Wireless in a (Wireless) Wired World

It seemed so simple. I wasn't in Beijing and we live in a connected world so I thought hanging out in a campsite in the bushveld with my 3G phone and laptop would be just fine. I knew I would have electricity and coverage. I was going to follow Olympic events and keep this blog up to date on our paddler's progress on the porch of my tent while black eagles hunted dassies and mongooses nibbled my toes.

What more would I need?

It turns out that I needed two pieces of wire that I managed to leave at home. One piece of wire has a special plug that fits into my phone and plugs into my laptop and the other has a phone charger on one end.

So there I was two pieces of wire less than I needed to be and I had to try and follow things second and third hand.

I will have to do some catching up in the next week or so.

A quick review of our paddler's performances.

Master Cele - Seen in the bigger picture and the background of this Cinderella of Cinderella sports in South Africa I think he did great. I hope he is able to continue building for London. I hope he gets more exposure and continues to be a role model. I hope he gets decent funding.

Cyp Ngidi and Cameron McIntosh - Everything I said about and for Master applies to Cyp. And mega kudos for what Cameron has achieved in helping Cyp and Master to the world stage where they are receiving deserved respect. All strength to AmaDonsaDonsa.

Shaun Rubinstein - I was absolutely convinced he would make both his finals and maybe finish as high as fifth in at least one. It was a shock to me when he didn't make any finals. I look forward to speaking with him and gettin some first hand impressions.

I wish there was still a 10 000M race at Worlds and Olympics. If there was I think Shaun would own it.

I would like to see him take a bit of a break and then do the work to get his World Marathon Champ title back.

Jen Hodson - She made the final as expected. I really thought she was our best paddling medal hope. It was a really close race, 3.3 seconds between first and last positions. When Katalin Kovacs doesn't medal you know the race was tough. Judging by the splits she went out really hard and maybe pushed too hard too early and started dying in the second half.

I think Jen has had a great career. There was a vacuum for while after Ruth Nortje went to the USA until Jen came through and flew the flag for women's sprinting in South Africa. Now the South African women show more strength and depth than the men do.

Does Jen have another Olympics in her? I don't know. (Before anyone puts age restrictions on how long anyone can paddle at the top level think about Birgit Fischer and Josefa Idem.) Whatever she decides she will always be one of the greats of South African womens' paddling.

K4 - Michele Eray, Carol Joyce, Nicki Mocke and Jen Hodson - They raced pretty much exactly as I expected them to. I don't know how much longer this group will stay together. They are still improving and we don't know what their limit is.

K2 - Michele Eray and Bridgitte Hartley - I think this is an awesomely promising combination. They are brand new as a combination and if they stay together I see big things.