Canadian Olympians ready for glamour of Paris after pandemic sterility of Tokyo

Paris is magic, glitter, love and style, says the Canadian athletes about to compete there in the Olympic Games.

The prospect of performing in the world's biggest sporting event with la Ville Lumiere, or City of Light, their stage makes their eyes soften and their voices take on a dreamy quality.

"Paris is a very prestigious, beautiful city that everybody in the world wants to go to," said Toronto rugby player Olivia Apps.

Added Toronto sprinter Aaron Brown: "City of light, city of love. Fashion capital of the world, so I want to go there and look my best."

The 2024 Olympic Games open July 26 and close Aug. 11, followed by the Paralympic Games from Aug. 28 to Sept. 8.

The glamour of Paris is amplified by the lack of it in Tokyo's Summer Games three years ago through no fault of the host.

When Tokyo's bid was accepted in 2013, the city didn't sign up to host Olympic and Paralympic Games during a COVID-19 pandemic.

Tokyo was able to pull those Games off after a year's delay and amid a state of emergency, in trying circumstances with no fans.

"I was kind of sad because I do love Tokyo, but I think they didn't do Tokyo justice having the Games that way, so I'm really excited to see how we can bring back the true aura of the Olympics," said Toronto basketball player Natalie Achonwa.

"I always think glitter, magic, when I think of Paris. I don't know if it's the lights or the atmosphere, but even seeing some of the venues and how they're placed strategically, throughout Paris to be able to have views of the Eiffel Tower and stuff, It's truly something special."

'I don't feel Tokyo was the full experience'

Canada's athletes left their village in Tokyo only to compete and were whisked out of the country as soon as their events concluded.

"It was my first Olympics and I swam once in the morning, so it was done in under two minutes, my whole experience," said swimmer Mary-Sophie Harvey of Trois-Rivieres, Que. "It was definitely weird in a sense that some of my close friends had gone to multiple Games, and they'd all talked to me about it.

"Every time they tell those stories, their eyes light up. I really want to relate to it. I don't feel Tokyo was the full experience. I think it was 25 per cent of it. I'm eager for the next 75 per cent."

As soon as we saw the renderings of what our venue would look like by the Eiffel Tower ... it brings this whole different type of magic and excitement around competing at the Olympics.— Beach volleyball player Melissa Humana-Paredes on the Paris Games

Canadians who made Olympic debuts in Tokyo crave the full experience, and they see Paris as a city that can deliver it and more.

"This Olympic Games will be the Games that you dream of as a kid," said Toronto beach volleyball player Melissa Humana-Paredes. "I'm super, super grateful for the experience I had in Tokyo, but it wasn't quite the Olympics that you envisioned.

"As soon as we saw the renderings of what our venue would look like by the Eiffel Tower … it brings this whole different type of magic and excitement around competing at the Olympics, because  you're not just in a far-off venue made in a parking lot, which is sometimes where we play."

French history, architecture, food, fashion, music, cinema and literature aside, France offers a sporting culture that Apps is ready to soak in at Stade de France.

"French rugby culture is really cool, very energizing and exciting, so I'm really looking forward to playing in front of French fans and just being in that stadium," Apps said. "There's a lot of history in that stadium. The World Cup was just there for the men.

"So just being in a French country, and how much they love their rugby, I think will be really inspiring for us."

Boxer Tammara Thibeault of Shawinigan, Que., will be in battle mode in Paris, but not oblivious to her surroundings.

"It marks the 100 years that the Olympics happened there so it's going to be huge," she said. "I love, love, love Paris.

"I can't wait to take it all in and let myself be in Paris and see everything that's around and just kind of feel like I'm in a movie."