Olympics: Week One

Post # 106

London, England - We've been here for a week and so much has happened already. We arrived in London on Tuesday morning and went to Team USA processing right away. Processing includes fittings for opening and closing ceremonies outfits, team headshot photos, ring sizing, and Nike fittings. The whole thing took close to four hours and I walked out of there with so much Team USA gear that don't think I'll ever need to buy clothes again. After our opening and closing ceremonies outfits were personally tailored, they were delivered to the rowing village and a few of us tried them on. 

Closing ceremonies outfits

The main Athlete Village in London houses most of the athletes at the Olympics. Since our rowing venue is too far away to travel to each day, we have our own rowing Olympic Village that's about an hour west of London. All of the nations are staying here together. It's a bit different than our normal world championships routine, where we have our own hotel or only share it with one or two other nations. It's pretty neat to see all the nations in the dining hall and around campus together. 

The race course is at Eton Dorney Lake. Is is notorious for being windy and we've been experiencing some of that in our first week. But nothing unrowable or too crazy. Fingers crossed!

A very calm morning on Dorney last week

On the surface, it honestly feels like any other big international race we've raced at, like the World Championships or World Cups. There are several noticeable differences though. The first is security. It is pretty nuts. The Athlete Village is completely walled off and we go through so many security checks on the way in that it almost feels like we're in prison once we're in there. At the race course, only specific people are allowed near the boats, docks, and boathouse. At many other races, anyone can wander around the boat racks and parents are not hard to meet up with. Not so at the Olympics. 

The second big difference is the lack of people. The Olympic program is smaller than any world championship or world cup program. At last year's worlds, there were 1200 athletes. The Olympics caps the number of rowers at 550. The course seems pretty empty, but that helps you remember the weight of this regatta. 

 The sticker on our boat (it's upside down because the boat is in the rack).

Overall, the London Organizing Committee has done a wonderful job so far. There are  helpful volunteers everywhere, and one of them even let us hold his official Olympic torch! 

Standing on the upper level of the boathouse, overlooking the finish line area and grandstands

Hello, London!

Post # 105

London, England - We are in London and it has already been a crazy ride. So much has happened in the last 48 hours. Here it is, in photos:

Accreditation at the airport 

Getting custom tailored Ralph Lauren opening and closing ceremonies outfits yesterday. The woman I'm standing with is the tailor that worked with me - about 15 of them were on hand. This is the closing ceremonies dress. 

Passed Big Ben on the bus ride home 

Part of the Team USA gear kit 

Land of the Free, Home of the Brave

Goodbye, USA

Post # 104

Oakland, California - My clothes and equipment are packed, we've buttoned up everything at the lake, and we're ready to head to London tomorrow. Can't believe it's finally here.

Last week, we had a practice session in our Olympic uniforms for a photo shoot. Row2k is doing a training gallery of each Olympic crew. (That link takes you to the photos section of their Olympic coverage, so check back during racing to see plenty more.) Ours will be up later this week, but here's a sneak peek:

In addition, each US Olympic rower (and several international rowers) is doing a Starting Five Interview. They're posting daily on row2k.com. It's pretty interesting to see how each of us got into the sport, some of the stories from over the years, and the advice we'd give to younger rowers. It'll definitely get you in the Olympic spirit. 

Next time you hear from me, I'll be across the pond. Go USA!

Is This Real?

Post #103

Oakland, California - There are only eight days until we leave for London, and the excitement is slowly but steadily building. It started with the gymnastics, track and field, and swimming Trials that were on TV last week. It was a strange experience for me to watch them; I'd get so excited for each athlete that made the team, thinking they'd have such a cool experience in London.  It felt like the Olympics were some distant thing that was happening to other people. I kept having to remind myself that I also get to have that experience!

It continued to build when we got our Olympic competition gear in the mail last week. It was a big bag of clothes that included the uniforms we'll race in.  I wore mine a few days ago for practice (gotta break it in) and visualized what it would be like to go to the starting line in it. It gives me chills just to think about it.

Then there was the 97-page U.S. Olympic Committee Athlete Handbook that was delivered to our inboxes a couple days ago. I'm still wading through all the information about arriving in London, going through athlete processing, what the Villages will be like, how to handle yourself in front of the media, what security will be like, and a million other details about the Games.

Despite all of these moments, there are still times I'll be driving to practice, or walking down the street, and have to pinch myself to remember that this is all actually happening. I'm going to the Olympics next week. How crazy is that?

Misc. Updates:
"Follow by email" feature added to the right so you don't have to keep checking back for blog updates.
Info about Olympic TV schedules is in the "Media and Links" tab at the top.

The Untold Story

Post # 102

Oakland, California - As we approach the three weeks out mark, more and more of Team USA is being named. We're seeing athletes who have punched their tickets to London all over the media.  But as the Olympic selection story unfolds, the untold story is of those who do not make it: those who fall short at the finish line or who do not get chosen by their sport's selection committee.  The reality of the Olympics is that only so many people can go. We all know it when we start going for this goal. No one has a guaranteed spot at the Games; everyone must earn it. But that doesn't make it any less agonizing for those who fall short of their dream.

The selection process in rowing spans several months, and we saw this agony every step of the way. In the past week, I've seen similar stories as I've watched the swimming, track and field, and gymnastics trials on TV.  Four years of training and preparation (or eight, or twelve) often come down to one race on one day. All of the competitors have put their lives on hold for a quadrennium or longer and poured their heart into a dream, and that makes the finish line of each race an incredible mix of elation and crushing defeat, with fractions of a second often determining the difference.

We might now be in two separate groups - those who have made it and those who have not - but we all still have the same dream: to win gold for the USA. Across all sports, those who come close to the Olympics but do not reach them have played a big role in the Olympic dream. Often times, they've pushed their teammates to be better and raised the standard. For this, we have them to thank. In ITA bobsledder Emily Azevedo's "Congratulations Athletes" post, she congratulates all athletes for taking the risk and reaching for a big goal whether or not they achieve it. I completely agree with her. It takes guts to go for a big dream and I have so much respect for those who do. Go ITA and go USA.

Happy Father's Day

Post # 101

Oakland, California - Athletes require a special kind of parental support. We're dedicating our lives to be the very best at something, and it takes a lot of energy, support, and love on the parents' side of things to make that happen.

Me and my dad in the late 80s

At the beginning of an athletic career, there are years when you're just not that good at your sport. You're learning the ropes, working your way up the ranks, but sometimes it's slow-going. You hit bumps along the way. You have ups and downs as you try to improve and reach each goal you've set for yourself. Then there is that time, whether it's a specific moment or a gradual development, when you decide to pursue your sport full-time. It must sound like a crazy proposition to a parent: "hey, so I'm going to go into debt for the next few years, training for a sport with little to no financial support, all with no guarantee that I'll make the National Team. And while I'm at it, I'll be putting off my 'real life' career - the one I actually went to college to study."

"You're crazy," is the thought that could've crossed my dad's mind, but I don't think it ever did. He was all-in from the beginning, there for me as I worked my way up the ranks, when I hit bumps, and when I set big goals. He's encouraged me to chase my dreams every step of the way. He has come to races all over the country and world, and when he can't be there, you can bet he's sitting at his computer (sometimes in the middle of the night, depending on what time zone I'm in) to watch my races live. Then he's analyzing all the results and delivering carefully crafted emails to my inbox with his take on everyone's strategies and his words of encouragement for what's next.

With my two biggest fans, after winning silver at the 2010 World Championships

P&G released a "Thank You, Mom" video for the upcoming Olympics that is worth a watch.  I think it should be "Thank You, Mom and Dad." 

London Olympics

Post # 100

Oakland, California - I've always said that one of the things I love most about rowing is surprising myself.  Achieving things that I didn't think were possible keeps the sport exciting and keeps me coming back for more.  In this 100th post on my ITA blog, I could not be happier to have surprised myself and achieved my dream of making the Olympic team.


Thinking back to our race in the final, all the countries were extremely fast and aggressive right from the start.  When I looked across to give Julie updates on where we were compared to everyone else, it was often too close to call.  We both knew it was going to be an absolute fight to the line.  I looked over with about 10 strokes to go and saw that we were only inches ahead of GB and Denmark in lanes five and six.  Our top four requirement to make the Olympic team came down to the last stroke of the race.

The scene with about 5-10 strokes to go.  China, NZ, and Greece are up (on the left), we're in the foreground, and GB and Denmark are in the background, fighting it out with us.

We crossed the finish line and I just kept saying to Julie, "I don't know, I don't know if we got it." We stared at the jumbotron, waiting for the results, and when they finally came up and we saw that we did it, it was just pure joy.  I don't think you've ever seen two people so happy to get fourth place. It was only after we did a cool down and were back on land that we realized just how close it was - we grabbed fourth place by just 0.09 seconds over fifth.

Waiting to see this at the finish line

The video of the race is here (I realize the link in the previous post didn't work in the US, whoops) which is also posted in the "Media & Links" tab. 

The cool down: "Did that really just happen?!"

Now we're back in California and back to work.  Getting back into our normal training routine feels good, especially after so many races (each of which were just a couple weeks apart).  The fact that we're going to the Olympics hasn't quite hit me yet, and I don't think it will for another few days or maybe a couple weeks.  It still feels like a dream.  Regardless, our only plans between now and London are to get as fast as we can, day by day, stroke by stroke. 

Big congrats to the US Women's eight, who grabbed gold by an even tighter margin than ours: 0.03 seconds over Canada.  Talk about a photo finish! The US women's pair won silver and the women's quad won bronze to cap off a great day of racing.

I am extremely excited to cheer on the other ITA summer athletes as they progress toward Olympic qualification.  Former ITA athlete Sara Groff will be there in the triathalon, and my hope is that we'll have even more ITA-ers representing the US in London.

LONDON BOUND!!!

Post # 99

Luzern, Switzerland - Fourth in the final today was good enough to earn us a spot on the London Olympic team.  Wow. I can't even believe that as I type it.  It has been a great, great day.  Lots to do still (packing, packing, packing) but here is some info in the mean time.  More to come later!

- Results sheet - 4th place by 0.09 (yikes) and less than four seconds separating first through sixth
- Video of the race
- "Nichols and Hedstrom Qualify for London" USRowing's press release
- Full World Rowing report "China, New Zealand and Greece all looked happy at the medals presentation. But perhaps the happiest crew was fourth-placed United States. Kristin Hedstrom and Julie Nichols of the United States needed to finish fourth to secure their rights to being the Olympic crew. They had not managed to do it in Belgrade, but they did it today on the waters of the Rotsee."

World Cup II: On to the Final

Post # 98

Luzern, Switzerland - Ok, it's finals time. We placed second in our rep today to advance and will be lining up against Greece, New Zealand, Denmark, Great Britain, and China1 for a shot at the medals tomorrow.  The race goes off at 11:27 am local time - that's 5:27 am on the east coast, 4:27 am in Madison and, uh, the middle of the night in California.  There should be live video streaming for the finals, and for details on that you can head over to World Rowing.

The women's pair, quad and eight will also be racing for medals tomorrow.  Here's the full report from USRowing.  Go USA!

World Cup II Heats: Fast and Furious

Post # 97

Luzern, Switzerland - Day 1 is complete here in Lucerne and it was an exciting one.  Six World Records were broken today, one of which was in our event, the LW2x.  Congrats to New Zealand, who won the heat with a new world best time of 6:49.43.  This shaves about 0.3 seconds off of the old record that has stood since 2006.  One of the other records was broken by the US in the women's 8 by over a second!

As you can imagine, conditions were fast and furious. A tailwind pushed us down the course from start to finish.  We placed third in our heat and are headed to tomorrow's reps.  We'll be sitting on the starting line with Argentina, Japan, and two crews from China.  The race goes off at 2:58 local time and the top two crews advance to the A Final.  That's (surprisingly!) not a ridiculous hour of day in the US; it's 8:58 am on the east coast, 7:58 in Madison, and 5:58 am in California.  Here's the live race viewer and the results will be here.  Good luck to all the US crews racing tomorrow!