Gold for Australia!!

Olympic Champion and winner of the K1 men's 500m gold medal, from Australia, Ken Wallace! !

It's worth saying that over again and again and again because it takes a while to sink in.

What a fantastic finish to the Olympics for Kenny, the team and our supporters.

If Ken Wallace had inspired and impressed in the 1000m yesterday and caused a few nods of recognition amongst the canoe kayak elite, today he stunned the world.

I am not sure what others experienced when Ken crossed the line and the scoreboard showed the letters AUS in first, but my impression was that there was a gasp and then a moment of stunned silence.

Then, he let his emotions show.

He had overturned Adam Van Koeverden, Olympic champion and undefeated for two years of world cups and world championships. He had triumphed over Tim Brabants the 1000m winner of yesterday.

He had become Australia's first Olympic champion in this event and the first gold medallist since 1992 when Clint Robinson won the 1000m .

He did it in front of his family and closest friends with his mate and coach, Jimmy Owens. He did it his way and it looks like he could be on track to do it again and again and again, such is his love of competition and the sport.
Gold is gold. It is worth more, it is enduring it is the ultimate prize and what we strive for. It makes all the difference in the world. It means you are a winner and a champion.

Yesterday a star was born, today he was crowned Olympic champion.

Kenny, we salute you and we thank you!

While the day belonged to Kenny, we are also proud of our K2 women, Hannah Davis and Lyndsie Fogarty who followed up from their bronze medal yesterday with a hard earned 6th place finish in the K2 500m event, the last event of the Games for canoeing, which was won by Hungary ahead of Poland and France.


Following the competition we were able to celebrate with family and friends before a transfer to the village for more interviews with Ken and a change of outfits for the girls before well earned celebrations.


See you all soon!

bronzed brave and brilliant

They wanted it and we all needed it after medals had been drying up for the Australian Olympic team. And what a great finish - literally.

First, Kenny Wallace surged from oblivion in the last 250m to finish third and claim his first Olympic medal in the K1 1000.

Forty five minutes later, Lisa Oldenhof, Hannah Davis, Chantal Meek and Lyndsie Fogarty moved from 5th at halfway in a carefully crafted race plan to claim bronze, holding off Poland by just 0.05 seconds.

It was a brave effort from Kenny who had sat back holding on for much of the race. Talking to the media after his final, Ken sounded relieved, excited and proud to have found some magic from within that enabled him to time his surge for the line almost to perfection.

From a seemingly irretrievable position at close to the back of the field the surge began and a lost cause turned to a ray of hope and then to a realisation that impossible is nothing.

At one point he looked like he was gaining on the winner Brabants and had overtaken Eric Veraas Larsen for silver, but he admitted to a wobble 10 metres from the line.

He will now back up in the K1 500m final where he has another shot at a medal.

Before the race, Australia's gold medal supporter, Laurie Lawrence, gave Ken a call of encouragement and joined the crowd at the Shunyi venue. Also there to cheer on our medal winners were the slalom athletes and the rowing gold medal machines who had cancelled their other commitments to return the compliment the kayakers had shown the rowers a week earlier.

It was the first Olympic medal in this event since Clint Robinson won bronze in 1996. For coach, Jimmy Owens and Ken it is the culmination of boyhood dreams and months of work on the road in Europe.

For the women, it was the first event ever in the K4 event and what perfect timing. Content to be outsiders in lane two our team knew they had a shot at a medal if they stuck to the race plan they had been perfecting over the past few months.

For a moment the result looked in doubt, our coaches, Marinov and Dave Foureur claimed it but the rest of us waited for what seemd like an eternity until AUS flashed up third on the finish line scoreboard.

The rest of the story was written with tears of jubilation and relief. Also with pride that under pressure in an Olympic final our athletes were tough and courageous right to the line squeezing out every last inch of performance from the long months of preparation. The plan worked.

Our K4 women have come from four corners in Australia and it has been a great team effort to turn 6th in Athens to bronze in Beijing, great work coaches!

For our medallists it was a whirlwind tour once they crossed the line. First TV, then radio and print press, a quick change for the medal ceremony, a press conference, doping control and then a warm down for Ken, Hannah and Lyndsie before fronting the media surrounded by friends and family outside the venue.

With two more races to go today our Games are far from over!

Simple semi

Ken Wallace did a great job in the K1 1000 semi final getting out in front and then holding off his challengers.

Max Hoff of Germany won the other semi final and will join Kenny and the favourites, Tim Brabants, Adam Van Koeverden and Eric Larsen in what promises to be a scintillating final.

It was a confident outing for our gun K1 who will now attempt to qualify for his second final when he races in the K1 500m tomorrow.

The real deal is on Friday and Saturday so at this stage the word is simply, keep up the good work, mate, you are on the right track!!

Out of contention

It was a hard day at the office for the men's K4 and the result was a bitter pill to swallow. The crew came close to qualifying for the final but were pipped on the line by Canada and finished 4th .

There was obvious disappointment for Smithy, Tate, Schuey and Clint and noone can doubt the committment to succeed and the effort that this crew has demonstrated over the past five months.

It has been a long hard road and at the end we knew one team would bite the dust in the semi. We didn't think it would be us.

There is no doubt this mouthful is hard to swallow in the aftermath of a hard fought effort. After reflection, truthful soul searching and analysis it can only be a harsh learning expererience for the team, the coaches and the athletes. A defeat Australia must build on for London.

For the master it is an achievement in itself to have come this far and we salute Clint for his leadership and dedication and know that he will focus on the job at hand tomorrow.

Torsten, too, bows out of the 1000m event but can be proud of his effort today. He will be back for more tomorrow in the 500m semi tomorrow.

Time to race hard...and fast!

After two days of heats we approach the business end of the flatwater racing at Shunyi today with Australia lining up in three semi final events. K1 1000, C1 1000 and K4 1000.

After his second place to Olympic champion, Larsen, in the heats on Monday Ken Wallace will be the first Aussie to race when he lines up in the 1000m semi final at 3:30.

Ken is working into the week's racing and will no doubt be buoyed by a fast hit out yesterday in the 500m heats when he posted the third fastest time. For the record, Adam Van Koeverden posted a new world's best time in 1:35.554 with Vereckei of Hungary half a second back and Ken a very close third in 1:36.208.

Torsten Lachmann has semi finals in both the 1000m and 500m event to look forward to and will tackle the longer distance at 4pm today.

Finally, the K4 1000m semi final will be an important stepping stone for the men's K4 as they aim to go through to Friday's final.

After their straight to final qualification from the K4 heats on Monday, our women have a day's rest from racing and will do a light session in the K4 this morning to stay on top of their game.

Hannah Davis and Lyndsie Fogarty matched the K4 performance in their K2 yesterday and were clearly happy to qualify direct to Staurday's final and avoid a semi final .

In other races yesterday, Chantal Meek in K1 500 and Clint Robinson and Jacob Clear in K2 500 moved through to the semi finals comfortably and will race in their respective semi finals on Thursday.

There have been no major suprises through the first two days of racing with the heats only cutting 10 of the 124 starters out of the running in the 500m events ysterday.

Conditions have been good, the mountains just in view at the top end of the lake and a very light variable breeze barely rippling the surface.

Following races our media liaison officer, David Pembroke, has been steering our athletes to the ABC radio desk for comments, so stay tuned for more action on the airwaves as well as the small screen!

Our growing number of supporters have been both visible and vocal in the stands holding their own with the other clusters of die hard supporters, including the drum beating Hungarians. Keep up the good work!

For those watching at home, some of the images are generated by a small team of Aussies operating the "fly cam" which flies on a cable from the finish line diagonally across the course. Fly Cam also covered the rowing and have been inundated with requests to cover major events.

After the build up it is finally time to race hard and fast...

Start within ten seconds...GO!

This is it.

Racing begins for our flatwater team with 10 of our 11 athletes in action this afternoon.

The changeover at the race course took place overnight and this morning with our team now occupying the same shed used by the victorious Aussie rowers.

First on the water at 3:40 will be Ken Wallace in heat 3 of the men's K1 1000m where he will face the Olympic champion Erik Veraas Larsen of Norway. With the first place going straight to the final and earning a day off on Wednesday the win will come at a premium.

Next up is Torsten Lachmann in the C1 1000m. After earning his citizenship this year and watching girlfriend Jacqui excel in the slalom, Torsten will wear the Aussie colours with extra pride.

Then our big boats will flex their muscle in the men's and women's K4 heats.

Our women's crew of Lisa Oldenhof, Hannah Davis, Chantal Meek and Lyndsie Fogarty will
face Canada, Hungary, Poland and Spain from lane 4 at 4:40 with the first 3 places going straight to friday's final.

Finally, our K4 men, David Smith, Tony Schumacher, Tate Smith and Clint Robinson will race in lane 3 and mix it with Belorussia , Germany, Hungary and China in the penultimate race of today's session.

Jacob Clear will race tomorrow in the K2 500 with Clint Robinson.

Life in the slow lane

The slalom is over and time to relax for the "famous five". Robin and Jacqui have been caught up in a media whirlwind which has put canoeing on the front page and on TV screens across Australia. Keep it up!

Our athletes have been keen supporters of other sports and athletes from rowing to cycling, swimming, hockey and water polo.

Post competition is also a time to catch up with family friends in and around Beijing.

On the social front the main engagement today will be the reception hosted by the Australian Embassy in Beijing.

A number of sports have now finished, including swimming and many of the athletes in the village take on a more relaxed approach to the whole Olympic experience. Mealtimes last longer, the nights become shorter and friendships blossom.

Meanwhile...the competition commences for our other canoeing athletes and the focus shifts to straight line speed and the race to the finish line.

Silver sensation!

The storm clouds cleared overnight revealing the distant mountain ranges and bathing the Shunyi venue in glorious sunshine.

On a sensational final day at the Olympic slalom course yesterday Jacqui Lawrence stunned the field winning a silver medal to add to Robin Bell's bronze, completing an overall success for our small team of slalom athletes.

Only Slovakia has won more medals - all three gold! Elena Kaliska and the Hochshorner brothers defended their Athens titles adding to Michal Martikan's triumph on Wednesday to complete a hatrick for the Slovaks.

A cool clear head and a bombproof race plan saw Jacqui move into the lead in the final run with only Kaliska holding her form to take the title.

A fantastic end to the slalom for our team and supporters and one which we were able to enjoy fully into the night with Jacqui's smile and the Australian flag never wavering.

Dreams come true...

Rain stops play

Following the C2 semi final the rest of the day's racing has been postponed until tomorrow.

More information will be available later.

Prior to the announcement, our C2 crew finished had finished 7th and unfortunately missed the final by one place.

Pride in our performance

What a great day's racing for Australia!

Our goal was to win an Olympic medal and we nearly won two!

Congratulations to Robin for his superb achievement, it has been a long time since Danielle Woodward won silver in Barcelona!

In Athens I stood with Robin at the finish and thought he had done enough to win a medal. We were mistaken. For a moment yesterday I had that same feeling and so there was relief and joy when he won a bronze.

As viewers and spectators will have seen, it was a tough race with many favourites stumbling or falling.

We can be proud that our athletes paddled tall and helped stamp the Australian flag on the Olympic finals. From start to finish.

Warwick's semi final run was sensational and he demonstrated emphatically that he was ready to make a podium. A slower final run was tinged with disappointment but in time we can reflect that his performance, like Robin's, carried great significance and hope for all those involded in Australian slalom.

Thank you for all the support and encouragement our athletes received at the venue and from afar. We appreciate it.

The racing goes on today with Mark and Lachie and Jacqui in the qualification heats.

Up and running

Every four years, if you are lucky, a crowd gathers for a special race and you feel proud of your sport as it is broadcast around the world.

There was a good crowd at the start of the C1 and K1 heats, "La Tribu" as they are called from France, Slovenian fanatics on the trail of Peter Kauzer and the Aussie faithful in green and gold and the Chinese, of course.

Siboniso Cele of South Africa kicked off the racing and was followed by Feng of China. The crowd liked that. They also liked his team mate Ding who went first in the K1. Then they went home!

The hard core stayed and cheered as the second runs continued and the qualification for today's semi finals unfolded.

In close racing with few major mistakes at the top end, our boys came through unscathed.

Now we move to the business end of semi finals and finals...

All systems go for slalom

After a final hit out on the course on Saturday, the slalom athletes had a forced rest from the whitewater today as the course was prepared for the demonstration runs.

The 21 gate course set for the qualification race by Jean Michel Prono (FRA), Eric Giddens (USA) and Jaroslav Pollert (CZE) appears relatively straight forward but there is no doubt the powerful technical conditions of the Beijing Olympic course will be challenging for all competitors.

In a test run the fastest time recorded was by a Chinese C1 forerunner who posted a time of just 88 seconds an indication that this will be the fastest race in Olympic and world championship history.

Tomorrow, the top 12 C1s from 16 starters will progress to the semi finals while in the K1 event the top 15 from 21 starters will make the cut.

With a fast course and no major moves the margins will be tight. Clean runs, dry lines with easy boat run through the downstream sections and precise upstreams will be the target for safe qualification.

Tomorrow, the stands will fill, the water will flow and the athletes will start the show for the 6th Olympic slalom competition.

Robin Bell will be the 14th boat to start at 3:32 and a half with Warwick Draper 9th boat off in the K1 event at 4:10.
The two and a half minute start interval will allow spectators time to enjoy the full run live with replays on the giant screen.

Second runs will be just under two hours after the first runs.

Each time our athletes line up they will see a familiar face at the start in the shape of starter, Max Parsons, who along with gate judge, Sue Natoli, will be officiating at the Games for Australia.

Three, two, one go!

Let the Games begin!

It's 1:20 am and the team is crawling its way into bed after a sensational opening ceremony.

We assembled over six and a half hours earlier in the village before boarding buses to the Indoor Stadium. The waiting began. One by one nations were called to assemble outside for the slow journey towards the underground entrance to the National Stadium.

Two screens gave us glimpses of the show witnessed by the rest of the world. A loud cheer went up each time we could see teams marching, but the glimpses became few and far between.

Once the team was called to exit, the excitement mounted, we were followed by China and literally thousands of volunteers began to chant China! China! A taste of things to come.

The walk to the Stadium was lined by more volunteers, waving, cheering, supporting every team . One volunteer had red blistered hands from high fives from the 200 or so nations that had run before us!

The tunnel came and then the entrance to the stadium, the flashes and noise, the size and colour of a stadium alive with anticipation of the arrival of the host nation. China ! China ! followed us around the track, with little Zambia sandwiched in between.

The team struggled to keep to formation and scattered to wave, take pictures and marvel at the spectacle it was part of creating.

The rest you saw. The flag and the flame. The daring spectacle of the aerial runner carrying fire around the roof of the stadium to light the Olympic flame.

Bigger and better. China has set the tone for the modern Olympic Games.

Oarsome night

James Tomkins will carry the flag for Australia in tonight's opening ceremony. While the announcement, made by AOC President, John Coates, at the team reception came as no suprise, a huge cheer went up for the popular rower .

There is no doubt that Tomkins' credentials make him the right man for the job and his acceptance speech was both rousing and inspirational for the rest of the team and supporters who had packed the Sofitel ballroom in downtown Beijing.

The night got off to a slow start for many of the team as the police held back traffic including the Australian team buses to allow Kevin Rudd's motorcade free passage to the Sofitel.

Our team acquitted themselves well scoring a number of trophy photo opportunities with prime ministers past and present, sporting heros and the stars of the show, royal couple Mary and Fred.

The team reception brings together everything that is Australian about these Games, setting the scene for the opening ceremony tonight when most of the team will march into the National Stadium.

Kevin flies the flag

The Prime Minister of Australia assisted at the official welcome ceremony and flag raising ceremony for the Australian Olympic Team.

The ceremony was short and sweet with the Olympic hymn, an official welcome message from the mayor of the Olympic village, the Australian national anthem and the presentation gift to the Australian chef de mission and AOC President, John Coates. The Prime Minister offered a gift in return.

Following the ceremony the official delegation, which included Sports Minister Kate Ellis, walked through the Australian section of the village to the dining hall.

Most of the athletes had already carved the trail as they sought out the refreshing air conditioning of the dining hall.

We move on to the official team reception in an hour or so.

Australia Day in Beijing

Today is one of the key days for the Australian team during the Olympics when the whole team comes together under one flag. The Welcome ceremony and flag raising will take place in the Olympic village at 4pm in the presence of the Australian Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, who will then visit the Australian quarters and meet athletes.

Following the Welcome Ceremony the AOC hosts a team reception at the Sofitel in Beijing for all team members and their guests as well as the top shelf of Australia's corporate and political world.

The flag bearer is announced at the team reception and there is no doubt about the front runner for the honour this year with triple gold medallist and six time Olympian, James Tomkins likely to get the gig.

The team will be decked out in the formal uniform supplied by Sportscraft so look out for some stunning shots tonight on Channel 7 and in the press tomorrow.

The slalom venue is in lockdown mode as BOCOG prepares for the event and the team are having a day off . The sprint athletes are all training this morning followed by some cross training at the village ahead of the welcome ceremony.

Yesterday, Ken Wallace and Torsten Lachmann had their first session out at Shunyi followed by their induction to the Australian team. Ken even tried his hand at a few slalom gates at the bottom of the course but decided to stick to his day job.

Overall, training is going to plan, athletes are adapting to the heat and conditions and the talk has turned from "when did you get in?" to "when do you compete?".

The first Australians to kick off will be the men's football team who take on Serbia tonight in Shanghai.

For slalom, just four days to go...and counting.

Full Team Ahead

Ken Wallace and Torsten Lachmann arrived today from London bringing the team to its full complement of 16 athletes .

Ken has been training in Hungary in hot conditions while Torsten has been in Potsdam, Germany, with members of the German team.

A minor delay was caused by the loss of Torsten's paddles in London before the pair set off with Ken's coach, Jimmy Owens, for the team uniform processing.

The team is housed in four apartments within easy reach of the main facilities such as the dining hall, transport mall and AOC admin centre. Brett Kemble, Dave Foureur and Liz Broad are lodged at the Dragon Club, a hotel facility close to the venue.

The best coffee as it MacDonalds and now the village is much busier this is a popular destination.
Some famous faces appear amongst the crowds and heads turn. A tennis player called Roger caused a minor stir at lunchtime. In reality he was another athlete at the Games and looked happy that way.

The boxers have moved in on the same level as our team, and are much friendler than they look!
As teams arrive the AOC operational team kick into gear, guiding over a hundred athletes a day through to the village. The cycling team came with 800kg of gear. The swimmers bought their togs and facebooks.

The teams trained well today and spirits are high. Clint Robinson has missed a couple of days training to protect a mild throat irritation from developing further. He returned to the water today and fired up for a powerful K2 session with Jake Clear this afternoon. Jake had replaced Clint in the K4 yesterday to keep the big boat turning over for the other crew members.

The K4 women had a lactic session and some gym following on from race pace work yesterday.


On the slalom course, half length runs yesterday were followed by fine tuning technical work on sections today. With just a few whitewater sessions to go until race time it is time to build confidence, belief and comfort around the main moves and features.

Rob Bell worked on his tracking and looked to have mastered the lines through the gut breaking waves.

Tomorrow the full Australian contingent will be in action at various times at the magnificent Shunyi venue. In between sessions, some of the athletes will retire to the Dragon Club and a shared facility with the Australian rowers.

The heat is rising...

for we are young and free...

The last two days have been busy. Travelling, training, village life and the team induction have filled the schedule.

The induction was a highlight for the team on Saturday. An impressive compilation DVD of Australian Olympic greats in action to the theme of “Rise up” was followed by an inspirational poem crafted and delivered by the team motivator, Laurie Lawrence.

The team sung the national anthem with gusto and were then presented with commemorative blazer pockets by Michael Wenden, dual Olympic gold medallist and five time world record holder, to the tune of Waltzing Matilda and in the presence of Australian legend, Steve Waugh. The Baggy Green, along with John Eales and Kate Allen, is one of three athlete liaison officers at the Games. Kate, rowing gold medallist from Atlanta, is assigned to canoeing, among other sports.

The photos were keepers.

Sunday was the hottest day so far, topping 35 degrees in sunny Shunyi. The women’s crew trained in the morning and avoided the hottest part of the day.

The men, however, did two afternoon sessions and were able to fully feel the potential race conditions, a warm headwind blowing down the course.

The slalom session was also in the mid afternoon and was the first session of full length runs for the team. Mike Druce set a tough but realistic course with continual challenges giving the athletes a taste of things to come.

Team sports scientist and physio Brett Kemble have been kept busy with cooling and recovery strategies for the whole group and the hot conditions have done little to dent the commmitment and motivation of the athletes in training.

Our media liaison officer, David Pembroke, came to watch both disciplines train today. He is our buffer to take pressure off the athletes and field media enquiries as we approach the competition.

Time is flying by with just 8 days to the start of the slalom competition and only 5 days to the opening ceremony. It seems the village expands with each mealtime as new teams arrive from other countries or from other sections within the Australian team.

The latest section to arrive was the swimming team who along with rowing and men’s hockey have swelled the numbers in the Australian quarters adding to the atmosphere of a big and powerful team.

Blue sky day for Aussie paddlers

Today started with the AOC press conference featuring Robin Bell, Clint Robinson and Hannah Davis.

The trio were escorted through the village by chef de mission, John Coates who chaired the conference before returning the athletes to the village to join their team mates for the trip to Shunyi.

Being one of the first sections to arrive has meant there has been considerable interest in the progress of our team and the impressive slalom and flatwater venues. Everyone is enjoying the positive attention in the early stages of our stay in the village and on the course.

The flatwater crews completed their first session on the Shunyi course in singles getting the feeling of the warm water and hot humid conditions. The men then rigged up the K2s and K4s for a trial spin before sampling the food in the venue dining hall.

The women rested at the Dragon Club, our recovery base close to the venue, efore sharpening up with a sprint session to complete the activities at the venue.

The conditions at the venue were the best we have seen with a magnificent mountain backdrop coming into view on this "official" blue sky day.

An AOC team barbecue and a team meeting topped off a busy day.

While Warwick Draper took a breather from the course and Robin Bell cross trained in the morning, our C2 crew and Jacqui Lawrence did a hybrid session at the venue with a speed session on flatwater followed by short sections on the whitewater.

Robin Bell came out for the afternoon session and completed two sets of half length runs at race intensity, while rival Tony Estanguet and the French, who share our training session, opted for longr runs and less technical moves.

Tomorrow will see all athletes in action at Shunyi, returning to the village for rest or cross training ahead of the AOC team induction.

second wave of paddlers arrive

The second wave of Aussie paddlers hit Beijing last night with the arrival of Chantal Meek, Lisa Oldenhof, Hannah Davis, Lyndsie Fogarty, Tate Smith, Tony Schumacher, David Smith, Jacob Clear and Clint Robinson from the flatwater team. Robin Bell was the final member of the slalom contingent to arrive.

Only Ken Wallace and Torsten Lachmann are yet to enter the village and their arrival is scheduled for Augst 5.

After formalities at the airport and the Olympic village the women hit the hay and the men found the dining hall for a midnight treat.

Outfitting, lunch and a briefing from the AOC filled up most of the day as expected.

Robin Bell joined the other slalom athletes and quickly found his mark on the course in a session which was full of variety as he visited all the key features.

With more time in hand ahead of their competition, the flatwater crews favoured cross training and relaxation on their first day in the village ahead of a trip out to Shunyi planned for tomorrow.

The village is beginning to fill more and more each day and tomorrow will see a big influx of Australians with the arrival of men's hockey and the big swimming and rowing sections amongst others.

Robin Bell, Clint Robinson and Hannah Davis will take part in a press conference at the Main Press Centre tomorrow morning before heading out to their respective training sessions with their team mates.

New arrivals get clear run on first day in Beijing

The first four Australian canoeing athletes flew into Beijing late last night and hit the water today in good clear conditions at the Shunyi Olympic venue for their first Games time training session.

After the 12 hour non stop Qantas flight from Sydney Jacqui Lawrence, Warwick Draper, Mark Bellofore and Lachlan Milne checked into their Olympic village accommodation at close to midnight.

This morning the team headed to the Western Academy of Beijing about 20 minutes from the Olympic village for uniform distribution. The WAB serves as a hub for the AOC for team processing as well as for relaxation and recreation.

It was all smiles after the shopping spree courtesy of adidas, Sportsmark and Mileno, the AOC uniform sponsors. The whole process is professionally staged right through to the last detail of the opening ceremony uniform which has been hidden from the media's sharp eyes.

Back at the village. Following a quick lunch and a briefing from the AOC on the key functional areas of the team's operations in Beijing, including the important medical and security measures that are in place for the Games, it was time to test the Olympic transport system on a trip out to Shunyi.

Access to exclusive Olympic lanes did little to inspire the driver to hit the pedal hard and we did the trip out to the venue in around 50 minutes, a chance to catch up with the French team en route and, in my case, clear text messages and emails on the run.

The temporary grandstands soaring high above the churning water gave a powerful first impression that we were no longer in a training camp environment. The big event atmosphere is in your face with the Olympic look branding all around, a giant scoreboard, media snapping the opportunity for action shots and hundreds of volunteers in colourful BOCOG uniforms catering for every need.

The training went well as the athletes familiarised themselves with the powerful water in a free session which included some downstream tempo work. The course remains unchanged since the last international camp at the beginning of June.

Overnight the gate positions are changed presenting new options and challenges for the teams and tomorrow the training will step on in focus and intensity.

Wednesday 30 July summary plan:

9am session at Shunyi - race paced half length runs.

12pm lunch at venue

Rest at Dragon Club facility close to course

3pm - technical session on course.

5:30 pm arrive back at village

8:10 pm arrival of the men's and women's flatwater team boat crews plus Robin Bell.

Kenny takes the lead in Hungary

K1 ace, Kenny Wallace is in Budapest training with a few top international athletes and young gun Aussie, Murray Stewart, who is helping set the pace for the final stages of Kenny's Beijing preparation.

Coach, Jimmy Owens, keeps the team posted via skype and email with Glen Workman our strength and conditioning expert also in daily contact with the satellite group in Hungary.

The final World Cup race saw Ken with a motivating fourth in the K1 1000m and a promising bronze in the K1 500m. Just enough to fuel the fire for more metal in Beijing.

According to Jimmy, Ken is thriving in the training group environment, leading from the front and going from strength to strength (literally).

With yet another new boat and on hand support from Nelo, there is nothing that is being left to chance.

Boxing Kangaroo

C1 slalom ace, Robin Bell, returned to the great Australian continent from a successful European tour with his haul of two World Cup medals and an overall World Cup title.

After five weeks on the slalom courses of Beijing (CHN), Prague (CZE), Tacen (SLO) and Augsburg (GER) the big man campe back home to complete his preparations in Penrith.

However, his first session back home was a punishing boxing session with team physiotherapist, Brett Kemble who has become a regular sparring partner since his stint with slalom in Prague.

I caught up with Rob for his first few whitewater sessions in Penrith where he was a lonely figure on the Sydney Olympic course while the rest of the team stayed on in Europe. In his new boat Rob looked focused and sharp and is clearly on track for his Olympic dream.

Viva Espana

Warwick Draper (K1) and Mark Bellofiore and Lachlan Milne (C2) raced at the Pre-World Championships in La Seu d'Urgell in the Spanish Pyrenees, the final race on the European circuit ahead of Beijing

For Warwick it was a breakthrough performance as he posted a personal best 4th place in the final while the C2 were soundly placed in 7th in their event.

It was the culmination of a successful tour for the Aussie team overall and a good send off for the trio of Olympians ahead of the challenges in China.

Rocky road to Beijing

The flatwater team has been training hard on the Fitzroy river in Rockhampton (QLD) at their final Pre-Olympic training camp.

The camp which began on July 13th will run until July 25th allowing the team four days with their loved ones prior to their departure to Beijing on July 3oth.

All team members attended with the exception of Ken Wallace who has remained in Europe to perfect his singles skills at an international camp in Hungary and Torsten Lachmann who is training for his C1 event in good company in Potsdam, Germany.

Why did we go to Rocky? Check out the weather report for the past 10 days and you will see why. Warm sunny days, ideal on water conditions with a marked course and few distractions. As for the last few days...well we might wonder as the rain pours down!

Thanks to the Fitzroy Canoe Club for the use of their boathouse and jetty and to the city council for the use of the course, the team has given Rocky the big thumbs up for the future!

I made two trips to the camp to check up on the team in action and can report that everything is going to plan with the excitement building prior to the team's departure next week.

It is inspirational to see the power and flow of the team boats in action as they squeeze the speed out of every effort knowing that the time to fly is drawing close.

Off the water, a bike ride or run back to base and gym or cross training complete the schedule for the athletes.

Our support crew have stepped up to the plate making sure all the bases are covered and needs are met, so thank you team for your support and commitment on and off the water. You all know why and you all know how you make a difference.