Tracey Holmes’ Post

Capturing the immediacy and emotion after each and every event at the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games is a vital group of reporters who work for the MyInfo team - providing quotes, bios and articles free for the world’s media to use. They are invaluable, so this post is a thank you to them. Here are some of their best quotes from day four of the Paralympics on Sunday 1 September, to give you a wonderful snapshot of the personalities and nations competing (if, like me, you want to hear about more than just your own nation): "I want to tell my daughter this: it pays to persevere. If you persevere for long enough, your dreams may just come true." - Women's F64 discus gold medallist YANG Yue (CHN) with an important message to her daughter and anyone else who dreams big. "I am done. These are my sixth Paralympic Games and I am very tired. I spoke with my psychologist yesterday. It’s 20 years that I’ve been doing it. It’s better to finish (my career) like this than in a bad way. The end. Now I will be doing what I like." - Sara MARTINEZ (ESP) explains why she is retiring on a high after taking silver in the women's long jump T12. "Yes, because I remembered to wear my prosthetic for the final. I left my prosthetic at the (Paralympic) Village when I came to the qualifying this morning, and I was really embarrassed that I did that. It definitely cost me a little bit at the start of the (qualifying) race." - Bronze medallist Nicole MURRAY (NZL, pictured) on whether she thought she could set a personal best in the bronze medal race, having forgotten some vital equipment for Sunday morning's qualifying race in the women’s C5 3000m individual pursuit. "A lot of self-talk, like 'Come on, you big idiot'." - Goalball player Calahan YOUNG (USA) on how he psyches himself up ahead of facing a penalty throw. “When I came on court, I was filled with emotion. I anticipated that, so I didn't let myself get overwhelmed, but tears were close. (The support) is unbelievable.” - French wheelchair tennis player Stephane HOUDET on playing at Roland-Garros Stadium. “If I had to rate how happy we are out of 10, I would say more than 10.” - A jubilant LIAO Keli (CHN) after winning the para table tennis men's doubles MD14 final alongside YAN Shuo (CHN). “I only found out about the Paralympics when I was 22 years old. I've been disabled all my life. That's 22 years that I felt like I've missed out.” - Wheelchair basketball player Robyn LOVE (GBR), who is competing at her third Paralympics. "I played the quarterfinal in the morning and my plan for the game didn't work. My plan for this game (semifinal) didn't work either, so I have to plan something else tomorrow (Monday's bronze medal match)." - Mariam Eniola BOLAJI (NGR) heading back to the drawing board ahead of her para badminton bronze medal match on Monday. #Paralympics #Paris2024 #resilience #persistence #sport #inspiration

"I want the world to not see Afghan girls as victims or as weak, but I want them to see us as brave, because we had a tough journey, but we still made it. We were very different, for example the girls from in European countries and very well developed countries in Asia, they did not have the same challenges that we had. So therefore, I want these countries and people to see us as brave women. And in the end please do not forget Afghan women." Zakia Khudadadi's history making bronze medal in taekwondo at the Paralympic Games, the first ever for the Paralympic Refugee Team, was not just about her being the first female Paralympian from her country but about all the women of Afghanistan. During the Olympics, before she went in to camp for her own games, I caught up with Zakia to talk about her incredible journey from fleeing Afghanistan three years ago (which I documented at the time for the ABC), to now. Incredibly, Zakia wanted to make sure she had all the words she needed so she chose to answer my questions in her language (Farsi) but asked a friend over the phone to translate...her friend was Friba Rezayee, Afghanistan's first female Olympian. The full interview is on my YouTube channel or Patreon page and podcast, search for The Sports Ambassador. #Paralympics #Paris2024 #taekwondo #Afghanistan #ZakiaKhudadadi #humanspirit #diplomacy #sport

Three years ago Zakia Khudadi, locked in a room in a friend's house after fleeing her own house, recorded a video asking the world to help the female athletes of Afghanistan who were being targeted by the Taliban. The government was overthrown just days before Zakia was due to fly to the Tokyo Paralympics to compete in Taekwondo alongside the only other member of Afghanistan's paralympic team, track athlete Hossain Rassouli. Days later she stood, exhausted, with hundreds of others in the polluted mote surrounding Kabul airport, hoping her emergency humanitarian documents would attract the attention of the military personnel inside and get her to freedom. She made it out that day. She made it to Tokyo and competed. Then she was flown to Paris where her life as a refugee began. Today, only three years later, she has become the International Paralympic Committee's first ever refugee team medalist, claiming bronze in the women's K44-47kg division in Paris. The three years has not been easy, but it's certainly been worth it as this photo, captured by Alexandre Battibugli for the IPC shows - an ecstatic Zakia Khudadadi leaping into the arms of her coach Haby Niare. #Paralympics #afghanistan #refugees #IPC #taekwondo #sport #diplomacy

The lawyer representing the Matildas veteran Aivi Luik, as she fights against her doping ban, is Alexis Schoeb. He says he's never seen another case like it...I am yet to hear from a sports lawyer who has. #antidoping #doping #wada #cas #football #integrity #ethics #sportslaw

For an athlete, there is nothing worse than being told you are a drug cheat, especially one who knows she is not. April the 24th, 2024, was the day a two-decade long professional career unravelled for footballer Aivi Luik, Matilda #169 – she was scrolling through emails when one simultaneously caught her eye and drained the blood from her body. It was from the Italian anti-doping agency confirming she was being charged with a doping breach and would be suspended. It related to a medical treatment for a severe back injury back in 2022 which complied with all the rules of the strict World Anti-Doping Code. Luik has spoken in-depth to The Sports Ambassador podcast about the crisis she is currently navigating. “Earlier this year I was at the club in Sweden, in Häcken, and I received an email out of the blue…what I read made my heart drop because it was from NADO Italia…and they were charging me with an anti-doping rule violation,” Luik said. “Obviously my whole world stopped.” It is a charge Luik has been fighting – but does not know if she has the finances or the mental fortitude to continue that challenge. To listen to the full podcast with Aivi, her lawyer Alexis Schoeb and sports integrity specialist Dr Catherine Ordway visit the Patreon link in my bio. #doping #antidoping #football #WADA #CAS #AiviLuik #Matildas #integrity #ethics

Let's face it, this is a position that doesn't come up very often...in the last 130 years only nine people (nine white men, to be precise) have been the president of the International Olympic Committee. Who will be next as Thomas Bach ends his term in mid-2025? Jostling has already begun. Bach has declared it as a 'new era', with the mandate, 'change or be changed'. Like Bach, Sebastian Coe is a gold medal Olympian, he's also run a successful Olympic bid, was chairman of the highly successful London 2012 Olympic organising committee, and is now president of World Athletics, the backbone of the Olympic games. But, he is unlike Bach in other ways. Will that work to his advantage, or not, as he weighs up whether to run as a candidate for the most influential position in world sport? Does he represent the 'change' Bach speaks of? The Sports Ambassador podcast (for subscribers on Patreon) will take a look at each of the likely candidates over the coming months - starting this week with Seb Coe. If you don't have time for the podcast, here's a snapshot... #Olympics #presidency #ThomasBach #SebCoe #SebastianCoe #athletics #worldathletics #sports #diplomacy #politics #governance #ethics #Brisbane2032

How quickly tensions can build. Life poses many such heated moments that can easily escalate to the point of losing control. How cleverly tensions can be calmed. Intention and motivation lie at the heart of all we do. Gold medal to the DJ for his quick thinking-calming intentions, kudos to the players and spectators who recognised and appreciated the moment. #sportsdiplomacy

Forget Ray-Gun. It's B-girl Talash the world should be talking about. The Afghanistan refugee, Manizha Talash, unveiled a blue cape midway through her breaking battle at the Paris 2024 Olympic games with three words: free Afghan women. Her opponent raised her hands above her head and applauded. She got supporting woops and cheers from the crowd. She got disqualified by the officials. "I made these wings from the fabric of a burqa," Talash said on an Instagram post. "With the fabric of this burqa that represents so much, I want to show the girls back home that even in the most difficult circumstances, they have the strength to transform things. From a burqa they can make wings." It took courage for a young refugee girl to plan and executive - without anyone's knowledge - such a breach of the rules forbidding 'political slogans'. At a games celebrating a 50-50 gender split for the first time, the highlighting of 20 million trapped women was anything but political - it was a cry for help. In the way that Americans Tommie Smith and John Carlos, the gold and bronze medal track athletes at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics, raised their black-gloved fists during the medal ceremony to highlight inequity and human rights abuses in their own country, Manizha knew she had one chance to represent so much more than herself. "On Friday, I was fortunate enough to be given the opportunity of a lifetime: one minute where I knew the world would be watching me." She has apologised to the IOC and other officials for breaking the rules. Personally, raising a flag for 20 million trapped girls and women does not strike me as political, nor should it need an apology. "My message is not a political slogan. It is a statement about basic human rights. I am a B-girl, and breaking was born out of hip hop from the Black and Hispanic communities fighting against discrimination in New York in the 1970s and 80s. I began breaking in Afghanistan, where it is illegal for girls to train. I put my life at risk to do it because I love it. Breaking is a form of expression, and so I felt that this is what I had to do, even if it meant being disqualified. "For those of you watching me, I ask that you please turn your attention to Afghanistan. The girls in my country can't do anything. These are my friends, classmates, and neighbors — they have essentially no rights...they deserve to be free." For me, Manizha Talash is a champion. I hope in years to come this image will be as iconic as the Smith-Carlos image that is now widely celebrated as one of the most powerful Olympic images of all time. At some time in the future, people will be shocked to think that in 2024, 20 million women being held captive in their own country could so easily have been dismissed. #Olympics #Paris2024 #humanrights #women #Afghanistan #bravery #breaking #RayGun #ManizhaTalash #gender #equality #empowerment

Here it is...The Sports Ambassador report card on the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. This is a snapshot from three experts in their field who bring no agenda to their work in observing, contemplating and recording history as it's made, with what it means for future host cities, the future of the Olympics, and the constant pursuit of relevance: * Author and Chief reporter the Age and Nine Newspapers Chip Le Grand * Author and lecturer in sports and diplomacy New York University Lindsay Sarah Krasnoff, PhD * Author and instructor in sports business University of Oregon Dr. Yoav Dubinsky The full interview with each can be heard on The Sports Ambassador podcast, up now on Patreon. #Olympics #Paris2024 #diplomacy #geopolitics #politics #sport #business #breaking #boxing #antidoping #genderequity #gender

Paris 2024 was the Olympic games of the new era, the outgoing president of the IOC - Thomas Bach said it himself, and he's not wrong. The spectacle in the city of light 128 years after the 'modern' Olympics began has shown that it's not only possible to adapt to change while remaining true to yourself, it's a necessity. Paris has become the most followed Games ever. The IOC's Olympic handles alone had more than 12.5 billion engagements before the final weekend. The Olympic games gives us a great barometer on which to gauge the world we live. Despite the worst of it - wars in Ukraine and Gaza, tensions between superpowers the USA and China, and the seeds of political and ideological discontent magnified by the proliferation of fake news - there resides among us an ability to come together and celebrate the best of it. Paris has shown us how. #Paris2024 #Olympics #politics #climatechange #Ukraine #Russia #Israel #Gaza #USA #China #superpowers #sport #engagement #peace