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row2k on the ground in London and ready to bang and mash
posted by: Ed Hewitt (July 24, 2012)
I arrived at Heathrow late Monday night, and although the sun barely goes down here, was up and on it early to try to get out to the racecourse by afternoon to shoot some pics and have a look around. Getting to the main media center (MPC) took about a half-day, however, as no one in the Olympic Park (heck, no one in London) seemed to know quite where it is, so I got a full walking tour of almost the entire Olympic Park, including nearly every dead end and closed-off walkway - but I'll call it good luck, as it was nearly empty of people; soon enough it will be filled with tens of thousands of people, and a nice walking tour won't be so easy.
My original plan had been to go to the racecourse first thing in the morning, but a couple issues kept me from executing the plan, and it was another piece of good luck, as you can't raise your camera out at the course without an official photo bib, and the bibs are to be had only at the MPC - so I was spared going out to the course only to be turned away. As I arrived at the MPC, which is fronted by ground to ceiling glass windows, inside the very first window I saw UK photographer Peter Spurrier - what are the odds that the first guy you see is another rowing specialist photographer? So overall things are clicking so far - or maybe it's just my optimistic nature to see it that way - it must be because, even a year later, I Feel Love.
As is usually the case at the Games, there is inevitably a lot of cool but somewhat inexplicable stuff standing around - I didn't post a photo of the mascot dude (I did one of those last fall), but there is the rollercoaster-like thing called The Orbit, and the crystal triangle that reveals all secrets. And a big-arsed cube of a McDonalds.
I took a bunch of photos, natch.
No media shuttles to Eton Dorney are in operation yet, so for the Wednesday morning row I am going to hit the ATM and stock up on 20-quid notes to pay a cab driver some Games-time surcharges for a ride to the course, ouch - getting home will be another challenge.
Like most Yanks dropping into London this week, I'm on two nights of very little sleep, so going to try to rack it now; I should have some actual rowing pics tomorrow. Here we go!
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posted by: Ed Hewitt (July 24, 2012)
Welcome to London!
My original plan had been to go to the racecourse first thing in the morning, but a couple issues kept me from executing the plan, and it was another piece of good luck, as you can't raise your camera out at the course without an official photo bib, and the bibs are to be had only at the MPC - so I was spared going out to the course only to be turned away. As I arrived at the MPC, which is fronted by ground to ceiling glass windows, inside the very first window I saw UK photographer Peter Spurrier - what are the odds that the first guy you see is another rowing specialist photographer? So overall things are clicking so far - or maybe it's just my optimistic nature to see it that way - it must be because, even a year later, I Feel Love.
As is usually the case at the Games, there is inevitably a lot of cool but somewhat inexplicable stuff standing around - I didn't post a photo of the mascot dude (I did one of those last fall), but there is the rollercoaster-like thing called The Orbit, and the crystal triangle that reveals all secrets. And a big-arsed cube of a McDonalds.
I took a bunch of photos, natch.
No media shuttles to Eton Dorney are in operation yet, so for the Wednesday morning row I am going to hit the ATM and stock up on 20-quid notes to pay a cab driver some Games-time surcharges for a ride to the course, ouch - getting home will be another challenge.
Like most Yanks dropping into London this week, I'm on two nights of very little sleep, so going to try to rack it now; I should have some actual rowing pics tomorrow. Here we go!
Ed
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Flags, the future is now, Fred, FISA, geezer and Google
posted by: Ed Hewitt (August 16, 2008)
After running the media gantlet after her race yesterday, Michelle Guerette asked if I could get her a US flag for the medals ceremony. At first the organizers said no flags, and then they said, ok, flags, go ahead, so I bolted down the racecourse to the friends and family area to see if I could nab a flag from the grandstands (with an objecting security person in chase). Some folks at about the 250 meter mark untied their flag and tossed it down to me, and Michelle picked it up at the medals dock. The rule had shifted to flags for the winners only (and would continue to change until everyone had flags up there; it is often the case that the rules become a bit more permissive as the spirit of the ceremonies takes over, happily), so Michelle did not fly the flag on the podium, but it accompanied her for the rest of the day, in family and row2k photos, down to the International Broadcasting Center, and beyond. To the folks who sacrificed their flag, I'm sorry it did not come back to you, but I hope you thought it was worth it for the cause.
A few minutes before the final started, Michelle's coach Charlie Butt received a call from Michelle's training partners in Boston insisting that he narrate the race to them. Charlie did it - and we'll have the photo of them watching the race while on the phone in the Photo of the Day in the next couple days.
Already looking ahead to London? The US women's double wasted no time getting their training for 2012 underway; they placed fifth in their event yesterday afternoon, and were out in the boat again this morning before 11am. They seemed to be going along just fine for a couple people who quite possibly have not slept since they got out of the boat yesterday, as is often the case at the Olympics.
Or maybe they're thinking about the Head of the Charles; Fred Schoch is here, and told me that they should have a good international contingent at this year's race. Fred is getting ready as well, as shown in the photo. If the athletes aren't quite thinking about the head racing season, geezers like Fred and I are doing our best to stay in racing shape (well, in shape for geezers, of course), Fred on the ergs, and your correspondent running the streets of Shunyi town.
Either way, the rowing is half over, and the boat racks are clearing out; see the photo below. Derigging your boat after four, eight, twelve years of training is always an odd and complex experience; I can't even quite characterize it in words, not in this space at least.
Shunyi is an interesting city/suburb of Beijing; the main downtown reminds me of the parts of New York City that are mostly without major high rises; it looks a lot like Canal Street in places, for example. But if you go just a couple blocks from the center, you are in a shantytown that looks more like small cities I visited in Central America - this borders an enclosed complex of townhomes that looks like it could be located behind Market Fair in Princeton.
On a long run a few days ago, in 30 minutes outbound time I went from the city center to a nice riverside park that slowly transitioned into a warehouse district, then into a rustic area of tin roofs and broken sidewalks, and finally into a rural area where I ran right through the middle of a herd of sheep - not spread out over a field, but in a pack such that one of the bigger sheep cut me off and headbutted me in the thigh. If you run the other direction on the same river, you come into a section that is mostly empty of people, but hosts upwards of 50 residential high rises under construction (all building in the area has been suspended while the Games are on). In all it is a fascinating and bustling microcosm of what I suspect much of Beijing and other Chinese cities are like during these boom times for the country.
Finally, Jason Read just wrote to let me know that Google has rowers on their homepage today; while I'm sensitive to copyright issues, I figure the screenshot of Google here doesn't really do any harm.
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posted by: Ed Hewitt (August 16, 2008)
Guerette with flag
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Beers, bikes, and Brits
posted by: Ed Hewitt (August 15, 2008)
Journo comment of the week: Upon arriving at the Shunyi Hotel last week, one journo checked in at the little store in Building 3, and discovered big, cheap beers. "Did you see the price of a bottle of beer at that store?" he asked incredulously. "Fifth cents for a giant beer. When I got here, I definitely had to have a beer in the shower, so bought one there and…"
Uh, back up a bit - in the shower?
Princeton coach Curtis Jordan, who is at the Games in his role on the FISA competition and fairness commission, was charged during the heats to follow each race up and down the course. The logistics of getting back to the start made this difficult, however, so Curtis either chose or was assigned a bicycle, and assumed the task of following the first half of every race - from behind the starting line to the 1250 mark for each race. On the first day of racing, there were 25 races - with a race or three off, Jordan estimated he cycled 50-60k both days of the heats.
The most famous members of the old British M4- are here, all in professional capacities; Redgrave, Pinsent, and Cracknell are all doing media and TV turns, and Tim Foster is coaching for the Swiss team.
row2k is doing blogs, photo galleries, streaming audio, interview transcripts, news links, and more, and you seem to be enjoying it; we did over 630,000 ad impressions in one day a couple days ago. We'll keep it coming for the finals, we hope you enjoy it.
Okay, racing is on shortly, have to post up; bring on the medals!
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posted by: Ed Hewitt (August 15, 2008)
Jordan on the bike
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Olympic Mountains
posted by: Ed Hewitt (August 14, 2008)
What a difference a day makes; we went from days of headwinds and haze to a direct tail coming down off the very clearly visible mountains beyond the starting line. The photographers went from waiting to a burst of lightning to photograph to setting up photos with the Rings and the mountains, and I've heard from folks who came out to Shunyi yesterday and left in disgust, and the nice weather has eliminated all memories of getting soaked and disappointed yesterday, and they're on the way back out to the course.
More from the what a difference dept: after being pulled from the quad yesterday due to illness, the rain delay provided just enough time for recovery, and he is back in the boat today. Illness the past couple days has claimed a number of rowers; Santiago Fernandez withdrew yesterday, and looked very uncomfortable the day before when
I followed his race in the launch; the German light men's four has had to withdraw from the racing, and one of the semis today will have only four boats; and after subbing for two men a couple days ago in the German men's four, those two guys are back, but another guy is now out.
In the photos, you can also see for the first time some of the factories that had to be closed for the rowing events; the smokestacks appear to be just a few hundred meters above the starting line. Despite all the coverage of the pollution in Beijing, it would seem somewhat less controversial or surprising that these smokestacks would have to be shut down; if you held the Olympics in the nation with the cleanest air on Earth, but had a smokestack that close to the line, you would need to shut it down.
The weed problem seems serious but usually under control, but there have been a couple instances where it mahy have or very nearly affected the racing. Two I know of: in the men's single semis, Olaf Tufte pulled into the line shortly before the two minute cutoff, and asked that his fin be checked. The official boomed "TOO LATE," but it turned out that the swimmer was already in the water, and the official complained somewhat mightily; the fin was checked nonetheless, and the race went off. However, unless the scullers were told ahead of time that they need to be at the line early in order to have their fins checked, which was not clearly the case based on the conversations with officials I had, it would seem to me that if you arrive at the line on time - i.e., before the two-minute cutoff - you should enjoy all the benefits of the starting line procedures that all the other competitors enjoy, including having your fin checked.
In a semi of the women's single, the Swedish sculler Frida Svensson told the officials that there were weeds in her lane; the starting line officials then tried to get an officials launch to check and clear the lane. There are no radios on the officials launches however, so considerable shouting and gesturing ensued; then apparently the official wanted to go check the lane, but could not transmit this information to the driver of the launch due to a language barrier, and the lane check did not occur. Svensson subsequently placed last in the semi, eight seconds out of qualifying, and protested at the finish line. As i understand it, her fin was checked on the water, no weeds were found, and the protest was disallowed. When she took her boat out of the water, however, there was a strand of weed on the fin. So this one went to the jury in the evening, but ultimately the protest was denied.
Uniwatch: the unis of the US W8 are identical to the old-school US uniforms of the 70s and 80s, save for the patch; apparently they couldn't bring the patch together in time to match it up.
Check out more photos from this morning here.
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posted by: Ed Hewitt (August 14, 2008)
Mountains plus smokestack beyond finish line
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Accidental Buddhism
posted by: Ed Hewitt (August 13, 2008)
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posted by: Ed Hewitt (August 13, 2008)
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Sun Shines in Shunyi
posted by: Ed Hewitt (August 11, 2008)
Much to the chagrin of the photographer corps, the sun came out this morning, and there was light in abundance just when racing was at its most scarce. I left for the course on a sunny mid-morning day where racing does not start until 4pm, several of the Pool photographers asked me why I was going. I replied "this is the first sunlight we have had, and there's no racing! I'm just going to have a look around." They nodded with understanding; the photographers have had a tough go of getting really dramatic images with conditions that looked more like nighttime than any mid-afternoon racing I have seen. You still cannot see the mountains beyond the finish line, which are very dramatic - or so I am told.
When I arrived, I set up in the press grandstands to write up a post for this space while watching crews practice and coaches scold and exhort them. Some folks are paddling, some are throwing in hard strokes, others drilling extensively.
And a few crews out here seem clearly to be looking for answers to perhaps unsolvable problems. For example, despite finishing second, French single sculler Sophie Balmary struggled mightily to maintain consistent form in yesterday's quarterfinals, and she is out here now blasting out long pieces that could well pose more questions than provide answers.
I don't have any details, as the information flow is minimal at this time of day, but it sure looked like the Dutch bowman was either having a holiday or a fairly serious problem in practice today. Hopefully he is okay.
The US women's crews were launching, the pair in their racing lineup and the eight with Brett Sickler in the five seat per convention. It may be a bit of inductive reasoning, but an 11am launch would make it appear the crew may have gone back to their standard three-a-day practice schedule; with four down days until the pair races again, and five until the eight races, picking up your normal training routine sounds very comfortable.
As is also the practice back home, coach Tom Terhaar appeared to follow the eight for a couple k, bicycle back to pick up the pair, follow them for a few more k, then pick up the eight again. The crews from every country looked quite focused; the caution and tentativeness of the pre-heats/taper period is gone, and there is an urgency to every stroke that is unmistakable.
The organizers are using the time today to keep everything in working order; on a hot day, to have the job of unstopping fountain spouts with your toes wouldn't seem to be a terrible assignment.
The large spreads in margin in the singles events in particular will start to disappear as the week goes on; as Thor Nilssen has observed, these differences are going to be the price of expanding the sport, at least in the near term. The differences in resources among the crews is considerable; witness this quote from Cameroon sculler Paul Etia Ndoumbe: "This is my first Olympic Games, it is an honor to participate and I thank FISA for giving me the chance to do so. It is a pleasure for me to row here for my own personal evolution. I started rowing in 2006 when I watched the Cameroon Cup, and I'm the first person from Cameroon to row at the Olympic Games. I'm famous in my country and especially in my city, Douala. At home we have much older boats and I'm happy to have a good boat here."
Lots of kayakers on the course today; one distinct advantage to the forward-facing kayak is that traffic patterns are rendered almost completely unnecessary; crews are going in opposite directions in the same lanes, racing four across in both directions, hugging the shore completely out of the traffic. The main feature of the traffic rules for these crews seems to be related to boat speed; the singles have a couple lanes, the quads another entirely. Otherwise, everyone is just paddling up and down the course without much concern.
As tedious and repetitive as rowing can be, I don't know if I could handle being a race kayaker; sitting up leaning forward and just going side to side for stroke after stroke seems like it would be even tougher to tolerate for practice after practice, year after year.
Last kayaking observation: as shown in the photo, the kayakers hands come as close as possible actually to dipping into the water.
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posted by: Ed Hewitt (August 11, 2008)
Sunshine, such as it is
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Assignment: Inside the friendly Panda
posted by: Ed Hewitt (August 9, 2008)
How hot is it in there on a day like this? whew
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posted by: Ed Hewitt (August 9, 2008)
How hot is it in there on a day like this? whew
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Let the work of the Games begin
posted by: Ed Hewitt (August 8, 2008)
Given the way my own rowing career ended just five weeks short of the seleciton of the light men's four in 1996 - in a head-on collision between two straight fours at top speed - the last couple weeks before the start of the Games, as well as the spectacle of the opening ceremonies, is always a bit bittersweet. Lots of folks have been denied their shot at competing in the Olympics by a twist of fate, and there's no point in lingering on this stuff, but I do admit to an occasional sharp stab of regret, what the hell.
But once the racing starts, and we start churning out reports, quotes, photos, news and resources, and more, the sheer intensity (and volume) of the work and the environment is its own reward; it's great to see truly good rowing, and to see friends and neighbors going for it full bore. As 1984 gold medalist Brad Lewis wrote on row2k this morning, this moment at the rowing venue - the last few hours before the first race goes off, when an athlete's hopes, intent, and possibilities are one and the same, identically defined - is one of the very best moments in sports. As of right now, every athlete here may well have the best Games performance they can possibly muster; and even if their hopes do not pan out completely over the next nine days, they will always be among the ranks of Olympians, which I know myself will always carry its own special satisfaction.
At this moment of unbridled potential for every athlete in the Games, we wish them all ridiculous, tremendous luck these next couple days as they take their first shot down the course, and right into next weekend.
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posted by: Ed Hewitt (August 8, 2008)
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08/08/08
posted by: Ed Hewitt (August 8, 2008)
How humid is it here? I couldn't sleep through the night, so took a run at 5:30am. 50 minutes later, this is what I looked like; I estimate I lost 6-8 pounds. The streets were already bustling at 5:30; a block or two from the hotel is a public outdoor gym, which has a full collection of a couple dozen exercise stations, including balance beams, situp stations, leg presses, situp machines, a treadmill, a stairmaster-type thing, rowing machines, and more. Folks of all ages were hitting the machines already, and a few meters away I found a couple dozen folks doing tai chi routines. No one was wasting time getting 08/08/08 started, whew.
I found a new park along the river, which had a sculpture garden, meandering trails, and more; folks were already fully engaged in their days here as well, including several folks doing chants and yells at the top of their lungs as they took their morning walks. As I emerged from the park, at 6:30 sharp I could hear the sound of ringing bells and announcements, which were unexpected but not strange; it wasn't until I got back on the streets that I realized that the bells and announcements were pouring forth from very powerful speakers mounted high on every street pole in the neighborhood. I have no idea what the one male and one females speakers were saying, but it was certainly an eerie way to start a morning I thought would find me running in the street alone. much too orwell-esque for a first morning in china.
08/08/08 is considered an extremely lucky and fortuitous date; Beijing will experience a record number of marriages today, so many that officials are concerned they will not be able to keep up, and may have to leave people at the altar come the end of the day.
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posted by: Ed Hewitt (August 8, 2008)
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On the ground in Shun YI
posted by: Ed Hewitt (August 7, 2008)
Yah, it's 4am here, and i'm ready for an afternoon run; i should be over the jet lag right around the time racing has ended. Entry into China was fairly painless - tho it was the prep for entry into China that was rough. A week out from departure, i got an email that said, more or less, if you want to bring in any equipment, like, say, a camera, you'll need to fax these six documents and call these three numbers and then show up at the Chinese consulate near you. Then the bureacratic dance started:
-i will need to come pick it up monday, as i leave shortly afterward
-ok
-at what time should i arrive?
-we will call you
- on monday?
-we will call you
- i have to travel some distance, so will need some advance notice, and would have to drive in fairly early on monday.
-ok
- so it is safe to come monday morning?
-we will call you. ok. upon arrival at the consulate in ny, i called again. the reply:
-i will be in the lobby in three minutes.
call comes in five minutes: your papers have been delayed, they will be ready in one half hour.
- ok, i will come back in a half hour
- we will call you
we took the time to stop in at bh photo to fill some gaps in the row2k photo bag, and have a bit of a family outing; i figure you play the hand yer dealt. four hours later i had the papers; 48 hours later i entered China without anyone ever asking me for the papers. and it has been smooth sailing from there. i'm staying in the shunyi hotel a few kilometers from the venue; there is no official transport on friday, so it may be an interesting first commute come morning. the hotel seems nice; the only snag was that the internet in my room was not working, just a bit of a problem given my job. folks here came around to troubleshoot and fix it at 10pm; i was very appreciative. I saw many of the usual suspects on a quick pass through the Main Press Center; one of the British journalists mentioned he hoped that the "fog would lift" before the start of racing to improve visibility for watching the racing. It may be fog in London, but this stuff goes by a different name - rhymes with fog, tho. Unless there is some generic haze mixed in, it is a formidable smog cloud; hard to say if it wil affect the athletes dramatically, tho. one wrote from the course the other day to say "the pollution is totally doable," so hopefully that is the case. Sorry no photos yet; heaps to come tomorrow, of course. Hopefully this doesn't read too addled; i've been up for the better part of 36 hours; sorry if so. dawn is breaking, off to take a run, always the fastest way to get the lay of the land. cheers from beijing, ed
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posted by: Ed Hewitt (August 7, 2008)
Yah, it's 4am here, and i'm ready for an afternoon run; i should be over the jet lag right around the time racing has ended. Entry into China was fairly painless - tho it was the prep for entry into China that was rough. A week out from departure, i got an email that said, more or less, if you want to bring in any equipment, like, say, a camera, you'll need to fax these six documents and call these three numbers and then show up at the Chinese consulate near you. Then the bureacratic dance started:
-i will need to come pick it up monday, as i leave shortly afterward
-ok
-at what time should i arrive?
-we will call you
- on monday?
-we will call you
- i have to travel some distance, so will need some advance notice, and would have to drive in fairly early on monday.
-ok
- so it is safe to come monday morning?
-we will call you. ok. upon arrival at the consulate in ny, i called again. the reply:
-i will be in the lobby in three minutes.
call comes in five minutes: your papers have been delayed, they will be ready in one half hour.
- ok, i will come back in a half hour
- we will call you
we took the time to stop in at bh photo to fill some gaps in the row2k photo bag, and have a bit of a family outing; i figure you play the hand yer dealt. four hours later i had the papers; 48 hours later i entered China without anyone ever asking me for the papers. and it has been smooth sailing from there. i'm staying in the shunyi hotel a few kilometers from the venue; there is no official transport on friday, so it may be an interesting first commute come morning. the hotel seems nice; the only snag was that the internet in my room was not working, just a bit of a problem given my job. folks here came around to troubleshoot and fix it at 10pm; i was very appreciative. I saw many of the usual suspects on a quick pass through the Main Press Center; one of the British journalists mentioned he hoped that the "fog would lift" before the start of racing to improve visibility for watching the racing. It may be fog in London, but this stuff goes by a different name - rhymes with fog, tho. Unless there is some generic haze mixed in, it is a formidable smog cloud; hard to say if it wil affect the athletes dramatically, tho. one wrote from the course the other day to say "the pollution is totally doable," so hopefully that is the case. Sorry no photos yet; heaps to come tomorrow, of course. Hopefully this doesn't read too addled; i've been up for the better part of 36 hours; sorry if so. dawn is breaking, off to take a run, always the fastest way to get the lay of the land. cheers from beijing, ed
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