AFP's first advance team arrived in Beijing on January 11, to set up the agency's technical infrastructure to cover the Winter Olympics, from Feb 4-20. Without them not a single story, photo or video would ever reach clients. But before getting down to work in Beijing, Karim Menasria, François-Xavier Marit and Antonin Thuillier had to pass the first test for everyone coming for the Games: fulfil the ultra-strict requirements to enter the Covid-free 'bubble' put in place by Chinese authorities. And the test started weeks before they even arrived.