Paris 2024 Olympics | Champions Park: a place where fans and their heroes commune in perfect harmony

“Never meet your heroes”, they say. Well the naysayers have plainly never visited the Trocadéro Champions Park — a free access arena, where Olympic medalists meet their awestruck fans every day, for a festival of joy and harmony that Taylor Swift herself might struggle to match.

Professional sportsmen and women are often portrayed as being distant, or out of touch with their fans. Not so the stars of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, who willingly partake in a daily festival of selfies, dad-dancing, and general goofiness, to the obvious delight of their adoring public.

I dare anyone who witnessed Anthony Jeanjean celebrating his bronze medal by performing BMX tricks with his friends, or the British gold medal-winnersin the Women's quadruple sculls, who danced up and down the catwalk all evening with joyful abandon, to call any of these athletes "diistant".

"Without whispering a word to his daughter, Lola’s dad retrieved the note : he knew then what she didn’t — her dream might one day become a reality"

Aged just fourteen, Lola Anderson wrote herself a note after watching the 2012 London Olympics on television. Lola the teenager dreamed of rowing for Great Britain, and of winning a gold medal at the Olympic Games. The note ended up in a wastepaper bin — the young girl was embarrassed by her own hubris, and afraid that people might see her dream as silly or arrogant.

Without whispering a word to his daughter, Lola’s dad retrieved the note : he knew then what she didn’t — her dream might one day become a reality.

Sadly, Lola’s dad wasn’t with us to witness her victory in the quadruple sculls, but as she danced tonight with her teammates at the Champions Park, we caught a glimpse of that teenager again.

And there was nothing silly or arrogant on show, only pure joy.

"Athletes are put under enormous pressure to perform at these one-off events, and they make sacrifices that the general public is understandably, largely unable to comprehend"

We, the public, too often forget that these athletes are human — an easy mistake to make given the superhuman feats they perform every four years for our pleasure. But every one of these unique sportsmen and women has a backstory just like Lola’s.

And this explains why the Champions Park is such a roaring success. Athletes are put under enormous pressure to perform at these one-off events, and they make sacrifices that the general public is understandably, largely unable to comprehend.

The Champions Park gives these elite athletes a chance to let off steam, and to enjoy themselves, and it provides a unique opportunity for the fans to get close to their idols, and to share in their joy.

If ever you retrieve a note from your son or daughter in the wastepaper bin, don't throw it away, guard it preciously, who knows, one day you may witness your child dancing down an Olympic catwalk, and making someone's day with a selfie and a smile.