Paris Olympics 2024: Guardian photographers at the Games – picture essay | Paris Olympic Games 2024

Antoine Dupont led France to victory in the men’s rugby sevens, the host nation’s first gold medal of the Games. Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian

Among 1,578 accredited photographers in the French capital were three covering the Games for the Guardian and Observer

By Tom Jenkins, David Levene and Ed Alcock

After the Covid-affected Olympics in Tokyo, Paris 2024 welcomed the return of packed stadiums, venues and also photographer enclosures. Among the 1,578 accredited photographers were three covering the Games for the Guardian and Observer.

A multiple exposure shot of Italy’s Alice D’Amato performing on the vault during the final of the women’s gymnastics team all-around — A multiple exposure shot of Alice D’Amato performing on the vault during the final of the women’s gymnastics team all-around where the Italian team took silver.

How would I describe photographing the Paris Olympics? Quite simply “c’est magnifique, c’est incroyable.” It was a wonderful Games, an intoxicating blend of incredible action taking place in the most stunning venues. I can forgive the Paris metro for its lack of escalators, which meant lugging all my gear around was a very sweaty task, because everywhere there was cat-nip for the photographer. At times it felt almost too much, you wanted to be everywhere at the same time, pushing yourself to extremes to get the pictures on offer. After the last two disappointing summer Games, this was back to the sort of Olympics the IOC wanted and needed. And how they succeeded, the organisers pulling out all the stops to make sure it was such a visual treat. At the end of it all, despite all the amazing athletes on show doing phenomenal things, the real star of the Games was the city itself.

Leon Marchand of France competing in the men’s swimming 400m medley final — Léon Marchand of France wins gold in the men’s swimming 400m medley final.

Belgium’s Nicky Degrendele (No 96), China’s Yuan Liying (bottom centre) and the Netherlands’ Steffie van der Peet (bottom right) crash during a women’s track cycling keirin quarter-final at the Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines Velodrome — Belgium’s Nicky Degrendele (No 96), China’s Yuan Liying (bottom centre) and the Netherlands’ Steffie van der Peet (bottom right) crash during a women’s track cycling keirin quarter-final.

Sprinter Kimia Yousofi of Afghanistan displays a message on the back of her name badge saying “Education, Sport, Our Rights” after competing in her 100m preliminary round (above left), The Eiffel Tower is seen during a light display at the opening ceremony (above right). Robin Godel of Switzerland on Grandeur De Lully reflected in the Ménagerie Pond during the eventing cross-country at the Palace of Versailles (below).

The Eiffel Tower is seen during a light display at the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Summer Olympic Games — Sprinter Kimia Yousofi of Afghanistan displays a message on the back of her name badge saying “Education, Sport, Our Rights” after competing in her 100m preliminary round (above left), The Eiffel Tower is seen during a light display at the opening ceremony (above right). Robin Godel of Switzerland on Grandeur De Lully reflected in the Ménagerie Pond during the eventing cross-country at the Palace of Versailles (below).

Robin Godel of Switzerland on Grandeur Du Lully reflected in the Menagerie Pond during the Olympics eventing cross-country at the Palace of Versailles

A group of cyclists climbs to the top of Montmartre during the men’s cycling road race.

Manon Apithy-Brunet of France celebrates beating Sabine Choi of Korea in the semi-finals in the women’s individual fencing sabre. — Manon Apithy-Brunet of France celebrates beating Sabine Choi of Korea before going on to win gold in the women’s individual fencing sabre (above left), Ramiro Mora Romero of the Refugee Team, who lives and trains in Britain, celebrates with the crowd after successfully completing his final lift in the clean and jerk of the weightlifting 102kg competition (above right).

Ramiro Mora Romero of the Refugee Team, who lives and trains in Britain, celebrates with the crowd after successfully completing his final lift in the clean and jerk of the weightlifting men’s 102 kg competition — Manon Apithy-Brunet of France celebrates beating Sabine Choi of Korea before going on to win gold in the women’s individual fencing sabre (above left), Ramiro Mora Romero of the Refugee Team, who lives and trains in Britain, celebrates with the crowd after successfully completing his final lift in the clean and jerk of the weightlifting 102kg competition (above right).

Helen Maroulis of the US (right) with a bloodied mouth during her victory over Alina Hrushyna-Akobiia of Ukraine during the quarter-finals of the women’s 57kg freestyle wrestling — Helen Maroulis of Team USA (in red) with a bloodied mouth during her victory over Alina Hrushyna-Akobiia of Ukraine during the quarter-finals of the women’s 57kg freestyle wrestling.

Tom Daley is kissed by his British diving partner Noah Williams after winning silver medals in the diving 10m synchronised event (above), Gavin Bottger of Team USA in the preliminaries of the men’s park skateboard competition (below).

Gavin Bottger of the US in the preliminaries of the men’s park skateboard competition at La Concorde.

Fermin López of Spain points to the flag on his shirt as his team celebrate their fifth goal in the dying minutes of extra time of the gold medal football match against France. — Fermín López points to the badge on his shirt as Spain celebrate their fifth goal in the dying minutes of extra time of the gold medal match against France (above left), President Macron wipes the tears away from the face of Romane Dicko of France after she won a bronze medal in the women’s 78kg judo competition (above right), Armand Duplantis of Sweden sprints down the runway on his way to breaking the world record in the final of the men’s pole vault (below).

Fermín López points to the badge on his shirt as Spain celebrate their fifth goal in the dying minutes of extra time of the gold medal match against France (above left), President Macron wipes the tears away from the face of Romane Dicko of France after she won a bronze medal in the women’s 78kg judo competition (above right), Armand Duplantis of Sweden sprints down the runway on his way to breaking the world record in the final of the men’s pole vault (below).

Armand Duplantis of Sweden sprints down the runway on his way to breaking the world record in the final of the men’s pole vault

Imane Khelif of Algeria kisses her gold medal during the presentation ceremony after the final of the women’s 66kg boxing at Roland Garros — Imane Khelif of Algeria kisses her gold medal during the presentation ceremony after the final of the women’s 66kg boxing (above). Simone Biles performs on the uneven bars during the final of the women’s gymnastics all-around team event in which the United States won gold (below left), Kieran Reilly of Great Britain performs a trick during his silver medal-winning performance at the men’s BMX freestyle final.

Simone Biles performs on the uneven bars during the final of the women’s gymnastics all-around team event

Kieran Reilly of Great Britain performs a trick on his final run during his silver medal winning performance during the men’s BMX freestyle final

Britain’s Anthony Harding (right) and Jack Laugher compete on their way to winning bronze in the men’s synchronised 3m springboard diving final.

Novak Djokovic is overcome with emotion when winning an Olympic gold medal after his victory over Carlos Alcaraz in the men’s singles tennis final (above), competitors in the women’s kayak cross event splash into the water off the ramp at the start of their in the quarter-final at the Vaires-Sur-Marne Nautical Stadium (below).

Competitors in the women’s kayak cross event splash into the water off the ramp at the start of their in the quarter-final at the Vaires-Sur-Marne Nautical Stadium

The very first fencing matches take place at the Grand Palais — The very first fencing matches take place in the Grand Palais.

I hardly ever shoot sport but having covered the London Olympics in 2012 I knew roughly what was in store for me in Paris for the next two and a half weeks – a brutal schedule photographing unfamiliar athletes engaging in sports I know little or nothing about, inside strange, complex venues strewn around a city baking in summer heat. Early starts, late finishes, no days off, endless editing, daily double backups, complex logistics and travel planning. Not to mention the constant battles to get my work published in competition with literally the world’s greatest sports photographers … And yet, in the face of all these struggles and challenges (and as I knew it would be), photographing the 2024 Paris Olympic Games was an utterly exhilarating, emotional and life-affirming experience.

Commuter chaos at Montparnasse station in Paris after a series of suspected coordinated arson attacks on the high-speed national rail network and ensuing widespread train cancellations — Thank God I arrived in Paris via Eurostar on the Thursday, because by Friday morning protesters had staged a coordinated arson attack on the country’s railways, bringing the whole network to a near standstill. So, the first stop on my Olympic journey was to the chaotic Gare Montparnasse to capture images of poor stranded Parisians and tourists.

Tom Pidcock wins gold in the mountain biking event — Under a burning sun I saw what I thought at the time to be the first Team GB gold medal win (as it happened another gold had just been won in eventing) courtesy of Tom Pidcock’s incredulous last-lap snatch over France’s Victor Koretzky in mountain biking at Elancourt Hill on the outskirts of Paris. I melted for half the race facing the finish line with the Olympic rings in the background, waiting for this shot.

A couple try to cool down their baby while watching the women’s park cycling BMX freestyle qualifiers — The hottest day of the entire games and everyone at La Concorde watching the BMX event struggled to stay cool.

Team GB race to gold in the women’s quad sculls rowing competition at the Vaires-Sur-Marne Nautical Stadium

Italy get silver in the men’s quad sculls final event at at the Vaires-Sur-Marne Nautical Stadium outside Paris — I was not particularly excited about rowing, but this turned out to be my best day of the Games so far. I went off-piste and found a good position up in the stands (as opposed to the official photo-position at the river’s edge) to see not just the race finish, but also the contestants as they celebrated or collapsed (or both) on the jetty in front of me.

Simone Biles in action during the women’s all-around finals artistic gymnastics. — My second stab at photographing Simone Biles, an athlete who seemed to be drawing global attention towards the Bercy Arena in Paris for her jaw-dropping acrobatic displays, courtesy of the armies of photographers who were vying for top spots and pinging their images to news desks around the world.

A competitor in action during the qualifying rounds of the women’s trampoline gymnastics

A multiple exposure shot of Britain’s Bryony Page during the qualifying rounds of the women’s trampoline gymnastics

Britain’s Bryony Page celebrates after winning gold in the women’s trampoline gymnastics — The next day was I was back at the Bercy again (I was there five times by the end of the Games, more than any other venue) to see Team GB’s Bryony Page win gold and have fun beforehand with some camera twists, turns and long exposures during the qualification round. Later that evening there was a trip up the Eiffel Tower to photograph the men’s beach volleyball from a very elevated position.

Christian Sandlie Sorum and Anders Berntsen Mol of Norway play against Steven Van de Velde and Matthew Immers of the Netherlands in the preliminary phase of the men’s beach volleyball at the Champ de Mars Arena, photographed from the Eiffel Tower

Katie Ledecky of the United States during the women’s 800m freestyle final. — I managed to get myself into a pool position (usually reserved for agency photographers) at Paris La Défense Arena to see America’s Katie Ledecky win her fourth consecutive gold medal in the women’s 800m freestyle event (12 years after she won her first one at London 2012). Getting a pool position changes everything, enabling a straight down-the-line vantage to shoot swimmers head-on as they charge down the lane. This shot was taken at the very top of the race when the pool water was very still, causing a forcefield-like dome of water to gather around her head as lunged forward from the pool’s edge.

Tommy Fleetwood of Great Britain tees off at the first hole during day four of the men’s individual stroke play. — I travelled all the way out to the Golf National, just to shoot Tommy Fleetwood tee off first on the last day of play of the men’s individual golf, when he was one shot behind the lead. Positioned on the bank behind the first tee, I used my monopod to get further elevation in order get the crowds surrounding the tee in shot.

I shot this image with the cameraman’s gaze forming part of the composition, but due to the page design, he was cropped out when the image used in the paper. So here he is, in all his glory!

Sky Brown in action at the women’s park skateboarding final

Anna Hall of the United States throws the javelin during the women’s heptathlon

Katarina Johnson-Thompson of Britain throws the javelin during the women’s heptathlon — Heptathletes Anna Hall of the United States (top) and Great Britain’s Katarina Johnson-Thompson (above left) compete in the javelin leg of the women’s heptathlon, Taliyah Brooks of the United States competes in the long jump (above right) and (below) Johnson-Thompson competes in the shot put, where she recorded a personal best.

Taliyah Brooks of the US competes in the long jump during the women’s heptathlon — Heptathletes Anna Hall of the United States (top) and Great Britain’s Katarina Johnson-Thompson (above left) compete in the javelin leg of the women’s heptathlon, Taliyah Brooks of the United States competes in the long jump (above right) and (below) Johnson-Thompson competes in the shot put, where she recorded a personal best.

Great Britain’s Katarina Johnson-Thompson in action during the women’s heptathlon shot put — The absolute, hands-down highlight of my Paris Olympics. I fought so hard to just get a ticket to enter the Bercy Arena for the final of the men’s basketball competition between France and the US (this was a ticketed, high-demand event with priority going to French and American photographers). Once in, I schmoozed my way from my allocated tabled press position in the gods (not even a photo position) first, down to the stands, then to the field of play and finally, for the last quarter, into the sweetest prime A1 photo position in the whole house (which had just been vacated by the official NBA photographer). This, all after being told on Saturday morning that I had not got my intended ticket to the game via the normal channels. The hard work really paid off as I captured this shot of the great LeBron James swinging on the hoop, post-dunk, right in front of me.

LeBron James of the United States hangs off the rim after dunking against France during the men’s basketball gold medal game

Britain’s Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix in action during the women’s diving 10m platform final where she finished sixth.

David Bowie once said that, as a creator, “when you can’t feel your feet touching the bottom, then you’re about to do something exciting.” That was how it felt when the Guardian asked if I could cover my first Olympic competition. I’m a portraits and features photographer, so this, for me, was definitely the deep end. I could have panicked, but was reassured by the team, and went on to photograph Team GB’s gold-performance at Versailles, Andy Murray’s swansong at Roland Garros, a first-ever gold medal for Ireland in the gymnastics, plus gravity-defying climbers, divers and breakdancers. I think my most cherished moment was the men’s 10,000m at the Stade de France, hearing the roar from the crowd as they turned into their final lap, and deep down, my own teenage memories of running down that finishing straight. Covering the Olympics was a marathon, and I’m proud to have run alongside so many other talented photographers.