2006 Turin Olympics Report, Part 2

Contents:

Contests:

Newsletter:

Members:

About Us:

Members log in here with your user name and password to access the your admin page and other special features.

|| SportsShooter.com: News Item: Posted 2006-02-20

2006 Turin Olympics Report, Part 2
Light at the end of the tunnel

By Alan Greth, Contra Costa Times

Photo by anonymous bobsled fan

Alan Greth (left), German AP staffer Michael Sohn (right), and Mark Reis of the Colorado Springs Gazette in the background (red jacket) at the bobsled at the 2006 Winter Olympic games in Cesana Pariol on Sunday, February 19, 2006.

Editors note: SportsShooter.com member and Contra Costa Times Executive Photo Editor Alan Greth is in Turin, Italy editing his second Olympic Games for KRT (Knight Ridder Tribune). KRT is a wire service with photographers contributing to the KRT report from many papers including the Miami Herald, Philadelphia Inquirer and others.

It's a small world
The last time I saw my longtime friend and AP staff photographer Kevork Djansezian was at the 2004 Summer Olympic Games in Athens, Greece. Until this week that is. Kevork lives in Los Angeles and I live near San Francisco. Of course, the one day I was in the Main Press Center at the 2006 Winter Olympic Games in Turin, Italy, I ran in to Kevork. Crazy. Here we are about 7,000 miles from home and we hook up. That is exactly the kind of thing that happens here in Italy every day. Kevork's boss, AP Western U.S. Photo Editor Tom Stathis is staying in my village in the Italian Alps called Sauze d' Oulx. I see him almost every day.

What day is it anyway?
I am working with a team of five photographers from Knight Ridder Newspapers. Each day KRT Photo Managing Editor Steve Deslich posts a web page with our assignments on it. Today I am editing at the men's Giant Slalom event. I am in a large tent on the side of a mountain with about 300 other journalists from all over the world. Next to me, is the Super-size AP work area. I count at least 10 photo and word people. In contrast, I am here with one shooter and a writer. We're holding our own as the athletes prepare for their second run. And oh yes, There is a heating system blasting the temperature to about 85 degrees. Outside, it is about 30. Inside I'm in a T-shirt. Outside it is all the North Face clothing I own.

Photo by Ron Jenkins / Fort Worth Star-Telegram / KRT

Bode Miller of the United States loses control during the men's Super-G downhill competition at the Turin 2006 Winter Olympic Games in Sestriere Borgata, Italy Saturday February 18, 2006. Miller did not finish the race.

Despite the 14-hour workdays, the photographers here are mostly calm and pretty nice to each other. We are all in the same boat and our bosses have high expectations. I'm not sure, but maybe the Olympic spirit lives on here, as the shooters really help each other out. Last night it snowed about six inches. The media buses were severely disrupted. Fort Worth Star-Telegram staffer Ron Jenkins let me stay in his hotel at Borgata, a venue just a few miles from where I am today. He saved me about four hours of time on a bus. I had to sneak out the back door in the snow this morning, as his room is only approved for one person!

Not Just Another Day on the Job
The next time you hear a photographer or writer complaining about something, think about this. Fort Worth Star-Telegram staff photographer Ron Jenkins spent his day on the side of a mountain in the Italian Alps on the Olympic downhill course in Sestriere Borgata. The men's Super-G race was delayed until 2:45 PM Saturday. What's the big deal you ask? Ron had to ski to his position near the top of the hill at 8:30 AM. It snowed all day. By phone, I suggested Ron ski down the mountain and get some hot cappuccino and wait for the race to start. Instead, Ron built a snow cave and stayed on the mountain in a driving snowstorm! A little more difficult than shooting the athlete of the week mug shot in the studio at your paper!

Oh, I forgot to mention that Ron had a 60-pound backpack containing his Canon EOS gear. When the race finally got under way, Ron nailed a sequence of U.S. Skier Bode Miller losing control during his only attempt at the Men's Super-G. After eight hours in a freezing snowstorm. He made some great pictures.

Photo by Alan Greth / KRT

Alan Greth spends most of his time at the 2006 Winter Olympic Games riding on a bus between venues. This is the view Sunday, February 19, 2006 in the snow.

Back on the Ranch
Yesterday I was changing buses at the Sestriere bus hub when I heard this. "I can't go to dinner, I have to call my daughter. She's just getting out of school," Dallas Morning News staff photographer Eric Schlegel yelled.

Despite working to the point of near exhaustion, people are trying to be tuned-in to home. In fact since I have been here in the Alps, my son Austin had his first baseball practice of the season, and my daughter Alexandra got three shots required for kindergarten. My son Aaron rolled over for the first time this week. I did not see it. My wife Kathy has held the whole thing together on her own. As I mentioned in my first update, I'm sure every journalist in this tent has similar stories to tell.

Light at the End of the Tunnel
The Olympic Games entered into their final week today. The snow clouds cleared, and people are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. And I don't mean France. Closing ceremonies. The whole thing will come to a star-studded conclusion Sunday in Turin. We will have some great pictures and stories behind us as we think about packing all our dirty laundry and heading for home. What an experience it has been to meet so many talented people so far from home.

Related Links:

Alan Greth's member page

2006 Turin Olympics Report, Part 1

KRT Photos Live