David Howatson was working with Technogym in the athletes’ village for both the Paris 2024 Olympics and Paralympics. Here, he shares his view from inside the athletes’ village, including how you could get your foot in the door for 2028.
The Olympics and Paralympics roll around every four years, but Paris 2024 offered up a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for some very lucky people. Thankfully, I was one of those who was fortunate to work with Technogym in the athletes’ village for both events and wanted to share some practical takeaways from the experience. Have no fear, I’ll save you from the sheer fabulousness of the whole thing, which can be seen in full smug technicolour on my social media channels. Hopefully you’ll read the following and see that the door into the next set of Games in LA in 2028 is very much open for you.
The set-up
A group of coaches and educators were called upon to run the day-to-day operations of seven fitness facilities housed within the athletes’ villages across France and beyond. I was stationed in Lille for a month during the Olympic games, then in Paris for the duration of the Paralympics. The village in Paris was open 24/7, so the night shifts were a new challenge! The ‘beyond’ was Tahiti, which hosted the surfing competitions where our team from Australia was posted. Due to them getting to swim, bike ride, sunbathe, surf and generally live their best lives on a paradise island, they were effectively dead to me for a month. Love you all.
Lille hosted basketball for the first three weeks of the games (followed by handball for the final week), with our gym set up in a temporary spot next to the athletes’ accommodation. Basically, the sexiest gym in a tent you’ve ever seen. Our collective job was to staff the facility – look after the needs of the competitors, their coaches and staff from each team. Basically, the sexiest gym shift you’ve ever seen. It’s not every day you get to train an NBA all-star or get Giannis Antetokounmpo into trouble for breaking a fire escape door.
Coaching opportunities
As lovely as it would be to tell you all the stories, you’d get bored with “and this one time … at the Olympics …” for 148 pages. Instead, here a few gems from the experience which might open the door to more of us fitness types getting the chance to live these experiences firsthand.
For the strength and conditioning coaches among you, there is an interesting dichotomy. There was not an abundance of S&C coaches at the Olympics and even fewer at the Paralympics. Now that can be looked at in two separate ways – either it’s a closed shop and all their work is done pre-Games, or the world needs more elite-level fitness coaches. Multiple times I saw a member of a physiotherapy team muddle through sessions with Para-swimmers in the morning, then help 15 visually impaired footballers in the afternoon.
The under-funded nations either had one fitness coach covering a whole host of different disciplines or, in many cases, no coach at all. When I asked athletes why this was, it often came down to the obvious monetary problem. However, in many cases, the associations couldn’t find the appropriate coach or, more accurately, the coach who wanted to be away from their home/business for that period of time. The opportunity is there for those of you who are skilled or working towards being particularly skilled in S&C.
The experience of the Paralympic Village in Paris was what really sparked the need for this article. A large chunk of the athletes were unsupported, training with teammates or countrymen without a professional by their side. Our team coached dozens of people 24 hours a day in Paris – sometimes as helpers in set-up but often delivering sessions when asked. There is a gaping hole in Paralympic sport which can be filled by fitness professionals – acting as knowledgeable helpers or as sport-specific coaches. The need for dedicated trainers exists across the board. Research into all facets of Paralympic sport is slim in comparison to its Olympic sibling – sports science, sports psychology, organisation and logistics around Para competition all have significant gaps. Here are some useful links to more information around Para sports, participation and coaching:
https://everybodymoves.org.uk/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/british-paralympic-association/
Celebrating Paralympian success
PT and operations
Another avenue into this level of elite competition is in good old personal training. Some of the billion-dollar athletes had access to their own PT. While most can only dream of being Lebron James’s trainer, there’s nothing to say you couldn’t be there working alongside coaches employed by the various associations. In Paris, we met trainers who were either there by request of the athlete, part of a support set-up or had volunteered their services.
There are also slots with the organising team for the host city at each Games if you fancy a job in operations. Jumping online to LA28 Careers, you’ll see a raft of roles covering the planning stages, with more jobs going live a year out from the next Olympics in 2028. Bilingual people are particularly attractive to the organisers. Thankfully, I speak Scottish and a little English.
What are you waiting for? Target the Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina in 2026. Aim to be at the next Olympics in sunny LA. Look for roles in the associations which fit your skillset or go straight to the organisers. Focus on a specific job, sport or type of athlete you could support, then get in touch with your nation’s or region’s governing body. For more information on roles within the International Olympic Committee, the LA28 team and Team GB visit:
https://olympics.com/ioc/careers/careers
https://la28.org/en/careers.html
https://www.teamgb.com/jobs/14CLYo1Auwq0T54La3XLJ2
Alternatively, feel free to fire questions across to me to know more about the nuts and bolts of the experience. Cross my heart and hope to die there are opportunities for the right people to help these incredible humans.
Bonne chance mon ami!
David Howatson
David Howatson has over a decade of experience in the fitness industry. He currently delivers education, creates content and presents internationally for Technogym and Power Plate as well as being a member of British Rowing’s Go Row Indoor master trainer team.
