MPR News reporter Kyra Miles has a front row seat at Olympics

CATHY WURZER: You are listening to Minnesota Now here on MPR News. I'm Cathy Wurzer. As you all know, the 2024 Summer Olympics are officially underway in Paris. So far, Team USA has racked up 12 medals, which is the most, but they are fifth in the gold medal count. One of MPR's own has a front row seat to all the action. MPR News Reporter Kyra Miles is at the Olympics with her family and is taking some time to talk to us from Paris about her experiences so far. I envy you. Thanks for joining us.

KYRA MILES: Of course. Of course.

CATHY WURZER: Now, where are you right now?

KYRA MILES: So right now, I'm in my hotel, actually. Our hotel is in the Marais District, right near the Republic Statue.

CATHY WURZER: How did you and your family decide you wanted to go to the Olympics?

KYRA MILES: Yeah, it was actually a couple of years ago that we started planning it. I had studied abroad in Italy, actually, in college, and my mom had promised me that we would go back to Italy in 2024, once I was in college, my brother was done with college. But 2024 obviously coincided with the Paris Olympics, so my aunt said, why don't we also go to Paris for the Olympics? So a couple of years ago, we started planning. We bought our tickets early last year. And now, we're here.

CATHY WURZER: I love that. Is it tough to get tickets to events?

KYRA MILES: So it was-- I remember, I signed up in late 2022 for email list to get notified about the lottery for tickets. And then once the ticket lottery went live, we all woke up at 4:00 AM because they went live, like, Paris time. And we like just click, click, clicked and bought whatever we could get. And we ended up getting tickets to see tennis, men's gymnastics, archery, and basketball.

CATHY WURZER: Oh, wow, tennis? So did you--

KYRA MILES: Yes.

CATHY WURZER: Did you see Djokovic and Nadal?

KYRA MILES: Yes, just now, just now, yes.

CATHY WURZER: Oh my gosh. Tell us about it.

KYRA MILES: Oh my god, it was so exciting. I had never seen professional tennis in real life. And so just watching them take the court, it was just so exciting, even having minimal knowledge about the sport at all. It was just such an exciting game to watch. Nadal was really running for all of the shots that Novak was hitting him. So it was good. It was really exciting.

CATHY WURZER: And Djokovic, I think, beat Nadal?

KYRA MILES: Yes. Yes.

CATHY WURZER: Oh my gosh.

KYRA MILES: But it was close.

CATHY WURZER: I think archery would be really fun to watch.

KYRA MILES: That was amazing. So we didn't know, but we actually had gotten the medal-- we saw the Medal matches. So we were able to see the matches, the quarterfinals, the semifinals, and the finals. South Korea took the gold medal. China took silver. And Mexico took bronze. And it was really-- I like archery. So that was really exciting for me to watch. My mom and my aunt are big tennis fans. They went to the US Open a couple years ago as well, so they were really excited for today.

CATHY WURZER: Now, if you don't know about a sport and you happen to get tickets to it, do they help you out in terms of any guides or something like that?

KYRA MILES: No. You're just happy to be there.

CATHY WURZER: Which would be-- yeah, you're at the Olympics. What the heck, right?

KYRA MILES: Yeah.

CATHY WURZER: So what event did you enjoy watching the most?

KYRA MILES: For me, I think it was archery. It was a really close match in the gold medal match, and it was just really exciting to watch. The crowd was full of Korean fans, who were very lively. Korea has, I think, won gold medal in women's team archery for the past four Olympics. So they were big people to watch. But also the men's gymnastics qualifications, we were able to see Team USA's subdivision for the qualification rounds. And I know that Fred Richard and Paul Juda, both Team USA, were able to make it to the finals round, or the top 24, and to the competition rounds. And I was able to see them in Minnesota for the gymnastics trials a couple months ago. So that was really cool to see them again.

CATHY WURZER: Fantastic. What's the atmosphere like?

KYRA MILES: It's very exciting. I will say, I think I've met more people from other countries than I have met French people here. But it's just so-- I think a lot of the Parisians have left town in preparation for all the tourists coming in. But it's been just this air of excitement. Everyone here is so excited. The whole city has turned into Olympic City, so everything is for the Olympics. Everybody's talking about the Olympics. The hotel I am rebranded themselves a little bit to have the Olympic rings on their logo, and all the staff are wearing Paris 2025 T-shirts and hats and stuff. So yeah, it's very exciting, definitely has consumed the city.

CATHY WURZER: I have to say. I was initially kind of not sure about the Opening Ceremonies, kind of a boat flotilla. And I thought, oh, OK. But I was captivated by that opening ceremony from start to finish. What did you think?

KYRA MILES: I loved it. So we were there. We also got tickets to the Opening Ceremony. And I don't know what it looked like on TV, but it was so fun to be there in person. It was pouring down rain. So we were definitely soaked. And it was very long too. But it was exciting to see everyone riding down the boats. And they kind of had-- each section had a little dance or performance going on at the same time as well. And yeah, I really enjoyed it. I thought it was really fun.

CATHY WURZER: And did you see Celine Dion and Lady Gaga?

KYRA MILES: So we didn't get to see them directly. That's not where our seats were. But we saw them on the big screen.

CATHY WURZER: Yeah. That was-- the whole thing was amazing. Oh my gosh. So any surprising moments so far that you just thought, oh my gosh, I cannot believe I've seen this or anything that will stick with you?

KYRA MILES: Yeah. I just think seeing these world class athletes in real life is crazy, like just seeing Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic in person and seeing them play for real and seeing these gymnasts from the top countries in the entire world. I think just being here and realizing the people that you see on TV you're seeing in real life is the part that I'll take back with me the most.

CATHY WURZER: Now, are you all done? Are you going to leave Paris?

KYRA MILES: Yeah, so today is actually our last full day in Paris.

CATHY WURZER: Oh.

KYRA MILES: Yeah.

CATHY WURZER: Well, I thank you for taking the time to talk with us on your last full day in Paris. I hope you have a wonderful meal, wherever you plan on eating. I'm sure, enjoy the food, and enjoy the people and take lots of pictures.

KYRA MILES: All right, thank you, Cathy.

CATHY WURZER: And that is MPR News Early Education Reporter Kyra Miles. By the way, if you head to mprnews.org, we have an Olympic medal tracker specifically for athletes with Minnesota ties. You can read all about the local athletes competing in Paris.