a long way to go, he only needs one long shot,” he said to us placatingly. As we sat in the front row, a rollercoaster of emotions swept over us through Chopra’s misses and his final silver win. I wondered how he kept his head in the game despite the ambient roar around him. Had athletes acclimatised to the auditory onslaught or did it sound more disruptive to the ear of a non-sports spectator like me? I asked Chopra as much post the game, to which he said, “As a professional athlete, you learn to acknowledge the presence of a big crowd but you also learn how to switch on and focus through all the noise.”
As we watched Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem set a new world record of 92.97 metres in the javelin throw, the stadium came alive. It made me realise how sports can serve as a unifier and equaliser even between countries like India and Pakistan with their bloodied political history. Chopra reminded us that true sportsmanship lies in appreciating wins and learning from losses. “I kept believing till the very end that I could throw beyond 92.97 but it was not to be. Congratulations to Arshad for a fantastic effort.”
As I reflect on my experience, I now realise that Paris 2024 wasn’t just another round of games, it served moments of unity, girlhood and resilience through athletes’ stories each day. From Egyptian fencer Nada Hafez competing in Paris while seven months pregnant to American gymnast Simone Biles returning to claim her medals post her mental health break, the world tuned in to witness an era in sport never seen before. And if you’re having withdrawals like me, don’t miss the Paralympic Games that are currently underway in Paris.
