John Branch, Pulitzer Prize Winning Journalist on Covering the Tokyo Olympics

John Branch, a sportswriter for the New York Times, rarely covers major sports, unless, that is, a particular detail of the story catches his eye.

I knew John’s work before meeting him. Having recently survived a near tragic avalanche, I was riveted by his multimedia narrative called Snow Fall, The Avalanche at Tunnel Creek, about a group of expert skiers caught off guard during an out of bounds ski foray in Washington State. John was awarded a Pulitzer Prize for the story. His masterful writing style delivered me into the mindset of a dozen talented and experienced skiers who collectively made a series of tiny bad decisions that ultimately resulted in the deaths of three men. That could have just as easily been me. 

John instinctively follows the human side of a sports story more than he does the scoreboard. He recently released a collection of 20 of his favorite stories from over 2,000 he’s written for the NY Times, called Sidecountry: Tales of Death and Life From the Back Roads of Sports. Mountaineering, wingsuit flying, skiing, surfing, bowling (yes, bowling!), skateboarding, even a Rubik’s cube competition made the final cut. 

I spoke with John shortly after his return from Tokyo, where he covered his usual bevvy of stories at the 2020 Summer Olympics, including skateboarding, surfing and climbing. His thoughts on the 2020 Olympics taking place in 2021, life in Tokyo, as well as egg salad sandwiches are what makes John Branch so….John Branch. 

You’ll be inspired!