Salt Lake City Olympic pin trader says trading in Paris is ‘average,’ compared to previous Games

PARIS — Pin collecting is a popular hobby worldwide, especially when it comes to Olympic pins. However, one Utah collector says the demand for trading pins in Paris for the 2024 Summer Games is quite low.

Janet Grissom of Salt Lake City describes herself as an unofficial professional pin trader. She has been to every Olympics since 2002 to trade pins, except 2020 Tokyo and 2022 Beijing, because of COVID restrictions.

“You get to talk to people that you normally would never get to talk to. And it’s fun trading with the kids and fun trading with people,” Grissom told KSL TV.

However, this year, it’s been tougher for her and other pin collectors to get together to trade or find new pins. Grissom believes it’s because there is no central Olympic village or plaza for fans to meet.

“I don’t know. This Olympics has just been tougher,” she said.

Grissom also said Coco-Cola used to sponsor a pin trading area for the Olympics but didn’t do one for the Paris Games.

However, she did find a spot in Paris where a few pin traders got together to do some trading with fans. The most popular? A Snoop Dogg pin with the rapper showcasing the Olympic Rings in the only way he can.

Watson’s win

While Olympic climber Sam Watson doesn’t have a Snoop Dogg pin, he got something a bit better on Thursday: a bronze medal and a world record.

“I have always said that climbing is a beautiful sport in the sense of community that it brings to the world,” Watson said. “And then I love the Team USA support that I have been getting in Salt Lake, in Dallas, and all around the country. I truly feel like I have the entire country behind me.”

The climber moved to Salt Lake City to live and train with Team USA. When he returns from Paris, he will start classes at the University of Utah and begin training for the 2028 Los Angeles Summer Olympics.