(For a collection of photos documenting the trip described below, CLICK HERE
For Jill and Barry Lagan, their plans were set. They had their flight, hotel reservations and tours all booked for Tokyo to see their daughter, Lexi, compete in the 2020 Olympics.
Then COVID hit.
The Games were moved to 2021 with the goal of at least allowing the athletes to compete but it also meant that there would be no spectators in attendance. Not even proud parents like the Lagans.
But thanks to Lexi’s talents and determination, her parents were granted a do-over of sorts as she qualified for the 2024 Games in Paris in shooting. This time, nothing was going to stop them from seeing their oldest daughter compete in one of the world’s most prestigious sporting events.
“We were so grateful we finally got to attend, since we couldn’t go to Tokyo, so just being there was very exciting,” Jill Lagan, the CEO of the Boulder City Chamber of Commerce, said just a few days after returning to Boulder City. “It’s so much different when watching it (Olympics) from a distance on TV compared to being there in person.
“To be there and around all the other athletes, there is such an amazing energy and vibe. There’s also a sense of excitement, nervousness and hope. It was impressive to be around people of that caliber. Mediocrity does not exist in that situation.”
Lagan said that while she had been at several of Lexi’s competitions over the years, seeing her own child on the sport’s biggest stage meant so much more and was almost too much to bear.
“We thought this could have been a one and done,” she said in terms of Lexi not making it to her second Olympics. “I had a very hard time watching. Barry watched every second. Shooting is very slow-paced and methodical. And, I don’t do so well with slow and methodical. I found myself doing whatever I could do to take my mind off of it so that, in that timeframe, I didn’t go crazy.”
Lexi was not able to participate in the opening ceremonies because the shooting venue was three hours south of Paris and the ceremonies did not end until almost midnight and she competed the next morning at 8 a.m. But because they had to purchase tickets early, Jill and Barry did get to attend the opening of the Games.
Lexi, however, did take part in the closing ceremonies. In fact, for a second or two she was shown along with her fellow American athletes on NBC’s telecast during the playing of the national anthem as the Games were passed from France to America, the site of the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. Ironically, she was also shown during the broadcast of the opening ceremonies in Tokyo.
With Lexi’s event finishing on the opening day of competition (she placed 25th out of 53 competitors), she was able to join her parents for several other events such as beach volleyball, rowing, race walking and canoe slalom. Ticket prices varied greatly depending upon the popularity of the sport and size of the venue. Lagan said they spent $2,700 a person for the opening ceremonies. As noted, they had to buy the tickets prior to finding out Lexi would not be participating.
“That’s a ticket I regret buying,” she said adding they paid $280 for beach volleyball, $175 for canoe slalom and more than $100 for race walking.
Being in Paris for 13 days, they had plenty of free time to see all that France has to offer and plenty of windshield time going back and forth from where Lexi was staying/competing near Chateauroux to Paris. Chateauroux is also where they stayed, in a privately-owned bed and breakfast.
They spent a day at Disneyland Paris, toured the French countryside and saw plenty of historical locations.
“France truly loves its history and protects the architectural wonders that tell that story,” she said. “It was inspiring being near structures that were so well designed and built to stand the tests of time.”
They also ventured south for a more emotional stop: Normandy and Omaha Beach, the site of D-Day, the largest sea-born invasion in history.
“What I found fascinating was that you’re on that beach and there’s children playing and building sand castles and families picnicking and having fun,” she said. “To see the dichotomy in terms of the history and how that water was once filled with blood and bodies it really drives home the importance of having those military protections and that those children can play there because of the sacrifices that were made decades earlier. That was very poignant and impactful.”
Because of the issues that Delta Airlines faced during that time, the Lagans arrived one day late to Paris and unplanned stops in London and Switzerland on the wsy home.
“In a way it worked out because we got to see places we didn’t expect to see,” she said. “I was able to take Barry to the real Matterhorn (as opposed to the one at Disneyland) which was neat. “