NIKOLA GIRKE- Sailing

After an incredible 3 weeks of training, I'm going home tomorrow, but just for 10 days before I head back to Weymouth for the Pre-Olympics. Some may ask why I am going home for such a short time...with all that jetlag to deal with etc... and well, over the years I've learned how I work and perform at my best. Five weeks away is my cut-off and if I didn't go home, I'd be gone for 7+, whilst racing the Pre-Olympics in those last 2 weeks. Plus it keeps my training away intense and exciting!

The training camp in Santander with the girls was awesome... We pushed each other hard both on and off the water. Sailing, gym, surfing, running, biking, yoga, eating and sleeping was on the menu each day and by the end of the 11 days I was too tired to sleep. My body had had it... I was done, I had given it my all.




My last day in Santander started with a morning surf, then went straight from the beach onto a bus that took me to Bilbao 1.5hrs away, from where I flew to Germany. Thunderstorms and missed connections had me and 3 others stranded in Munich late at night when we wanted to get to Nuernberg, and thus Lufthansa ended up sending us in a taxi. Yikes....a 250euro cab ride. Three days in Germany to visit with my family and go to my cousins wedding was my treat for the long day of traveling. And all was great until I got some sort of stomach flu...

Arriving in Weymouth, still feeling a bit under the weather, it was perfect that there was absolutely no wind on what should have been my first training day. I soon regained my strength and the past 4 days of training have been really good. Both yesterday and today it was very windy...about 15 degrees with intermittent squalls that had the wind get up to about 30+ knots today. Being out in those conditions for more than 2hrs each day is very tiring and I thought it was a good idea to call it a day when I lead around the top mark on the 4th practice race of today. A nice way to end my training here in Weymouth... and the sun even came out to dry everything nicely as I packed up.


Cheers,
Nikola

CAN SMEDLEY- Canoe/Kayak

World Cup #2 & #3

It’s always fun and exciting to explore new race sites and cities, and this year we had two new places we got to check out.  The site for the second World Cup was in L’Argentiere, France and it’s a beautiful little town on the edge of the Alps.  The water is glacier fed which makes it very cold.  As for the race course it was long and open, and combined with the altitude made racing interesting.  Qualifiers went well as I had a fast second run without penalties allowing me to move on to the semi-final.  My semi-final run went well but I touched two of the gates which added 4 seconds to my time resulting in a 25^th place finish.

We then moved on to Leipzig, Germany for World Cup #3.   The site reminded me of a slalom course in the United States where we frequently train.  So even though it was a new for me it felt as though I knew the river.  And as it was my best finish at the World Cup races so far I would like to think that it helped.  The day the races started the wind had picked up making it even tougher to stay away from the poles.  I again pulled through on my second qualifier run and I was able to stay clean and finished 8th, easily putting me through to the next day of racing.  It was a nice change being able to watch some of the paddlers in front me do the course and give me an idea of what might be the fastest line.  Unfortunately I took 2 touches in the semi-final putting me back but I still had a fast time overall so I finished 16^th.

Last week some teammates and I decided to do some training in Bratislava as we had a few weeks between races and it is always good to get comfortable with course that will be hosting the World Championships and the Olympic Qualifiers.  But tomorrow I head back to Canada for a small break before preparing for our National Champions in 2 weeks.  It will be nice to back home for a few days in this long racing season!

Cam

ROBIN RANDALL- Waterpolo

Hi everyone!

Robin Randall here from Team Canada Men's Water Polo Team.  A lot has been happening since I last wrote you, and I'm excited to fill you in on the details...

June saw the squad travel to two cities in Montenegro en route to Florence, Italy, and the 2011 World League Super Finals.  In Herceg Novi and Podgorica, Montenegro, Canada trained with that nation's team daily to prepare for Florence where they would square off against the top teams in the world.

In Florence, Canada managed to beat China in their final match, securing seventh place.  In other matches the Canucks fell short to Montenegro, Serbia, Croatia and Australia in hard-fought battles outdoors, where temperatures exceeded 35 C daily.

Now the team finds themselves en route to the 14th FINA World Championships in Shanghai, China.  Having trained with Montenegro again in Guangzhou (formerly Canton), the Canadians will face Croatia, Japan, and Brazil in the preliminary round before defending their best-ever eighth place ranking from the previous World Championship.

Watch our boys in action by following the links online at:

www.fina.org <http://www.fina.org>

Thanks for reading, and as always, GO CANADA GO!!!

Robin Randall
Fulfilling your goaltending needs
Since 1987

JOHN HASTINGS- Canoe/Kayak

World Cup #1 Recap

So, I finished 8th in the first world cup of the season. I feel a slight sense of vindication making the final here in Tacen, especially after missing the semi at last years World Championships. So am I happy with my result, kind of. Making a World Cup final...it's tough, and I am pumped to have achieved that, but just like everyone else in that final, I kind of wanted more. 

After my semi, I was sitting in eight; however, I knew I had a little left in the tank and could probably go a second or two faster. In the final, I got off to a fast start, but got tied up in the tough gate 4 - 5 combo. I tried making up for the time-loss by cutting lines, but in Tacen where the water ebbs and flows like the stock exchange, this decision worked against me. Needless to say, my time was slower than my semi time and after I picked up a touch at the bottom of the course winning a medal became pretty unlikely. I am positive though, and as my dad always says, there's always another race.

You can check out the finals and the semi-finals at http://video.digotel.com/eurovisionbest/icf/index.html. Scroll over to Canoe Slalom World Cup K1-M Finals and cue up the video to 1:19:00.

Anyways, highlight of the week was meeting a "family friend" of Taylor Swift at the annual Parallel Slalom in the downtown core of Ljubljana. Paul, a huge fan of Taylor, gladly handed over his phone number to this guy as he promised he would deliver it to her, and get her to call him next time she was in Calgary. I was a little more skeptical of this guy and this relationship...so to test him, I requested he get Taylor to simply tweet good luck to the two of us for the race.....yep, that didn't happen....I am not going to say I am a better judge of character as I will admit I will be pretty jealous if she does call Paul....and I want to stay positive for the little guy. 

Anyways, off to France today for World Cup #2. We will be in Southern France in L'Argentiere La Bessee. 

Ciao,

John