Our boy in Brazil – the Sale grandad back from Rio who’s flying back for the Paralympics

While many of us watched the Olympics on the sofa in front of the TV,  one man from Sale was in Rio as Mo Farah ran even further into the record books – and was actually being paid for the pleasure of  being at the heart of the action.

Andy Buckley, aged 57, has just arrived back after almost seven weeks in Rio where he was working for the Olympic Broadcasting Services, as a reporter and producer.

He went out to help prepare for the  media coverage of the Games, then worked round the clock  to gather and supply national broadcasters with material, and then helped wrap it all up.

He arrived home last weekend and has spent the last few days catching up with friends and family especially his wife Julie, and their sons Chris, 31 and Rob, 29.  He leaves again for Rio on Sunday, this time to do the same job during the Paralympics.

Since leaving BBC Radio Manchester in 2008, where he was Sports Editor and the Manchester City reporter, Andy has travelled the world covering sport.

He said: “I have been lucky enough since 2010 to do this.  Since then I have done the Olympic Games, Paralympics,  The Youth Games,  both Summer and Winter.  So I did Singapore in 2010, Innsbruck in 2012, London after that,  the Sochi Winter games two years ago, Nanjing, Lillehammer this February and now Rio. The OBS has been very kind to me.”

This time being away was different because he is now a grandad and his granddaughter Charlotte isn’t the little baby he left behind seven weeks ago.

“I obviously miss everyone but not seeing Charlotte was hard,” says Andy. ” It was a wrench because she was only born in February and she was still small when I left. It’s been great to see her again.  She is wonderful,  she is absolutely wonderful.”

Andy added:” I can only do this because Julie is so supportive.   If things aren’t easy and smooth at home, being away is very hard.  But she is a rock, she really is.

“I was initially in Rio to compile a number of features on the Torch relay through Brazil and then during the Games I was working for the OBS’s news channel.

“It provides rights holders from throughout the world – TV companies from each country who pay for the right to broadcast material from the Games to that country  –  packages and highlights of all the events. My sports were Athletics and Beach Volleyball.

“I was lucky enough to do the evening sessions when Mo Farah and Usain Bolt won their medals. It was a career highlight to cover the Athletics and report on those athletes.”

If the armchair sports fans think he’s been on a working holiday, they couldn’t be more wrong.  Andy worked shifts were he would often finish as the sun was coming up in England (BST is four hours ahead).  “We were finished when were finished to be honest,” he says. “But no one was complaining because it such a special time.”

While big countries and broadcasters can afford to have presentation and production teams out at the Games smaller countries have to rely more on the material OBS supplies.

And that is where Andy and his team come in. He explains:  “For example the hammer Gold went to Tajikistan and  I suddenly found myself having to bring pictures and interviews together for their broadcaster because they probably didn’t have the amount of people out there like most of the bigger countries.

“Thanks to the OBS,  sports fans out in Tajikistan were able to have some high quality reporting about their first major Gold medal.”

After covering the inspirational London Paralympics Andy is looking forward to getting back to Brazil. ‘The Paralympics are very special,” he says. ” There are some amazing athletes there and it helps diversity throughout the world.

“If you like sport I suppose you could say I have been very lucky.  But I’ve done my bit.  I was the City reporter during the dark days at Maine Road. It was great as a journalist because you got all kinds of access you couldn’t get now.  But it wasn’t fun for the supporters!”

The Rio Paralympics run from September 7th to the 18th.