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.