Written by John Morris, WheelchairTravel.org, August 10, 2024
Hello again from Paris, France!
The 2024 Olympic Games are winding down, with the closing ceremony scheduled to take place on Sunday. I had originally planned to depart Paris this past Wednesday for Brussels, Belgium, but adjusted my plans to take in more Olympic contests and to spend additional time with friends.
On Tuesday, I hosted a small meet-up of Wheelchair Travel readers at a Parisian cafe. It was a fun afternoon that led to the development of new connections and friendships, and it’s something I hope to replicate in other cities in the future. To those who attended the Paris meet-up, thank you! It was wonderful to meet you, and I look forward to keeping in touch!
The 2024 Paralympic Games will commence on August 28, but I must unfortunately return to the United States for other commitments. A number of readers have shared that they will be attending, and I am excited to follow along on television.
Battling Prolonged Jet Lag
I am very familiar with long-distance and intercontinental travel, and I typically find myself in Europe at least once every other month — this is my fifth month in a row with a trip to Europe, and I’ll be returning here in September and October as well to hit seven months in a row on the European continent.
Many travelers planning international trips worry about jet lag, but it’s something that typically doesn’t affect me. I’ve learned the tricks of the trade, and have a process for adjusting to travel across time zones. If you’re considering a trip to Europe, here are a couple of tips for beating jet lag:
- When traveling eastbound (i.e. from the United States to Europe), pick an overnight flight and SLEEP. You’ll arrive to Europe in the morning and should be prepared for a full day — don’t check-in to the hotel and take a nap!
- When traveling westbound (i.e. from Europe to the United States), you’ll likely depart in the morning and arrive in the afternoon. Stay awake during the flight (watch movies, read a book, listen to music), and remain awake on arrival until your normal sleep time.
Although I am typically a pro at managing time zone transitions, this trip has been different. Personal and professional obligations have not allowed me to fully embrace European time on this trip, and I have had to wake up early (or stay up very late) to remain connected with people in the United States. It has been a difficult couple of weeks, and I’m eager to return home to normalize my sleep schedule!
Broadening Accessibility at the Olympic Games and elsewhere
As I shared in last week’s newsletter, the United States is preparing to host three major international sporting events — the 2026 World Cup together with its neighbors Canada and Mexico, the 2028 Summer Olympics and Paralympics in Los Angeles, and the 2034 Winter Olympics and Paralympics in Salt Lake City.
I hope to be involved in discussions around these games, and traveled to these Paris Olympics with that in mind — How can the United States present the most accessible and inclusive World Cup, Olympics and Paralympics ever held, and what lessons can be learned about opportunities for improvement in Paris?
I promise to do a deep dive into this question in the near future (my schedule has been so packed here, I simply have not had the time to write!), but one major lesson I have been reminded of is that accessibility cannot be thought of only from the perspective of wheelchair users. The United States must embrace a broader view of accessibility than Paris has done, and I know that we can. We must!
Last week, during an accessible shuttle ride on the way to the tennis venue at Roland Garros, an American couple shared their frustration about the “accessible” seating offered to semi-ambulatory persons such as themselves. In one venue, they said, their seats could only be accessed by some 70 stairs! How did that happen? We can, and must, do better.
We must also make historic investments in accessible transportation, particularly in a city like Los Angeles, that is so spread out and where accessible transportation options are not nearly equivalent to those offered to nondisabled people. I think there is enough time to plan and solve for the transportation gap, but barely so. It’s critical that we get to work now — LA 2028 is now less than four years away.
A final lesson that I will share in this newsletter (more to come in the future, I promise!), is that these upcoming events should benefit not only tourists, but those who live in Los Angeles, Salt Lake City and elsewhere.
International Paralympic Committee (IPC) President Andrew Parsons this week highlighted some of the accessibility improvements made by the City of Paris in preparation for these Games. They included:
- Developing 17 “Enhanced Accessibility Neighborhoods” which ensure a range of accessible public services within 15 minutes of leaving home.
- Ground transportation infrastructure which includes fully accessible bus lines and an expanded tramway system, and the addition of 1,000 accessible taxis (we desperately need ADA accessible taxis in the United States!).
- Adopting a plan to have at least one accessible school within a 15-minute walk of any location in the city by 2030.
- Increasing the number of accessible municipal buildings in the city from 45 per cent in 2022 to 95 per cent by the end of 2025.
- Increasing the number of audio crossing signals at intersections to more than 10,000, making it easier for persons with a vision impairment to negotiate the city.
The country of France, and the City of Paris, invested billions into these games — and the investments in accessibility have made Paris a more inclusive and accessible destination than ever before, but the work here is far from finished. I hope they will will continue on the path of making the City of Light a City for All.
Will I see an Olympic Gold Medal moment?
Last week, I attended my first event where a Gold Medal would be awarded, the men’s doubles tennis match between the American duo Rajeev Ram and Austin Krajicek and their counterparts from Australia. Despite winning the first set in convincing fashion, Ram and Krajicek lost the match in a thrilling tie break.
That day, I had hoped to see the flag of the United States of America raised above the medalists’ podium — for a fan at the Olympics, there is a certain pride in seeing your countryman (and your country) recognized, with all the pomp and circumstance of a flag raising and the playing of the gold medalist’s national anthem.
The thrill of a Gold Medal moment was not to be that day, but I did leave with a new profile picture — thanks to the spectator who snapped this shot!
Today, I look to my final opportunity to hear the Star Spangled Banner ring out over an Olympic podium, as I visit the iconic Parc des Princes football stadium to watch the U.S. women’s soccer team play for gold in a much-anticipated match against Brazil.
Whether the United States is victorious or not, I count the entirety of these Olympic Games to have been a Gold Medal moment for me — the chance to enjoy sport, meet friends, and share conversations with people from around the world has been a beautiful gift, and one that we need much more of in this terribly fractured world.
I will see you next week — from another European destination that I am eager to share with you. Stay tuned and have a great weekend!
—John