Covering a Weird Olympics

A diver’s heartbreaking scratch. A medalist lifting up a teammate. Cherished glimpses of Japanese culture — our journalists saw a lot viewers may not have.

Members of The New York Times staff at the Tokyo Olympics reflected on moments that will stay with them from a Games undercut by the pandemic but filled with emotional twists. When a great athlete earned an event victory, the culmination of years of practice, dedication and sacrifice, there was some polite applause from a few scattered volunteers, or maybe a shout from a coach. Not the roar of a packed stadium excited by the spectacle they had witnessed. But at the BMX cycling, one man tried to overcome that. Kye Whyte of Britain had just won a silver medal, and he paused to watch the women’s event. His teammate, Bethany Shriever, had two years before turned to crowdfunding after her state financing was cut. Now, as Shriever surged ahead of the other competitors, Whyte became a one-man cheer squad, shouting his approval and punching the air as she raced to the line. When she won, he lifted her in a bear hug, as joyful about her gold as his own silver.