World Championships

Another World Championships has come and gone and this one did not disappoint. Unfortunately the organization was what we all expected here in Brazil and the weather opened up with a torrential down poor but in the end the racing by the medal winners was intense and inspiring.

 

The qualifier was very interesting for me as I went out on my first run and left my brain in the start gate. After dipsydoodling my way down the course and accumulating six seconds in penalties I found myself in 52^nd position. As only 40 boats qualify for the semi final I had my work cut out for me on second runs. My coach Jim Jayes reminded me that I had been in this same position before and we went to work to craft a better second run. Strangely I was quite confident heading into my second run and while still staying in the middle of the gates and not risking anything I was able to put down a top ten run and qualify. I almost threw it away at the finish line though when I caught a boil and went too far to the right and had to stop dead to avoid a pile of rocks, I lost over two seconds and in retrospect should have just paddled over the rocks.

 

I felt good for the first run of the final, the course looked good and I was feeling confident after my second run in the qualifier. Unfortunately I had to start early because of my trouble in qualifying and that meant I didn’t get to see how fast some of the flush gates were running. Coupled with the fact that I was in the Semi final alone and had to be somewhat conservative to ensure that I qualified a nation spot for Canada for next years Olympic Games. The run went fairly smoothly although I lost some time in gate six and in gate nine. In gate 19 the wind blew the pole into my arm and that touch was the kicker. Even with the conservative paddling I would have been just outside of the final in 11^th place but the penalty dropped me down to 20^th. At the moment it looks like I qualified the last nation spot available at these world championships so at least that goal has been achieved.

 

Looking forward I am off to China in October to train on the Olympic Venue, it looks like I will be making the trip alone as no team staff are going to support me there. I had a lot of fun on the Beijing course and it will be a great opportunity to spend a few weeks dialing in some Olympic specific technique.

 

While this season wasn’t quite what I wanted with the food poisoning at the world cup and not making the final for the world championships, there were still some highlights. Finishing 6^th in the overall for the World Series which was held on water more like the Olympic Venue than the World Cup and 5^th at the Pre Olympics definitely instills some confidence that with the right type of preparation for next year, anything is possible.

A little late, sorry!

Here I am in Brazil writing a blog about the trip to China. It felt a bit like a mad rush getting home from China and preparing for the biggest event of the year down here in Brazil, but more about that in the next post.


China was a fun and successful tour and while I was happy with my top five result I still felt like I left quite a bit out there on the course. A four second surf in the hydraulic mid way down the course definitely cost me a medal but all in all the race was a good indication that things are moving in the right direction.


Our time in China was not just about the river, we had the chance to get out and about town and thanks to the Canadian Olympic Committee we were able to see some very cool sites in style. It is very difficult to rent a car in China so were reliant on buses and taxis, below is our crew heading into town to visit the silk market and pick up some made to measure suits that we all had purchased. I was happy to be on the bus as traffic is intense and full contact and the street signs are impossible to read as they are in Chinese characters.

We also had the chance to visit the Great Wall. This was an inspiring trip that started with a bus ride, followed by a trip up to the wall on an old ski lift. The wall is amazing as it snakes through the country side, to think when it was made and the overall size of it boggles the mind.

We spent about an hour up on the wall trying to get as far along it as we could. It was very hot and the group was a sweaty mess when we decided we had gone as far as we dared for a rest day. Looking on along the wall we hadn't even made a dent. The trip down was on a metal toboggan ride and was done at much higher speeds then were recommended, putting Olympic athletes on something like that is probably asking for trouble.

The course itself is state of the art and impressively ready to go. In past Games the venue has been under construction until almost the day of the official competition and to have the venue for Beijing finished is a testament to the seriousness of China's will to host the best games ever. I was very happy with the course and while it needs some tweaking it is fun, continuous and difficult. I will enjoy spending time on it over the next year.

We share our venue with the Rowing lake and Sprint facility and everything is very green and quite nicely set up. The buildings are well appointed and offer boat storage, change rooms and team areas for rest and video analysis. The competition was also well attended by local crowds that clapped very politely for the paddlers as they made their runs. It reminded me of a golf tournament with a subdued golf clap.

Typically at the Olympic Games there are lots of rules, regulations and security. This event was no exception as it was the official pre Olympic event. I was not surprised to see high security check points and accreditation's for everyone entering the venue. I was surprised though at some of the directions and requirements inside of the venue, including an area specifically designated for "Kissing and Crying", I didn't get a chance to use this area but I will be there quite a bit over the next year so you never know.


The flight home was comfortable and non eventful. The airport in Beijing was another story though. We were ushered through by officials and did not have to wait in any lines, but I met one woman returning to Canada that had to wait for almost four hours in various lines to navigate the airport to get to the departure gate.


We have several training windows between now and the Games and I am looking forward to both learning more about the course, and learning more about Beijing and the Chinese people.