Fuwas, Fires and Sock Faux Pas
It's official: I've survived my first trip down an Olympic race course. That's not to say that yesterday wasn't without it's slip-ups and memorable mishaps, but I've lived to tell the tale which is definitely a step in the right direction.
Yesterday brought us more of the standard-issue Beijing special: hot with extra humidity. Fortunately there are some heavily air-conditioned team rooms for rest and retreat before and after races, which makes the anticipation and preparation a little easier to bear. On our brief warm-up run we were met with cheers from the grandstands, and a troupe of inflatable Fuwas (or "Friendlies", the 2008 Olympic Mascots). I couldn't help but laugh at the sight of what were undoubtedly five young adults stuffed into giant puffy suits, waddling very slowly down the path in front of the spectator stands, probably sweating their you-know-whats off and trying not to fall over. I'm not sure but I'd guess that that was the short-straw volunteer assignment.
A little later on as we were getting ready to launch for our warm up, we were curiously watching a large cloud of black smoke billowing out of a small blue structure on the right side of the course... a speeding fire truck was to follow soon after. We later learned that this minor catastrophe was nothing more than a faulty generator that caught fire. The problem was remedied fairly quickly, though the bubbling finish line was no more after the generator blew.
These wonderings were cut short, however, when I was reprimanded on the dock for not having matching socks (Ellen's were plain white, mine were white with a thin pink stripe on top). Apparently now that we have a new up-close-and-personal aerial view of racing crews via the zipline camera strung over the course, socks are now visible to the audience and must be uniform. Didn't see that one coming.
Fuwas, fires and socks aside, we survived the warm up area...only to almost be late to the start. Due to a minor error in judgment on my part, we accidentally added 500m to our warm up and cost ourselves a few crucial minutes of cushion to lock on at the start. Nothing screams "ROOKIE" quite like pulling onto the course with three minutes to spare and then trying to act like it was all part of the plan. If anyone saw the video feed, you can tell me whether or not it looked that way. The good news was that we didn't have time to be nervous because we locked on, had a diver check our hull for weeds, and then were polled and started.
The race wasn't perfect but it wasn't bad either. New Zealand got the hell out of there and sat comfortably in front of the field for the whole race. We had a really solid 1500m and then hit a crosswind in the last 500m that caught us a bit by surprise and didn't exactly help with the steering (not that steering is necessarily a strength of ours to begin with). I'm going to go out on a limb here and say straight out that despite the many claims and changes being made to create a fair racing environment in the "light afternoon headwind" at Shunyi, the course is not fair. I don't think I've seen a tailwind while I've been here (though today's events were privy to a real ripper), but for all intensive purposes the "headwind" at Shunyi is actually a crosswind, and the higher-numbered lanes are disadvantaged. That's my personal opinion as an athlete: take it or leave it. Heats were seeded according to past results, but unfortunately in this case a good seeding didn't necessarily work in the favor of middle lane crews. Shoot.
Anyway, we aren't sure what the conditions are going to be like tomorrow, but regardless we took something away from our heat and will definitely be applying it to our repechage race. The day off today was nice, but all this time between racing sure makes one antsy. I hope everyone took advantage of this day of rest, since afternoon deluges today postponed the eights heats to tomorrow so USA teammate Anna Cummins could now potentially be racing her pair rep and eights heat on the same day. Go Anna!
As a final note, I'd like to mention that our boat here in Beijing was named a few days ago in honor of former USRowing referee Robert "Bob" Walton. Thanks to USRowing and to Bob's family for giving us the honor of representing Bob's legacy at the Games.
A detailed report on dangerous nocturnal Chinese insect invaders to follow soon.
See you out there,
--MK
Bob was/is my uncle, and I cannot even begin to muster the words to explain the honor that you, Ellen, and USA Rowing have brought to my family (and Bob's legacy). My family has barely begun to realize the hole left in our lives and those in rowing (espically the assembly of judges and the WWRA). USA Rowing, Ellen, and yourself have made this easier. Perfect strangers comments about my uncle sometimes seem to have more of a meaning than those who knew him.
I am so proud of the boat and her crew. Congratulations on the excellent showing in Beijing. GO TEAM USA!!!
On behalf of my mother, uncle, father and brother, best wishes in everything you do.
Rick Robinson
PS: Anyone who has a story regarding Bob feel free to contact me via my e-mail (BillGuisarme@Hotmail.com). Bob was a private man and there are many stories my family and I have never heard, he was always so concerned about our lives that we barely heard about his.
Megan-
Thank you so much for mentioning Bob in your post. Bob was one of the first coaches that taught me how to cox and I'll never forget his patient, kind words. The crews that he coached here in Cleveland all loved him and appreciated his dedication to the rowing community here at home and beyond. His passing is an enormous loss for everyone, but it has been such an honor to see him remembered in Beijing. Thank you for your post, your efforts in China and for sharing your talent with the international rowing community.