'It's been mad' - Photographer James Crombie says Paris Olympics best yet
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Daniel Wiffen with his bronze and gold medal swimming medals, snapped by local photographer James Crombie. ©INPHO/James CrombieImage 2 of 8
Daniel Wiffen celebrates his gold medal win in the 800m freestyle. ©INPHO/James CrombieImage 3 of 8
Pommel Horse gold medallist Rhys McCleneghan snapped by James with the Eiffel Tower in the background. ©INPHO/James CrombieImage 4 of 8
James Crombie in action at the Paris Olympics.Image 5 of 8
Rory McIlroy manages his disappointment after placing finishing fifth on the 18th hole. Image: James CrombieImage 6 of 8
Men’s Beach Volleyball; Cherif Younousse and Ahmed Tijan of Qatar against Marco Grimalt and Esteban Grimalt of Chile. ©INPHO/James CrombieImage 7 of 8
Stade de France, Men’s 100m Final Noah Lyles, USA, celebrates after winning. PHOTOS © INPHO/James Crombie ©INPHO/James CrombieImage 8 of 8
Kellie Harrington celebrates becoming a double Olympic gold medallist, the first Irish woman to achieve such a feat. ©INPHO/James CrombieOf the three Olympics covered by local photographer James Crombie, the Paris Games were the best.
The Rahugh native, who works for INPHO, first experienced the Olympics in Rio in 2016, describing those Games as 'held together with Sellotape.' He also noted that the Tokyo Games were significantly impacted by Covid-19.
A two-time Press Photographer of the Year, James was in the thick of the action in Paris, capturing all of Team Ireland’s greatest moments.
“It’s been mad, an absolutely fantastic Olympics and my favourite by a mile,” he told the Examiner.
“A personal highlight for me was Kellie Harrington’s win. There’s just something about her, and she’s had a really tough two years.
“My second favourite moment was seeing Rhys McClenaghan’s win because, for me, it was a continuation from Tokyo with both of their stories.
“I really wanted to cover both of those – Rhys was going for redemption, and Kellie was going for immortality.”
Other highlights for James included being at the pool for Mona McSharry’s bronze medal win in the 100m breaststroke, which he said “nobody expected”, and seeing Daniel Wiffen take gold in the 800m freestyle.
“I also got to follow Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry around for a couple of days of the golf,” he said.
“We were kind of hoping that the lads might just fall away so we could go back and see the rest of the action, especially as it was in the first week.
“But Rory screamed into contention on Friday, so we had to go back out on Saturday, and I spent the day with him.
“I spent Sunday right behind him. I’m not a golf fan, but he had a good go, and I know the tough time he’s had lately.”
Of all the pictures James took, one stood above the rest as his favourite.
“The picture I took of Kellie after her win was great. It ended up on the front page of the Daily Mail, the Mirror, and the Star on the Tuesday too,” he said.
“It was also reminiscent of the picture I took of her after her win in Tokyo too.
It’s been a busy few weeks for James, who was working at the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship final, when Armagh claimed the Sam Maguire Cup for the first time in two decades.
He also announced earlier this month that he will be releasing a book called Murmurations in October, which will feature all of his memorable starling murmuration photographs taken at Lough Ennell.
An official launch date will be announced soon, as well as a new exhibition.