In the second part of our series focused on the New Zealand officials who featured at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, we shine the spotlight on Para swimming and the rich variety of behind-the-scenes roles carried out by Kiwi Carlrine Gillespie.
Carlrine Gillespie was one of the thirteen international officials selected for Paris, working alongside the two lead Technical Delegates and the local French national officials. In conjunction with the Omega timing team, World Para Swimming staff and volunteers, Gillespie was part of a fantastic collective that made the environment even more special.
The competition was held in the same location, Paris La Defense Arena, as the pool swimming at the Olympic Games. Gillespie said it was hard to believe the stadium usually hosts rugby and concerts given the set-up of extra grandstands and two 50m pools on the normal field of play.
The 15,000 seats were filled to maximum capacity at most times, creating a surreal and amazing atmosphere, with the athletes and crowd combining to make it a special experience. The cheering was unbelievably loud, loud enough that your ears were ringing, but incredibly it would go up a notch when a French swimmer was announced or in the pool. The crowd were fair to all swimmers though, at most times cutting the noise to silence for the start of each race.
Gillespie felt honoured to play her part in a variety of key roles across the ten days of competition, most notably as a referee for three days alongside David Metcalf (Great Britain). Gillespie was also a judge of stroke for three days, spent two days as the call room supervisor, and a day each as chief inspector of turns and the resolution desk.
There were incredible performances by the athletes, with a total of 31 world records broken. Gillespie noted that you could not help but be touched with the same emotion as the swimmers, as you could see and feel their disappointments and successes.
There were multiple highlights for Gillespie, including the experience of being at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games. Gillespie attended the opening ceremony at the outdoor venue at Place de la Concorde, where she saw Paralympian #164 Cameron Leslie lead the New Zealand team. Another highlight included living in the Paralympic Games Village, staying in a four-bedroom apartment with the same cardboard beds and duvet that the athletes had. Her apartment was a 20-minute walk from where she needed to catch the bus before a 30-40-minute transit took place.
Given the length of sessions and the distance between the village from the competition venue, Gillespie opted to stay at the venue in between heats and finals most days. There was a large officials’ room with snacks and drinks which helped fuel the team. It meant there were long days with early starts and late returns, but it meant Gillespie spent more time with her fellow French and international colleagues.
A nice touch that World Para Swimming organised was for one of the officials to represent the team by doing the Coup de Baton to open one of the heat sessions. Another nice little recognition from World Para Swimming was each official being presented with an engraved whistle.
Overall, Gillespie loved her experience in Paris and was humbled to be involved.
“The Paralympics is pure inspiration and collectively the team were very proud to play a tiny part in making this event happen,” she explained. “It is and will always be about the athletes, the importance of inclusive sports and the values they promote.”
Thanks to Swimming NZ for providing the copy.
