Scott and Dave did it! They got Canada's first medal by 10 minutes haha. I'm so excited for those guys - they really deserve it. Today's going to be a big day for our rowers, and those guys just set the bar really high! Today we have the Lightweight women's double, Lightweight men's pair, Heavyweight women's eight, and Heavyweight men's eight. It's a big day for rowing, and their's going to be lots of medal opportunities.
As for our race yesterday, it was probably the best one this year. Mind you the only times we've gotten to race has been here at the Olympics ;) . We changed our combination with Anna Marie stroking and it was definitately faster, but it was too little too late. We just ran out of time.
Anyway, I have to say I still have the rowing bug. The highs are extemely addictive, and I'm not sure I want to end my rowing career without a chance at an Olympic medal. Carsten is going to have the whole next quadrennial to develop the Canadian sculling program. If he brought us this far in just two year, I'm excited to see what he can do with four. I'm going to keep in touch with rowing while I finish school and see what happens. No pressure...
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Thursday, August 14, 2008
proud of team mates
Well where to begin...As most of you know by now we didn't make the A Final. To be honest, this option wasn't even in my fore thoughts. I really thought we could pull it off. However, I'm extremely proud of us for handling everything the way we did. We had some bad luck this season, and we tried to recover but we just weren't fast enough. Anna Marie had a broken rib for 2 months, and she didn't start training full time with us again until July 16th. We left for Beijing on July 29th, and were not able to get our speed back in time.
On a positive note, we have an amazing coach. Canada hired Carsten Hassing just 2 years ago from Denmark. When he first came to Canada for the position, he was told he had just 4 rowers with any potential. He ended up making 15 Olympians by qualifying 3 boats (pair, quad, and eight + coxswain). Canada hasn't had a quad qualify for the Olympics in 12 years, and he created a sculling program in just two. I'm so excited to see what he can do when he has the whole next quadrennial to work with us.
I'm also super excited for the rest of the Canadian rowing team. Our men's eight is the favourite to win gold, and our men's pair and women's eight are also likely to get a medal. Canada is in desperate need of some hardware, so hopefully our rowers can pull through. I'll be cheering very loudly in the stands on Sunday. Utlimately I would have rather been racing too, but supporting my team mates is the next best thing.
On a positive note, we have an amazing coach. Canada hired Carsten Hassing just 2 years ago from Denmark. When he first came to Canada for the position, he was told he had just 4 rowers with any potential. He ended up making 15 Olympians by qualifying 3 boats (pair, quad, and eight + coxswain). Canada hasn't had a quad qualify for the Olympics in 12 years, and he created a sculling program in just two. I'm so excited to see what he can do when he has the whole next quadrennial to work with us.
I'm also super excited for the rest of the Canadian rowing team. Our men's eight is the favourite to win gold, and our men's pair and women's eight are also likely to get a medal. Canada is in desperate need of some hardware, so hopefully our rowers can pull through. I'll be cheering very loudly in the stands on Sunday. Utlimately I would have rather been racing too, but supporting my team mates is the next best thing.
Saturday, August 9, 2008
Opening Ceremonies
Well two nights ago I had the time of my life. The eight and quad on the women's rowing team decided to walk in the opening ceremonies. We don't race until late afternoon on Aug. 10th, so it won't affect our race.
The whole Canadian team met in the village for staging. Marnie McBean was our team leader and led us onto the buses to the holding area (aka the gymnastics venue). All the athletes were sectioned according to the order they would come out and march, which was determined by how many strokes it takes to write the country's name in Chinese. We were number 63, so it was a bit of a wait. Unfortunately we also missed the actual opening show, but I caught it on TV later the next day. Apparently, coupled with the closing ceremonies, the show cost 100 million US. This makes sense since there were 10,000 performers and 30,000 fireworks!
When it was finally our turn to march into the Bird's Nest, the whole team sang O'Canada a couple times. There's no way I can describe the energy. Just imagine marching into the largest enclosed structure in the world with over 90,000 spectators, and an estimated 4 billion viewers at home. We did our loop around the track and then all the countries congregated in the middle as we waited for the giant cauldron to be lit at the top of the stadium.
Yao Ming was the flag bearer for China, and the crowd went insane. He walked out with a young boy who was a survivor of the earthquake that killed 70,000 last May. It was quite powerful to see them side by side.
Perhaps the coolest part of the whole show was when retired gymnast Li Ning, three time Olympic Champion, was raised to the top of the stadium with the Olympic torch in hand. He "ran" along the 500-meter-long brim of the Bird's Nest with a large screen mimicking an unrolling scroll behind him. It showed footage from the torch relay and all the countries it traveled across. At the end he reached the gigantic cauldron, which he ignited using the flame from his torch. As soon as that cauldron was lit we booked it out of there to beat the masses. We still had an our commute back to our hotel, and it was already after midnight.
I was so happy we decided to go, but now it's time to focus on racing. We have our first race in a few hours. Our boat draw put us with China, Russia, and Ukraine. I've posted a link to the times I'll be racing, but I'm not sure it will show live back in Canada. I think it would be pretty early back home.
Thanks for everyone's good luck wishes!
Rachelle
http://results.beijing2008.cn/WRM/ENG/Schedule/RO.shtml
The whole Canadian team met in the village for staging. Marnie McBean was our team leader and led us onto the buses to the holding area (aka the gymnastics venue). All the athletes were sectioned according to the order they would come out and march, which was determined by how many strokes it takes to write the country's name in Chinese. We were number 63, so it was a bit of a wait. Unfortunately we also missed the actual opening show, but I caught it on TV later the next day. Apparently, coupled with the closing ceremonies, the show cost 100 million US. This makes sense since there were 10,000 performers and 30,000 fireworks!
When it was finally our turn to march into the Bird's Nest, the whole team sang O'Canada a couple times. There's no way I can describe the energy. Just imagine marching into the largest enclosed structure in the world with over 90,000 spectators, and an estimated 4 billion viewers at home. We did our loop around the track and then all the countries congregated in the middle as we waited for the giant cauldron to be lit at the top of the stadium.
Yao Ming was the flag bearer for China, and the crowd went insane. He walked out with a young boy who was a survivor of the earthquake that killed 70,000 last May. It was quite powerful to see them side by side.
Perhaps the coolest part of the whole show was when retired gymnast Li Ning, three time Olympic Champion, was raised to the top of the stadium with the Olympic torch in hand. He "ran" along the 500-meter-long brim of the Bird's Nest with a large screen mimicking an unrolling scroll behind him. It showed footage from the torch relay and all the countries it traveled across. At the end he reached the gigantic cauldron, which he ignited using the flame from his torch. As soon as that cauldron was lit we booked it out of there to beat the masses. We still had an our commute back to our hotel, and it was already after midnight.
I was so happy we decided to go, but now it's time to focus on racing. We have our first race in a few hours. Our boat draw put us with China, Russia, and Ukraine. I've posted a link to the times I'll be racing, but I'm not sure it will show live back in Canada. I think it would be pretty early back home.
Thanks for everyone's good luck wishes!
Rachelle
http://results.beijing2008
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Smog
Ok, so I take it back what I said about the air quality. I guess there's good days and bad days, and yesterday I experienced my first bad day. This huge blanket of smog settled in late afternoon when we were on the water. It was so thick that we could hardly see the end of the course. Everyone started to cough simultaneously - which was really weird. When I looked directly upwards there was blue sky, so I don't think the fog excuse really passes. It was pretty gross, but luckily the air has been fine except for this one time.
Saturday, August 2, 2008
Life in China
I've been in Shunyi (a suburb of Beijing) for a few days now, and its been awesome. We're living a pretty sheltered life in our 5 star hotel with royalty treatment. When the games are done I'd like to have a little more of a cultural experience, but I'm not going to think about that until after the races.
The rowing team is staying 5 minutes away from the course, so the commute has been pretty painless. If we were to stay in the athlete's village, it would've taken us an hour each way by bus. Staying in Shunyi was definitely the way to go. Living in a palace also makes things quite pleasant.
As for the heat, it's not much different than a hot summer in South Western Ontario. There's also a nice breeze by the rowing course that helps a bit. The first day we got here we couldn't see the end of the rowing course because of the pollution haze. However, the strict automobile regulations the Chinese government has enforced seems to be making a difference. It turns out there's beautiful mountains on the other side that we now have no problems seeing!
Yesterday the team had a half day off and we took a bus into Beijing for a few hours. The architecture is unreal. I'm not aloud to post any pictures until after the Olympics, but I would love to show you everything I've seen. The "Bird's Nest" is the largest modern creation I've ever laid eyes on. I can hardly imagine the brain power it took to create such a thing.
We also went to the Silk Market to test our bartering skills. Merchants tugged and grabbed us from all directions trying to get us to come into their shops. There were a lot of designer clothes and purses that I'll be sure to come back for later!
As for the rowing, we're still getting our sea legs back. We haven't quite felt the same as when we left, but this is completely normal and almost always takes a few days. Already we're starting to feel a little better everyday. Our first race isn't until August 10th so we have tons of time to adjust.
The rowing team is staying 5 minutes away from the course, so the commute has been pretty painless. If we were to stay in the athlete's village, it would've taken us an hour each way by bus. Staying in Shunyi was definitely the way to go. Living in a palace also makes things quite pleasant.
As for the heat, it's not much different than a hot summer in South Western Ontario. There's also a nice breeze by the rowing course that helps a bit. The first day we got here we couldn't see the end of the rowing course because of the pollution haze. However, the strict automobile regulations the Chinese government has enforced seems to be making a difference. It turns out there's beautiful mountains on the other side that we now have no problems seeing!
Yesterday the team had a half day off and we took a bus into Beijing for a few hours. The architecture is unreal. I'm not aloud to post any pictures until after the Olympics, but I would love to show you everything I've seen. The "Bird's Nest" is the largest modern creation I've ever laid eyes on. I can hardly imagine the brain power it took to create such a thing.
We also went to the Silk Market to test our bartering skills. Merchants tugged and grabbed us from all directions trying to get us to come into their shops. There were a lot of designer clothes and purses that I'll be sure to come back for later!
As for the rowing, we're still getting our sea legs back. We haven't quite felt the same as when we left, but this is completely normal and almost always takes a few days. Already we're starting to feel a little better everyday. Our first race isn't until August 10th so we have tons of time to adjust.
Monday, July 28, 2008
Leaving for Beijing tomorrow
Hi,
It's late, but I just wanted to leave a quick note before I leave for China tomorrow. Things are going really well in the quad. We've made huge gangs over the past couple weeks and I feel confident in us as a crew. The boating order seems to be working really well for us too.
The past few days have been tough because I've been moving on top of full time training. Lets just say I have been the most pleasant person to be around lately ;) . We had our last row on Lake Fanshawe today. This would have made me a little sentimental if it wasn't for my sheer exhaustion!
Well I have to get to bed. We leave from Toronto at 3pm and get to Beijing at 4pm the next day. It's going to be a long haul to say the least. I'll try my best to keep everyone updated. Oh, and my top 10 hottest canadian athlete page was taken down haha. It was funny while it lasted!
It's late, but I just wanted to leave a quick note before I leave for China tomorrow. Things are going really well in the quad. We've made huge gangs over the past couple weeks and I feel confident in us as a crew. The boating order seems to be working really well for us too.
The past few days have been tough because I've been moving on top of full time training. Lets just say I have been the most pleasant person to be around lately ;) . We had our last row on Lake Fanshawe today. This would have made me a little sentimental if it wasn't for my sheer exhaustion!
Well I have to get to bed. We leave from Toronto at 3pm and get to Beijing at 4pm the next day. It's going to be a long haul to say the least. I'll try my best to keep everyone updated. Oh, and my top 10 hottest canadian athlete page was taken down haha. It was funny while it lasted!
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Friday, July 18, 2008
Rowing Videos
Hi there,
I just thought I would direct you to a couple videos for some visual interest/Olympic spirit. They were made by Kevin Light, who will be competing in the Men's eight this summer. This eight has won the past 2 world championships, and have high expectations to bring home an Olympic gold.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=1fmZmKsL5eE&feature=related
http://youtube.com/watch?v=UZDGONPx-44
I just thought I would direct you to a couple videos for some visual interest/Olympic spirit. They were made by Kevin Light, who will be competing in the Men's eight this summer. This eight has won the past 2 world championships, and have high expectations to bring home an Olympic gold.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=1fmZmKsL5eE&feature=related
http://youtube.com/watch?v=UZDGONPx-44
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Canadian Athletes Now Fund
Dear Friends and Family
Did you know that $8 could make Canada a better country?
We are recruiting Canadians to donate $8 for 08.08.08 to support our Canadian athletes through the Canadian Athletes Now Fund.
Imagine a country without role models...
Our youth need to see excellence and examples of the human spirit in triumph & defeat and overcoming obstacles... $8 can buy you hope, joy, inspiration, and even a better country.
Click this Link below to donate your $8 and invite 8 friends to do the same.
http://www.CanadianAthletesNow.ca/articles/july-8-2008-8-for-08.08.08-event-challenge.html
Every day a Canadian Company or Individual matches your donation as our MVP of THE DAY!
Thank you for GIVING to Canada,
Jane Roos
www.CanadianAthletesNow.ca
Update #2
Well so far so good. Anna Marie is back in full force, and after 2 months of being a part we're finally all rowing together again. We changed our boating order with Krista stroking, Janine in 3 seat, Anna Marie in 2 seat, and I'm still in bow. This combination appears to show some positive results, so I'm excited to race this order in Beijing. The workouts are going well and everyone is getting pretty pumped. As usual, Carsten has been working his magic (he's a genius) and our boat speed is increasing exponentially with our changes. The Olympics are so close now and it's so important for us to do exactly what we're told. The pressure is on!
The following is a link to the latest article written about me from the Regina Leader-Post (written by Murry McCormick).
http://www.canada.com/topics/sports/story.html?id=8940a22b-1a0d-4d91-9412-e710ec4c0bdc
I'll keep you posted,
Rachelle
The following is a link to the latest article written about me from the Regina Leader-Post (written by Murry McCormick).
http://www.canada.com/topics/sports/story.html?id=8940a22b-1a0d-4d91-9412-e710ec4c0bdc
I'll keep you posted,
Rachelle
Friday, July 11, 2008
Update #1
Hi everyone,
I've been meaning to set up this blog page for a while, but I'm a bit of a procrastinator. Thank you Jacques Janson for getting me started!
Well where to begin. As some of you know, my crew and I (bow to stern: Rachelle de Jong, Janine Hanson, Krista Guloien, and Anna Marie de Zwagar) qualified the quad for the Olympics last summer in Munich, Germany. This is a big step for the Canadian sculling program, as it has been a full 12 years since a quad has competed in the Olympics. Our coach, Carsten Hassing, has done an amazing job and he is a technical wizard. We would not be in this position today if it wasn't for his knowledge and patience.
This will be my second Olympics, as I was a spare for the women's eight in Athens, Greece four years ago. At the time I didn't think of my situation as a positive one, but I am now so thankful I could experience the Olympic environment without the stress of competing. I feel very mentally prepared, and I have a good idea of what I can expect.
The past couple of months have been a bit of an up hill battle for us. Our stroke seat, Anna Marie, developed a stress fracture when we were in Lucerne for World Cup 2. We didn't get to compete and she was sent home to Canada to recover. The rest of us stayed in Europe for a training camp in Volkermarkt, Austria, and then we competed in an exhibition race in Poznan, Poland with Lindsay Jennerich subbing in.
We arrived back in Canada on June 24th, and Anna Marie is only starting to row in the quad now. She is rowing with us every couple of days with modified workouts. Stress fractures are a very frustrating injury, and these next couple weeks are very critical to her full recovery. If she pushes herself to hard, she'll just go back to square one and she will not be able to compete in the Olympics at all.
The good news is that when Anna Marie is in the quad we're still showing speed. It's amazing that after almost 2 months of not training together we're still able to move a boat. Tomorrow we're going to try a fairly high intense workout, which is exciting in our progress. The training program Carsten has designed for us is incredibly grueling, and everyone is just hanging on.
That's all for now, I'll try to update this page regularly so everyone can follow my progress into my races in Beijing.
Bye for now,
Rachelle
I've been meaning to set up this blog page for a while, but I'm a bit of a procrastinator. Thank you Jacques Janson for getting me started!
Well where to begin. As some of you know, my crew and I (bow to stern: Rachelle de Jong, Janine Hanson, Krista Guloien, and Anna Marie de Zwagar) qualified the quad for the Olympics last summer in Munich, Germany. This is a big step for the Canadian sculling program, as it has been a full 12 years since a quad has competed in the Olympics. Our coach, Carsten Hassing, has done an amazing job and he is a technical wizard. We would not be in this position today if it wasn't for his knowledge and patience.
This will be my second Olympics, as I was a spare for the women's eight in Athens, Greece four years ago. At the time I didn't think of my situation as a positive one, but I am now so thankful I could experience the Olympic environment without the stress of competing. I feel very mentally prepared, and I have a good idea of what I can expect.
The past couple of months have been a bit of an up hill battle for us. Our stroke seat, Anna Marie, developed a stress fracture when we were in Lucerne for World Cup 2. We didn't get to compete and she was sent home to Canada to recover. The rest of us stayed in Europe for a training camp in Volkermarkt, Austria, and then we competed in an exhibition race in Poznan, Poland with Lindsay Jennerich subbing in.
We arrived back in Canada on June 24th, and Anna Marie is only starting to row in the quad now. She is rowing with us every couple of days with modified workouts. Stress fractures are a very frustrating injury, and these next couple weeks are very critical to her full recovery. If she pushes herself to hard, she'll just go back to square one and she will not be able to compete in the Olympics at all.
The good news is that when Anna Marie is in the quad we're still showing speed. It's amazing that after almost 2 months of not training together we're still able to move a boat. Tomorrow we're going to try a fairly high intense workout, which is exciting in our progress. The training program Carsten has designed for us is incredibly grueling, and everyone is just hanging on.
That's all for now, I'll try to update this page regularly so everyone can follow my progress into my races in Beijing.
Bye for now,
Rachelle
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