Jack O’Neil recalled being at the 2024 Paris Olympics and being unable to stop smiling — his 9-year-old self, who was laying in a hospital bed after getting his leg amputated, would never believe how far he had come. His parents in the stands couldn’t believe it either — their son wasn’t expected to live past two, let alone become a Paralympian. 

That journey is what brought O’Neil to sit down with Olympian Noelani Day and NBC Sports senior manager of audio and digital strategy  Seth Rubinroit on Thursday to discuss LA28, their athletic paths and representation in the media on the fourth day of USC’s The Games Week. 

The panel, titled “Game Day,” was moderated by Anthony Bottino, a senior majoring in journalism, at USC Hotel.

O’Neil swam at the 2024 Paralympics in Paris, and Day swam at the Tokyo Olympics in 2020 and at Paris representing Tonga. Both are now retired from their sport. During the panel, the two shared their journeys and highlighted the diversity of what it means to be an Olympian.

“I was a young boy with one leg and not really sure what the future held for me, and it was the representation and the brand of [Paralympian] Mark Barr … who inspired me,” he said.

Prior to competing in Paris, O’Neil said the mother of a boy who had lost both his feet reached out to him because her son was “absolutely infatuated” with O’Neil. 

“It was this really cool moment of like, ‘Oh my god. I am [my idols] right now,’” he said. “That 100 backstroke in Paris meant something to this kid in Colorado. It’s just this awesome thing that I’m just so lucky to be a part of.”

Day, a USC alum, grew up in Tonga, where she did not have access to a swimming pool. So, Day practiced in the ocean, swimming among coral reefs — and she has the scars to prove it. She said that for competitors like her, their resources are limited, but their effort is doubled.

“From the perspective of a lot of athletes from smaller countries, dedication doesn’t always look like time, the amount of hours you put into your sport,” she said. “It can also look like sacrifice, sacrificing certain moments with family, with your country, your home.”

Unlike O’Neil, who swam at the University of Wyoming at a Division 1 level, Day was on the USC club team in addition to working and earning a degree in human biology. 

“I was not the USC athlete,” she said. “They woke up at five in the morning to go jump in the pool. I was the student worker that woke up at five in the morning to go open the pool for the student athletes.”

Alex Bartolomei and Mitchell Kirby, co-chairs of USC’s The Games Week, put together the weeklong panel series because they wanted students to be a part of the innovation developed in preparation for LA28.

Bartolomei, a junior majoring in environmental engineering, said the panel was “bittersweet.”

“This is our fourth panel in our panel series,” he said. “It’s been an incredible week, and we’re super excited to finish out strong here.”

Kirby, a senior majoring in civil engineering who is also pursuing a master’s degree in mechanical engineering, said they created the panels with innovative themes in mind because they wanted to connect students from multiple disciplines with people who are in those fields. 

“A lot of people make ideas and they’re out of touch with the people who are actually the decision- makers,” Kirby said. “So that’s why we brought the decision makers in.”

Bartolomei said although there were challenges, like Olympic track and field athlete Chari Hawkins cancelling at the last minute, he was just grateful.

“I’m most proud of seeing students and industry professionals have this interaction,” he said. “And really, having it as a catalyst for them to accelerate their ideas, grow and learn and connect. That’s something that’s really special.”

Rubinroit said part of his job at NBC is finding stories like Day’s and O’Neil’s that will captivate American audiences. 

However, before athletes — particularly those in smaller sports — are able to get the media’s attention, O’Neil said they have to create a brand.

Day agreed, and said brand building is important because it is easy for athletes to confine their identities to their respective sports, so the media has a responsibility to push athletes to discover who they are as people.

“Allowing athletes to also show themselves outside of their sport also attracts a whole other audience and also shows how diverse the field they play can be,” she said.

At the same time, O’Neil said coverage of the Paralympics has been too focused on feature stories that have taken away from the athletics of the actual competition, an issue that has improved in recent years.

“Finally, the Paralympics is being marketed as a competition that promotes rivalry, that promotes fierce competition, and it promotes long training days,” O’Neil said.

LA28 is the first time Los Angeles will host the Paralympics. O’Neil said medals won at these Olympic games will mean “a little bit more” than other games. 

“I think athletes should also be extremely excited to be a part of history,” O’Neil said. “It’s this really awesome moment that every kid in L.A. should be tuned into the Olympics, because the city will be better for whatever they see on that screen.”