Edwina Bartholomew: The Olympic Games moment I won't forget

Edwina Bartholomew reveals her unforgettable Olympic Games moment. Have your say.

It turned out to be the salve we needed for these strange times; two weeks of watching the best athletes in the world compete in the Olympic Games that were never meant to happen.

We cheered, we cried, we felt every race, every moment, alongside our incredible Australian team.

Did they seem even better to you? More collegiate? A genuine bunch of legends with very little ego and arrogance? Maybe they haven’t changed, maybe we have.

We just desperately needed what they were dishing out: optimism, achievement and inspiration by the bucket load.

Beach volleyballer Taliqua Clancy grew up in the peanut capital of Kingaroy, in Queensland. As a young indigenous girl, she saw herself in Cathy’s success.

Surfer Sally Fitzgibbons was nine years old when she sat at ANZ Stadium and watched Cathy race. She dashed down to the barriers to get her hat signed but couldn’t get close enough. Eventually, 18 years later, Cathy signed that hat and it’s now one of Sally’s most prized possessions.

Australia's Jess Fox during her gold moment. Picture: Adam Head

We started these games with more than 13 million Australians in lockdown. The Olympics provided recess and lunchtime entertainment for homeschooling parents, some teachers even paused classes to watch the big races and historic moments.

On the odd occasion we did bump into friends on a walk or outing, we had something to talk about that didn’t revolve around case numbers and exposure sites.

Then at night, we could all get together around the TV as a family and watch a brilliant team like the Matildas; their game against Great Britain broke TV records for a female team sport, with nearly 2.5 million viewers.

For me, the moment of the Games was Jess Fox winning gold. We were lucky to have her dad, Richard, with us in the Channel 7 studio. It’s a moment I will never, ever forget.

Working on an Olympic broadcast is an absolute honour. Not only do you get to work alongside the best broadcasters in the country, legends like Bruce McAvaney, you get to have a front-row seat to Olympic excellence.

And after Sunday, we can tune into the Paralympics and feel those same feels all over again.

Until then, a huge thanks to all our Aussie athletes, our team, and the beautiful nation of Japan for giving us what we didn’t even know we needed: hope and the most wonderful distraction.

Originally published as Edwina Bartholomew: The Olympic Games moment I won't forget