Olympic Blog

I’m at the games in Vancouver…here is a little insight into my world!

NEW PHOTOS HERE

OLYMPIC UPDATE #4 – I’M AN OLYMPIAN!

Hi guys!

Just a quick one for now, a full one once I’ve celebrated and rested! I am officially an Olympian. The Super-G was fantastic fun in the Canadian sun. I skied some sections really well, executed the line I wanted to ski and despite a few slow sections was stoked to finish 38th. Check out the photos http://www.timcafe.co.nz/olympic-photos/ and http://www.timcafe.co.nz/videos/

OLYMPIC UPDATE #3

The games have begun! Many of you may have seen the opening ceremony on TV…I hope you did! It was incredible. An honour to walk into the stadium wearing the New Zealand uniform, and an overwhelming show to follow. The beginning of the games were marred by the death of the Georgian Luge athlete Nodar Kumaritashvili. His horrific crash occurred the morning before the opening ceremony. It is very sad for everyone, particularly the Georgian team, who have been brave enough to stay on and compete. Our thoughts are with his family and friends. Nevertheless the games must go on. These are the risks many winter sports involve; what we as winter sport athletes assume every day.

Following a fairly mild and rainy period around the opening ceremony the weather has cleared up. We were unable to train the past 2 days due to warm weather and damaged snow, however this morning Ben and I had a great Super-G session. The Men’s Downhill was held today in exceptional conditions considering how warm it has been. It was an exciting race, with Didier Defago, the veteran Swiss skier (known for peaking at big events) winning the gold, very closely followed by Norway’s Aksel Lund Svindal (last year’s overall World Cup champion). Bode Miller rounded out the medals, banishing his olympic daemons from Torino.

We plan to have 2 more days training in the 3 days left before the Super-G. Tomorrow looks a bit iffy on the weather front but after that a long period of fine weather is supposed to settle in. I’m starting to get really excited and anxious for the race – seeming more and more real every day! Coverage of my race will start at 8.25AM this Saturday the 20th on Prime, and I will run about half an hour after that depending on my start number.

Check out my photos…an insight into the world of an Olympian!

OLYMPIC UPDATE #2

The games are almost underway! Everybody from the NZ team has arrived. Up here in Whistler the 3 skeleton-ers, 2 x-country skiers and 1 biathlete have joined Ben Griffin and I. Mitchey is back in Vancouver with the snowboarders and speed skaters. Yesterday the team united in Squamish for a function with the local First Nations tribe. We were officially welcomed to the area with a blanketing ceremony, something which only the NZ team is lucky enough to do. The local traditions were a mix of exactly what you would expect from Native American culture and, wierdly, being on a Marae! At the ceremony Julanne Bray was announced as New Zealand’s flagbearer for tonight’s opening ceremony. Congratulations to Ju – she was an Olympian in Snowboard Halfpipe and Snowboardercross in Torino, and this time round as Snowboard Halfpipe again…inspiration to us all.

We’ve been here for a week now and the village is now FULL! So many athletes from every different sport have arrived to prepare for their events. Ben and I skied 5 days of Super-G training on an interesting piste called “Raven-Ptarmigan”, and a tough block in the gym. The snow was good and the weather held out. Unfortunately since yesterday we have been recieving a lot of rain down here in the village from something called a “Pineapple Express” storm bringing moisture out from Hawaii. Nevertheless, the Men’s downhill training is complete and the race is tomorrow, weather dependant. Plan for Ben and I is a few days of GS training, then 2 more days Super-G before the event on the 19th.

Be sure to watch Prime this arvo to see us march!

OLYMPIC UPDATE #1

We are in Whistler Olympic Village! Nils, Ben and I arrived two nights ago from Austria to a world of security, excitement, smurf-dressed volunteers and a huge bag of new uniform! The games are splis into two Olympic Villages. The Freestyle Skiing, Snowboarding, and Ice Sports are down in Vancouver. That leaves us Alpine Skiers up in Whistler with the Nordic Skiers Biathletes, Luge/Skeleton/Bob-ers and Ski Jumpers. The Village itself is overwhelming – getting in and out is more intense than airport security. The enormous food hall is great, and the gym is interesting – a mix of so many different sports ranging from giant bobsledders to tiny ski jumpers. It’s great to be amongst so many incredible athletes.

We freeskied up at Whistler today to check out the training piste conditions and have a good look at the race piste from above (the race piste is closed to everyone until the day before the race, where we get to have a freeski). The snow is a bit soft at the moment due to some fresh snow and unseasonably warm temperatures. But with an army of volunteers they will get it sorted in time. Tomorrow we have some Super-G training with the Czech team, amongst whom is the current Europa Cup Super-G Champion Petr Zahrobsky.

I will put videos and photos and blog updates at http://www.timcafe.co.nz/olympics/. Stay tuned for more! The opening ceremony is on the 12th at 3PM on Prime if anybody feels like having a look.

More to come!

Tim