Athlete Transport Manager Reflects on Her Olympic Journey
As a child, I dreamed of swimming in the Olympics. Today, I’m wrapping up my year-and-a-half journey at the Paris Olympics, ensuring athletes arrived and departed safely. My name is Valentina Mattioli, and this has been an adventure like no other.
My mission: to coordinate long-distance travel across France. From basketball players in Lille to soccer players scattered across seven cities, surfers in Tahiti, and clay-pigeon shooters in Châteauroux, I’ve seen it all. This wasn’t just a job; it was driven by my unwavering passion for sports, born from a family of athletes.
When the Tokyo Olympics were threatened by accreditation cuts, I knew I had to be there. I applied directly to the Paris organizing committee and was lucky enough to be hired. From an initial team of 15, we’ve grown to 680 in just two months. The sheer volume of work has been immense.
The project started with planning transportation across various disciplines and cities, without knowing which athletes would qualify. Once names were finalized, we meticulously organized their arrival and departure schedules. With the Games ending soon, ensuring everyone gets home safely is paramount.
One of my most memorable moments was welcoming the Italian delegation and escorting athletes onto the Seine for the opening ceremony. I also had the privilege of witnessing Tamberi’s heartfelt greeting, a fellow basketball enthusiast from the Marche region.
My heart swelled with pride when I saw Ceccon win gold in the swimming finals. As a former swimmer myself, the gold medal and the playing of our anthem were incredibly moving. The Greece-Spain basketball game was another highlight, a spectacle I wouldn’t have missed for the world.
My journey has been filled with challenges and triumphs, but the experience has been invaluable. I’m already looking forward to the 2026 Winter Games in Milan-Cortina.