Olympics and Beyond

Olympic Wrap-up

The Games are over! Seems like just yesterday I was leaving Munich, feeling nervous and anxious. They were an incredible experience from start to finish. I am so proud to have competed for New Zealand, and learned about the Olympic spirit. Everyone who is receiving this email has helped me in my journey to the Games. Thanks to everyone for all the support! Read on for the full story…..!

BEFORE THE RACE

We (Ben Griffin, coach Nils and I) arrived at the Whistler Olympic village a week before the opening ceremony. The village, like all Olympic villages, has intense, airport-like security upon entry. Once inside the village it was like being in another world. Everything is catered for – giant gym, giant food hall, internet, and anything else you need you can just ask. The Canadian volunteer group (nicknamed “smurfs” because of their bright blue uniforms) were very friendly. Seeing the routine of different athletes from different sports was an inspiring experience. I learnt so much about training methods, commitment, and the nature of elite sport.

The New Zealand team was split between Whistler and Vancouver villages. All the athletes from different sports had a fun time getting to know each other and understand the various sports. (For the record, though, Alpine Skiing is still the premier and coolest sport at the games…!) The rivalry between and patriotism of countries within Olympic Villages is always strong. It was great to have a friendly and proud crew to represent New Zealand. It’s not often that New Zealanders in winter sport feel like they have a team or a strong presence. Team spirit really kicked in at the opening ceremony. It was truly overwhelming. An honour to walk into the stadium wearing the New Zealand uniform, and an overwhelming show to follow.

Ben and I had some great Super-G training before the race. It’s difficult to train Super-G because you need good weather and a long fenced piste in order to make it safe. Whistler provided a sweet trail for training. There was a period of about 4 days of rain and snow, but other than that it was blue skies and perfect.

THE RACE

The race day for me was a storm of emotions. I felt for many days up until the race some kind of pressure, with the knowledge that a lot more people at home were paying attention to this race than any other before in my life. The pressure is not something that throws me though. On race day I woke up with a feeling of excitement and anxiety. We had trained for long enough, I was confident on my skis and starting to realise that this race was in a way just like any other run in my life so far. I felt reassurance in knowing that the country was behind me and all of you were watching.

During inspection it became clear that the course was pretty difficult – the snow at the top was bumpy and very icy. The course-set was challenging. The sun was beaming down on the lower slopes, which were extremely icy at that time of the morning, but would likely soften by the time I raced. These realisations were a “good” jolt for me though – they made me focus on what I had to do on the course rather than all the external pressures of “being at the Olympics”. In warm-up I felt strong like the previous week of training.

When the race started, Ben and I retired to a racer-only hut to watch the first few racers on TV and get a better idea of the course. By my race time, which was substantially delayed after the crash and evacuation of Swedish ski star, Patrik Jaerbyn, 15 competitors before me, the course was very bumpy at the top and slushy at the bottom. My run is somewhat of a blur in my mind – some of you may have experienced before what it is like to be in “flow” state. I remember skiing with confidence, but overskied a few sections at the top. The bottom half of the run went really well – I was in the top-30 on the bottom split and had the 19th speed through the gun. Crossing the finish line was surreal – during the last 2 gates, a straight shot to the finish, I saw the rings above the stand and suddenly realised “hey, this is the Olympics!” I am so happy with my result. My dream goal was a top-30 finish, but realistically I was aiming for top-40, and finishing 38th is great. It’s another step on the pathway of a ski racer, and towards Sochi 2014! It was a little sad that Ben did not finish but he was giving 100% and was fast at the top split. That’s ski racing!

AFTER THE RACE

I had time to go and watch lots of other events. It was great to be able to support the other New Zealanders at their events. Mitchey Grieg, who most of you know, is one of my oldest friends and ski buddies. She finished 30th in the skier-X at Cypress Mountain (Vancouver) in heavy snowfall and tough conditions. I also had the chance to meet so many people from other teams and sports. It was an incredible experience. The New Zealand team continued to “gel”, and most of us walked in the closing ceremony. The closing was much more relaxed than the opening – all the apprehension, excitement and rivalry was replaced with joy, sorrow and comradery. Canada’s performance throughout the games was almost flawless – 14 gold medals, the last of which was the ice hockey. Ice Hockey Gold to Canada is even more important than the Rugby World Cup to New Zealand.

Some of you may have seen some bad press about New Zealand’s performance at these Games. I feel the team was judged quite unfairly. To most of us it was our first Olympics. Everyone who was there deserved to be so, was professional, committed, and represented New Zealand with pride and success. Many of us will be aiming towards Sochi and much better results there. Personally the games have motivated me to work even harder and strive for more.

WHERE TO NOW

We have returned to our base in Austria. The last few days Ben and I worked hard in the gym to re-condition physically and today we started on-snow training again. We have 3 days of training before heading to Tarvisio, Italy for Europa Cup speed finals. From there we begin a month of almost non-stop racing to improve World rankings for the winters to come!

Thank you again to EVERYONE who has helped me get to the Games. It was by far the best experience of my life.
The website is back to normal again and there are new photos under the Olympic Photos tab. For more photos please see:

http://www.zimbio.com/pictures/BNnZRedwUgY/Alpine+Skiing+Day+8/os9GmKXFSxq/Tim+Cafe?pa=1

Till next time
Tim