We left Philly early AM got to Denver around noonish. After some initial confusion everyone got on a USOC Training Center bus and we wheeled off to Colorado Spring, the famous training center. It’s exciting to get here, it seems like many of the other “small sports” have their all year training center here which makes a unique collection of different sports. Rowing is a first time Paralympic sport, so we try to keep a low profile with some rookie dignity. The atmosphere however is very positive. Athletes and coaches alike seem to know about adaptive rowing and are just happy to have us. I think I got my first dose of Olympic spirit today and I am hungry for more – and so are the others.

Highlight of the day was of course getting all the gear and having measurements taken for the “ceremony suit” – it’s like kid in the candy store. Nice detail – instead of just handing the Paralympians the leftovers from four weeks ago, they got everything embroidered and printed as Paralympics – wow. I guess if you come from a little sport like rowing, where even if you get to the top level you get little and one of each only, it’s different with that. A shopping cart full of gear – really unusual. We joked a little about “free stuff” but realized immediately that it wasn’t free at all – years of training and effort for everyone involved, heck, that’s not even a downpayment. So, as exciting the gear is – nobody trains for “a shirt” that’s for sure.

Tomorrow seems to be busy with a presentation on the Olympic ambassadorship, do’s and don’ts etc., simply everything that empowers us to be the best representatives of our country and the Olympic spirit. I am very much looking forward to that and I am not trying to be ironic, I do believe that this is extremely important. In the afternoon it seems we’ll do some paperwork, repack things, get the accreditations, which are also our visas to China. So, off to bed now, it’s 2326 Philly time…

It’s 2236 Beijing Time on Friday Sept 5. We got 4 days until the first race and things start to come together. This includes my first ever internet access since I left Philly. This has several reasons. However, IOC rules prevent anyone from blogging from competition, other than “personal” experience and/or posting on “commercial sites”, such as NK… long story short, I can’t do anything on nkhome.com until three days after closing ceremony… Then I am on the lose…

Since I am staying outside the village near the venue, internet access there doesn’t work as my laptop doesn’t take the cable. Now I am in the village for two nights which allows me to catch up.

So far it has been incredible. Olympic/Paralympic, everything is one to one to how it was for those with full sight and no missing limbs. The Chinese put on a super performance in every single aspect. I feel sorry for the Brits in 2012… To experience just the “chow hall” in the village is unseen – and have been to many places. I could go on for hours.

Rowing wise, all top teams of course work with speedcoach, some have XLs (AUS, GER, GBR, USA) and I have managed to stay incognito, which means I only replaced a few things. The Wintech fours all have the HD wiring. The seat sensor in our boat didn’t work – of course ironically I was the only who could fix it anyhow.

Cheers,

Frank

It’s 26 days until the first day of racing for the US Paralympic rowing team. Who cares, the Olympics are in full swing with some real dramas in the semifinal and from now it gets hotter, faster and hopefully even more exciting. In the meantime a different group is preparing for their Beijing trip. Although adaptive rowing races were held on the Schuylkill after World War II for veterans, 2008 is the first time as Paralympic Sport. Paralympics are typically held at the same venue and village as the Olympics and start about two weeks after the Olympics are over.

FYI, my job on the team is best described as assistant coach and boatman, which to my excitement includes a good amount of tinkering and testing with the equipment as well as the privilege to work with some of the toughest and most dedicated athletes.

This past weekend the team was up in Canadian Henley to race the Canadian team, last year’s bronze medal winners who also beat the US LTAM4+ by 1.7 seconds in the process. To our delight they introduced a new trophy for the adaptive four to be a fixture in the future. The US team proved to be bad behaving guests by winning the inaugural race by the slightest of margins of 1/100 of a second. Could there be a better advertising for the sport. The grandstands were on their feet and it was really loud, just spectactular. I was a great warm-up for the final preps before embarking to Beijing end of August.

The US arms-only single sculler, Laura Schwanger was racing against the Canadian talent for the future, however, they are not sending a women’s 1x to Beijing. After a bad start Laura had to hussle up and go – and she did! This woman is amazing.

Laura Schwanger, USA AW1x, photo by: F. Biller

USA LTAM4+, cox Simona Chin, (s) Jamie Dean, (3) Jessie Karmazin, (2) Tracy Lee, (b) Emma Preuschl, photo by: Lauren Dean

Hi everybody! I'm Frank Biller, NK's Rowing Sales Manager. It's an exciting time for NK and Rowing fans with the Olympic games in full force. I'm starting this blog to keep track of all the Olympic Rowing News you crave. Leave me comments and tell me if there's something you'd like to see. Thanks!