So far, I’m loving everything I’ve seen of the 2024 Olympics. Obviously, I’ve not been able to cover off everything that was on my spreadsheet schedule, even with as many screens open as possible. There’s an overwhelming amount of sport - and this is just for the events I’m hugely interested in, never mind the ones that could get my attention if I caught a glimpse.

The amazing news is that the Discovery+ coverage is great. I hadn’t realised that the BBC only had limited broadcast rights this year and instead it was Discovery/Eurosport taking over in the UK so it was a quick scrabble to subscribe. But £6.99 for all this coverage isn’t too bad.

And it really is a lot of coverage. You can watch every single heat of every single session, not only live but on demand as well - something that I don’t take for granted after experiencing Sky’s efforts at covering a sporting tournament.

At first I found it difficult to find things once they were yesterday’s news, but the search on the app is amazing and lists out exactly what you need, in a sensible order, with a little medal symbol for those that will result in gold, silver or bronze for competitors. It’s almost like I didn’t need a spreadsheet at all! (I’m kidding, it’s a lifesaver.)

In terms of the sports, here are some thoughts of what I’ve seen so far:

• Swimming is brilliant, as expected. I’ve watched as many of the heats and finals of these as I can, and really loving it. Particularly enjoyed the US commentator pronouncing it ‘morotishus’ (Mauritius). Adorable. Enjoying the familiar faces alongside new names, and second generations of previous athlete families.
• Skateboarding & BMX have me a little bit vexed. They’re brilliant sports but I’m annoyed at the vast difference between quality and complexity in the men’s and women’s competitions. The women’s skateboarding was almost impossible to watch as everyone was falling off. The men’s BMX blew my mind with the tricks they were performing after only seeing a couple of spins from the women competitors. It’s clearly a work in progress and I can understand that we’re only just getting grass roots in place for women but oof, feels like we’ve got a long way to go on this.
• Seeing Simone Biles back was brilliant but I’ve also loved that other artistic gymnastics are starting to creep towards her levels of difficulty, even trying out some of her named moves. She is and probably always will be head and shoulders above the rest but it doesn’t feel quite so untouchable as before. And the GB men and women have done a great job so far, with hopefully more to come.
• Surfing has caught my eye a little bit, it’s slightly out of my timezone but what I have seen, I’ve enjoyed. It’s such a relaxed and patient event compared to some of the other more frantic sports, and whilst I don’t fully understand what makes a good surf attempt or not, I can tell when they absolutely wipe out. Fun!
• Obviously been keeping an eye on the tennis, disappointed that Boulter and Watson went out in the doubles today but putting my money on Errani and Paolini to win gold in this event. Murray & Evans keep nearly dropping out and you have to feel their luck will run out soon. In the women’s singles, though, it feels like the gold could be anybody’s!
• Also just a shout out to the two triathlon and two mountain biking events which I really enjoyed. Team GB seem to be on a mission to wait to the last minute and then lunge for a comeback win, it’s happened in several events so far. Let’s see what the athletics brings!