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.

In Cameron's Words

The C2 slalom combination of Cyprian Ngidi and Cameron McIntosh didn't make the final of their event. I didn't expect them to as I saw their participation as development. I really hope that by 2012 we will have gone beyond 'development'.

I have no doubt that participation in the Olympics for Master, Cyprian and Cameron was an experience of a lifetime with high hopes, trepidation, excitement, disappointment and much more.

Cameron's word express this fantastically ...



There are three races that stand out in my memory.

The 1st one was in 1998 when I won SA Champs for the 1st time on the Bushman's river. It was a huge mental boost for me especially because it was such a close tussle between myself and Guy Collyer.

The second was my K1 race at Africa Champs in January when I had one of my best runs but got beaten by Benjamin Boukpeti from Togo who went on to win yesterday’s Bronze.

And then today will be a day I will remember for the rest of my life.

It was bizarre to think that after 13 years of trying here Cyp and I were lining up for the Olympic Games.

The sacrifices that have gone into this just seemed to pale away as we went up the conveyor belt and all of a sudden were surrounded by 12 000 screaming spectators and TV Camera’s all over the place. I was quite calm in the circumstances and fortunately time ticked by quickly and we got the signal to go.

We just didn’t hit the lines and click in our 1st run. There were so many mistakes and we reached the finish thinking that was not what we were capable of. So it was just going to come down to a good second run...

Now Cyp and I changed positions in February this year with me going to the back and him moving to the front. It took us 2 weeks before we could remotely paddle in a straight line on flat water!

In the 2nd run it just clicked. We hit each line perfectly and got to the end knowing that was the best run we had ever had. In gate 13 we made a small mistake and missed the gate by a fraction but it still doesn’t take this fact away: Our 2nd run time would easily have put us into the semi-final. That fact gives me greater satisfaction than I have had in 20 years of paddling.

Bring on 2012

Slalom Medal for Africa

Benjamin Boukpeti from Togo won gold in the mens K1 slalom final. Absolutely stunning. And he was only 0.15 seconds away from Silver.

He won his semi by 1 hundredth of a second.

I hope this sparks the rest of our paddling squad to show what Africans and particularly SAFFAs can do.

Cameron McIntosh describes the race ...

Benjamin Boukpeti, who paddles for TOGO, and is an AmaDonsaDonsa Team member had the race of his life this afternoon and won the Bronze Medal. We are SO proud of Ben and the super amazing result! It is a HUGE boost for slalom in Africa!!!! WELL DONE BEN!!!!!!

We have just got back from the slalom. It is absolutely incredible that Benjamin won. He was a BEAST on the course and ripped it to shreds. I must say having lost to him at the Africa Champs I actually feel pretty cool about losing to an Olympic Medallist!!!

He was leading the 1st run and in the 2nd run had a stormer but it was just not good enough to beat the German, Alex Grim. Alex has a head of titanium when it comes to the big events and his second run was awesome. He is probably physically the biggest paddler and just blew everyone away including Ben who has no problem to do reps with 130kgs on the Bench!

The atmosphere was superb. Martikan in the C1 won the Gold again after having taken it in Atlanta when he was 17 and then getting silver twice in Sydney and Athens. This time he touched in BOTH his runs but still won by 2 seconds!!!

Olympictures

The Olympics is always a visual feast.















The equestrian pics are especially for my wife Madelaine.

Master Cele

Clearly my research wasn't good enough. I said I would p myself with excitement if Master made the top twenty. It turns out there were only 16 competitors. That's pretty disappointing considering what a spectacular sport slalom is and the amount of money that goes into building a world class artificial slalom course.

Master finished last. He showed real grit by coming back from a 50 pointer in his first run and improved his time by 12 seconds and nearly went clean, only getting 2 penalties.

He is 23 and steadily improving. Don't give up Master. You are a great role model.

We hope to see you doing much better in the next four years and giving it a real go in London in 2012.



Dave MacLeod describes master's race from Beijing ...

Beijing, China – Siboniso “Master” Cele bounced back from a nerve-hampered first run to post an impressive second run on the first day of the Olympic C1 slalom competition, but failed to make the cut for the semi-finals.

A gutted Cele had to twice Eskimo roll his canoe after capsizing in the white water of the Shunyi slalom course, and in the process of righting his craft for the second time he missed gate 16, and incurred a 50 second penalty that effectively ended his Olympic dream.

“I had already rolled once (in the tough Dragons Mouth drop) and when I came down to the big drop my paddle touched the side of the canal, which unbalanced me and I fell to the off-side, I rolled up as fast as I could but I went under the gate upside down, which is an automatic fifty second penalty.”
With just his pride at stake Cele set off on his second run far more confidently, and completed a clear run in a time that reaffirmed his potential to make the semi-final cut.

The likeable youngster from the Dihlabeng club outside Bethlehem was placed under huge pressure as he was the first paddler to enter the packed Shunyi stadium, where the expectant massive crowd created a charged atmosphere.

“After that first run I felt like I wanted to kill myself,” said Cele. “But it is a race, and I had to get it all back together and try to do the best that I could do in the final run, to prove what I am capable of.”
Cele has every right to feel disappointed, as the times he posted would have given a good chance at making the semi-final cut. “That’s what makes it so frustrating,” he added. “looking at all my split times I know I was capable of making the semis.”

Cele is determined to take his Olympic experience and use it to fuel the passion of the youngsters that he coaches at the Dihlabeng township in the Free State. Despite his disappointment, he was aware of the of the impact that his role as an Olympian would have on that training programme.
“Globally it looks so bright,” he enthused. “I want the kids in our club to use today to inspire them to train even harder, and one day top race at the Olympics. For me personally I see this just as the first step to my goal for the next Olympics in 2012,” he added.

Tracker - Results Highlights

Result Highlights:
Top 10
1. Hank McGregor Kin 4:18:36.80
2. Grant v d Walt Dab 4:18:38.15 U 18 - 1
3. Mik Mbanjwa Erk 4:26:09.00
4. Jacques Theron Sow 4:26:11.49
5. Greg Louw Fis 4:26:37.70
6. Ernst van Riet Us 4:32:45.24
7. Mike Harris Vic 4:34:57.14 SV -1
8. Brandon v d Walt Dab 4:34:58.31 U 16 ­ 1
9. Alex Roberts Dab 4:34:59.15
10.Cornelis Human Us 4:35:52.68

Ladies.
1. Robyn Kime Ukn 4:56:44.03 U 18 ­ 1
2. Bianca Bevit Mil 4:59:35.59 U 18 ­ 2
3. Abie Adie Nat 5:08:48.37 U 21

U18 Boys
1. Grant v d Walt
2. Brandon v d Walt
3. Murray Burgess

U 16 Boys
1. Brandon v d Walt
2. Gavin Shuter
3. Tristan Schafer

Sub Vet. 1 ­ Mike Harris
Vet. 1 ­ Gavin Tar
Sub Mas. 1 ­ Kevin Middleton
Mas. 1 ­ Gehard Steyn
Sub G M 1 ­ Chris van den Berg
G. Mas. 1 ­ Brian Longley

A Story Without Words