St Mary’s Students Lead Media Coverage of Paris 2024 Games

Former and current MA Sports Journalism students at St Mary’s University, Twickenham (SMU) have been working on media coverage at the Paris 2024 Games this summer.

Alumnus Todd Harris is covering his 10th Olympic and Paralympic Games with NBC, having been an announcer for NBC’s coverage of various Olympic and Paralympic events throughout his career. In Paris, Todd covered the Olympic BMX and skateboarding events for the network, before returning for the Paralympic Games.

Ahead of Paris, Todd told current Sports Journalism students at St Mary’s that, “I don’t think I’ve had one bad Olympic experience, but it is hard work. It is 15-17 days of long hours and a lot of eyeballs are on your work. Your job is to inform, excite, entice, amplify, cover the thing, and then walk away with your head held high.”

Alumna Gemma Stevenson, who graduated from SMU in 2016, is out in Paris reporting on the Paralympic Games for the BBC. She has featured in this year’s Paralympic coverage on BBC Radio 5 Live, BBC Cambridgeshire, and BBC World Service. Speaking from Paris Gemma said, “To think eight years ago just before Rio 2016 I was sitting my exams at St Mary’s dreaming of reporting from the Paralympics, and now I’m here in Paris having presented my own sports show and providing analysis and interviews for BBC Local. I’ve even been on French TV analysing the sport and the opening and closing ceremonies. It’s like stuff dreams are made of.

“As a disabled broadcaster the journey hasn’t always been easy - access issues and some outdated attitudes towards disabled people and their capabilities make routes into the industry even harder for people who look like me, but I’m stubborn so I’ve made it my mission in my career to smash as many glass ceilings as possible.

“Hopefully it will make it easier for those that come in the future, so they too can dream about reporting from the Paralympics one day without the barriers that I’ve faced.”

Ewan Lury, who graduated from SMU in 2022, is the Communications Officer for ParalympicsGB at the Paris Paralympics. In his role, Ewan has been involved in announcing ParalympicsGB's 215 Paralympic athletes, as well as creating content for the ParalympicsGB social media channels.

Former student and current Digital Sports Journalism Lecturer at St Mary’s, Marina Izidro, presented beach volleyball coverage for the Olympic Broadcast Service (OBS) in Paris. She is now focusing on wheelchair rugby coverage during the Paralympic Games. This is Marina’s seventh Olympics working as a journalist and her third with the OBS.

Aayush Majumdar, a current student on the Sports Journalism MA, was recently published by BBC Sport for his coverage on the 17-year old Paralympic archer Sheetal Devi. Sheetal, a Gold medallist at the Asian Para Games, is one of the only women archers to compete in Paris without arms.

Other current and former students who have been working at the Paris 2024 Games include:

• Olga Bagatini, Sports Engagement (United Nations)

• George Bennett, Warner Bros/Disney

• Giulio Gasparin, Olympic Information Service

• Warren Muggleton, OBS

• Adam Samuel, BBC World Service

• Katie Shanahan, TalkSport

• Júlia Belas Trindade, The Guardian and Brazilian Press.

Sports Journalism Course Lead at St Mary’s University Dr Daragh Minogue said, “From a course perspective, we are delighted that so many of our students and graduates are working at the Olympic and Paralympic Games. It’s one of the highlights of any sports journalist's career.”