at the Olympics this afternoon.
I had myself in my QCC-700 in the middle lane.
Then I woke up!
Those guys are machines
Jack L
woman
saw then run Monday flying great to watch. Recorded today but didn’t see Men’s sadly.
Hi JACK-
I concur -they sure DO resemble machines -as do the women paddlers as well -they’re all amazing! You ever talk to “our” own flatwater gold medalist at the old B&B? Greg Barton is a nice guy, and one fellow who can simultaneously both fly AND
PADDLE ON!
-Frank in Miami
I’m waiting for …
…the synchronized paddleboard yoga…
How about the C-1 sprint boats
– Last Updated: Aug-18-16 4:55 PM EST –
Not sure how they stay up on those narrow boats while kneeling. And how do they keep them going straight - they don't switch sides and there doesn't seem to be any correction. Just long forward strokes.
They Ban Women From Competing
In them. My respect goes to Pam Boteler, who for years has fought to include women in this Olympic event.
Will be women’s C-1 in the slalom
at the next Olympics. They may eliminate the Men’s C-2. They don’t do women’s C-1 in the sprint either?
Giddens Won Slalom Silver 12 Years Ago
And by the next Olympics, it will be a whopping 32 years, since Barton and Bellingham won gold in kayak sprints.
The following article pretty much sums it up about what our best U.S. paddlers have to deal with in order to be competitive against international competition:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1996/01/23/world-champion-canoeist-has-row-with-police/914c62b2-d038-4c25-8db0-279a6354f2ba/
Such water conditions are pretty tame compared to young women gymnast doing death defying jumps.
I’m guessing
that today’s slalom athletes are training at WW parks rather than relying on natural flow rivers. Still, I can’t believe that the park service actually jumped into the river to drag him out of his boat - talk about making a bad situation worse. Not a typical situation for WW paddlers.
Watched a little of the K-4 last night
those guys are like machines. Pretty cool, but not very exciting.
They have huge upper bodies.
K-4 women
Saw the trials last night as well as the men’s K-1 and K-4. Impressive to say the least.
I was watching that last night
on my evening paddle. Fitness/SUP/yoga. They anchor a large/flat/star shaped/ buoy dock and the instructor/yoga master in the middle of star. The synchro was a little shaky … but the “olympic event” thought actually crossed my mind.
TV coverage of the C and K sprints is pretty fun to watch, with all the camera angles, replays, etc. It would kind of suk to watch it live, they cover a lot of distance, would be out of sight pretty fast. The WW coverage was sweet too.
gotta love Davey!
– Last Updated: Aug-21-16 3:12 PM EST –
thanks for that link, hadn't read or heard about that before. Watched Davey swim once when he ran high off "the pillow" and got "shredded" from his c1 on the Gauley. I've swum that myself, not an easy swim in the "tidy bowl", just "deepens" my respect for him.
We've been pretty lucky here in wv because the nps for the most part hasn't tried to over regulate things (New and Gauley). Although I have noticed a trend of more active questioning the last few years. Commercial outfitters have set their own commercial cut off of 12' for the section below Cunard and have stuck with it for many years now.
I do have one bud who likes to have his fun, asking the NPS rangers silly questions about the river right before putting on the upper gauley.
I've been questioned a number of times in the winter by NPS- "we don't really recommend people paddling this time of year" to which I reply "you want a dry hair day, how many times have you run this section?" The answer is always 0 by the questioner but they've never tried to stop me or others from actually putting on.
I did have 911 called on me and a bud (probably by tourists) when I boated Dunlop Creek this Spring and the park responded by sending out a ranger. He checked us out and went on his merry way commenting about "the nice level" after we told him we were having a dry hair day, and that we knew about the wood and waterfall and planned to portage. The ranger was "a boater" so it all worked out.
So it goes when you boat "in the park". The advantages (improved access, hiking trails, campgrounds, safety) outweigh the disadvantages like the occasional hassle from an overzealous questioner.
The potomac/shenandoah seems to have more conflict- great falls boater access issues, stopping and getting out of your boat at harpers ferry is a no no, and the lack of a decently sized parking lot on a popular section all add to the conflict. More people = more hassles.