KIMIKO
HIRAI SOLDATI
OFFICIAL SITE
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OFFICIAL SITE |
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Olympic Diary 9/7/04 Well, I am home now. Phew- what a journey. We got home late tuesday night. I went to NY for a diving show last weekend and came home Sun. I go to another diving show in Midland TX, this weekend then we have our annual US Diving convention the following week. My shoulder is still hurting and I spoke with my doctore, Ben Rubin yesteday and the plan is to take a good 6 weeks of rest then go from there. I feel like I still want to dive, but I think my shoulder will determine if I can or cant. I want to thank everyone for the awesome support and encouragement Ive received since the Games. It is overwhelming how many people have been so uplifting and encouraging to me. THANK YOU to everyone who has supported, helped, prayed and loved me through this whole thing. I am trying to get my feet back on the ground now, doing laundry, unpacking, responding to emails, and other stuff that has piled up after being gone for a month. Thank you to Mike and Linda, our next door neighbors for their help in looking after our house and cat and plants while we were gone. I am going to be updating my website, but it may be a while because Im going to be gone for the next few weeks. But, I will get to it I promise. Closing ceremonies was so much fun. It was like one big party. I traded some stuff for Beijing 2008 stuff- it was fun! I will try and update this journal when I get time to let you all know what is going on with me. Again, thank you to everyone for the awesome support- I know the results werent what I hoped for, but I said from the start - it wasnt for the results that I am diving. Take care and Ill write soon! 8/26/04 Well, as I am sure you all know, yesterdays event was quite an emotional day. I dont have much time, but I wanted to write a few things. I sit here this morning with a huge mix of emotions. First of all I want to thank everyone for their unconditional support. It means so much to me that no matter the outcome I have so much love and support from everyone all over the world. Yesterday was hard. It hurt, it was disappointing: BUT- I still have faith in my God that He has a plan and I trust that plan. As Kenny said after the meet: It is hard to fly with a broken wing. I have a peace about yesterday because I NEVER GAVE UP! That is the Olympic spirit. I fought until the end and I left my heart out there. It is upsetting to me to have worked so hard for so many years, dived for 9 years in pain, endured so much to fall so short of my goals. However, it was those 9 years that makes up my career. It isnt one performance that defines me as a person or as a diver. I have had so many amazing opportunities through diving that I wouldnt trade for the world. Life moves on. I am so thankful for my faith right now because without it I might self-destruct. As I have always said: Diving is what I do, not who I am. Sure, I am disappointed- sure I am upset- but I have a God who loves me and is for me and will make good out of this situation. I am so proud of Rachelle Kunkel. Be sure to watch her today as she tries to make it to the finals. Kenny said after the contest: You just havent trained. You cant go up against these girls and not know your dives. He is right on. Even though I thought I knew these dives, not being able to train consistantly through the last month and a half it is hard to stand up there with confidence and belief that your body knows what to do. I was fooled on 2 of my dives. I didnt feel what my body was doing. That is what you lose when your out of training. I am happy that I didnt feel scared or fearful out there. My feel was just off and that is just a fact. After the second dive I felt like I had a choice. I said to myself: ok, you have a choice right now. You can go down the easy road and feel like you are out of it. You can give up and feel sorry for yourself or you can fight for it. God graced me with a fighter spirit. I said to myself: I am a fighter. I am survivor. I am going to fight for every dive and I am NOT giving up. And, that is what happened. I dont feel like I let my standings, my shoulder, my doubts and fears get to me. I fought for it. It just didnt happen to go my way. That is ok. That is sport. On my last dive, I felt it was a good take-off and when I came around on the dive, I was surprised. I didnt feel like I stepped back on the board (that means my feet werent on the end of the diving board). Again, that is the feel I wasnt able to get back all the way after being out. Even so, I know I went for it- I gave it my all and that is all I can ask for. I know this is somewhat rambling, but as I said I am in a state of emotional shock. This is not what I pictured my Olympic performance like. This is not how I envisioned it: but Gods ways are not like our ways. His thoughts are not like our thoughts. He has a bigger plan and He is sovereign. I know this and I believe this. I want all of you to know how much I appreciate you reading this, supporting me, encouraging me, praying for me and believing in me. To sum it up quickly, there is a scripture that came to me yesterday. It is in 2 Timothy that describes beautifully how I feel: I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Thank you everyone. I will continue to write in this as time allows. GO USA! 8/24/04 One day to go!! I am so excited. I had a great workout yesterday and my shoulder seems dive-able. It is painful, but dive-able. Adam got in last night!!! I was so happy to see him and hug him. It is 7:00 in the morning and I am on my way to workout, then I will watch the boys 3m semis then workout again. I am so proud of Troy and Justin Wilcock yesterday. Justin actually pulled his sheet in the morning because he was in so much pain. Then his back loosened up and he was able to do 3 dives so he put it back it. What a champion spirit! What a great story will that be when he goes for the gold in 08. I dont know if I will be able to write again, hopefully tonight I will. I am as ready as Ill be and now it is time to let it go and trust God. Thanks for the prayers for the shoulder, keep em coming! My family all gets here today, that will be nice. Be sure and watch Troy tonight as he goes for a medal in 3 Meter. GO USA! 8/23/04 I am so proud of our girls! They did great! They competed in great American style and it was awesome. It was a very exciting contest! I dont know if the results have played at home so I wont say anything about the results. The competition was very very good and there was a lot of great dives!! It was fun to watch and I am more and more excited to compete myself. Tomorrow we have workout in the morning, then well watch the guys on 3 meter, then a team picture, then workout again. Then I am going to go and meet up with Adam at his hotel tomorrow evening to see him and my cousin Jarrett. That should be fun, I am so excited to see Adam- cant wait!!! Cheer on Troy and Justin Wilcock tomorrow, I pray Justin is able to compete! I am doing a radio interview with ABC radio at 2:30 our time. I dont know if I will have time to write tomorrow- so until I do take care and God bless. To my family- have a safe trip out here and I cant wait to see all of you!!! I love you all! 8/22/04 Its 3:45pm, I just got back from lunch after workout. It went really good! I just did hurdles and back jumps on 3 meter, but they felt AWESOME! I so wanted to dive but held back because my shoulder is pretty sore and I needed to be smart. Hopefully after a day of rest it will feel better tomorrow- but either way I will be ready!! Justin Wilcock was able to do a few hurdles and back lineups. He is going to give a go tomorrow even if the only time he dives is in the meet. Thank you for praying for him, what a tough spot to be in. How frustrating for him but I have to say he has handled this situation incredibly! He has handled it with grace, humility and an amazing attitude. It shows how no matter what is thrown at you there is a choice you have- how are you going to respond to it. We cant control what happens to us but we CAN control how we respond to it. He is responding like a true CHAMPION and that is what the Olympic spirit is about. He represents the Olympic journey- challenges, overcoming, belief, a dream and a vision, and a never-give-up attitude. No matter what happens tomorrow for him, I am so proud of him and am so glad he is representing the United States. Tonight is Laura and Sara. I am so excited for them! Again, I couldnt be more proud of my teammates for competing so gracefully and with a never-die outlook. I know God will get glory out of tonight no matter the results. Go get em girls!! Today will be nice to rest a little. Ill do my visualization and then probably watch some competition on our TVs. We have live feeds into our TVs from all the venues. It is great. We just switch channels and we can see live competition. There isnt any commentating but that doesnt matter because we couldnt understand the Greek anyway! I will probably stay home for the guys 3 meter final and watch it on TV since we dive the next day and they start around 10 pm. Take care and be sure to watch Laura and Sara tonight!! GO TEAM USA! 8/22/04 Its 9:30 in the morning, I just all my emails, thank you so much for all the nice, encouraging emails! Laura and Sara give it a go today! I am so excited for them. They did a great job yesterday and now it is SHOWTIME! My shoulder is still sore, so I am going to get treatment, then just do some hurdle and jump work and stay off my head for today. I am SOOOO excited my husband is going to be out here tomorrow night!!!!!! I cant wait to see him and my family. The rest of the gang gets in on Tuesday. Be sure to watch tonight- its going to be exciting!! Hi to everyone at the WAC who has gathered together to watch Laura- that is great that you all are doing that!! Justin Wilcocks back is still so-so. He tried a shot yesterday of pain killer- he couldnt dive but was able to do some hurdles. He gets an MRI tonight. Thanks for the prayers for him. Take care and Ill write more later! 8/21/04 Ok, here are some pictures from tennis and trampoline. All of them are alike but I put them all on there anyway. Sorry. A few are from Lauras and Sara prelims. Trampoline was very cool. Those guys are amazing!!! I may do hurdles tomorrow on my day off and stay off my head. Ill keep you updated. Thanks for all the great emails!!! http://www.snapfish.com/share/p=294211093110839108/l=32003699/otsc=SYE/otsi=SALB Also, here is a neat article on athletes and faith: http://www.kentucky.com/mld/heraldleader/living/religion/9448450.htm 8/21/04 Laura and Sara qualified for finals!!! It was very exciting and came down to the last dive for Sara and she stepped up and nailed it! Good for her, I am so proud of her! I had a good practice today! My shoulder hurts pretty bad, but I only had 1 workout today and tomorrow off. I felt so much better on the board-yea!!! I felt more normal and Ive gone through this stage before coming back from an injury. It is time to trust my legs- I am feeling them now and it feels GREAT!! Justin Wilcock is doing better- he is trying out a shot to get him to the point of manageable pain. I am getting ready to go watch mens trampoline- should be really cool!!! Be sure to watch our girls tomorrow on 10 meter- it is going to be exciting!!!! I guess my ESPN thing aired, I didnt know about it, but I heard it was good. My family gets here in a couple of days!!! Hooray! I am so excited to see them! I hope you all have a safe trip out here and I am looking forward to seeing you all! Bring pins to trade!! And good walking shoes!! Ill try and write more when I get time! Thanks for the prayers- God is so faithful!! 8/20/04 Well, back from workout and dinner. Its 10:40 pm. Tonight my shoulder is hurting quite a bit. Ive done a lot in the last week and it is pretty sore. I am going to do 1 workout tomorrow and then take Sunday off. I dont want to take a day off, but I know my shoulder needs it. Tonights workout was all right. I felt better in my voluntaries and my hurdle felt better so that is good. I am still battling my timing. It is so hard on springboard when youve taken time off, to get your timing back. It isnt something you can force. I have to let it happen. On 1 meter tonight I did some front 2 1/2 leadups that felt like the old Kimiko- so that is good! Could you all pray for Justin Wilcock? His back has flared up again and he had to get an MRI tonight to see what is going on. He cant even bend over to touch his toes. The doctors are all working hard to get him fixed up enought to dive, but its going to be tough. Man, why did this have to happen to us both now,of all meets- the Olympics! Well, that is sport and we must go on!! I still believe I am preparing myself to compete as best as I can when that day comes. I am not going to look back at this meet and have any regrets that I gave up or gave in to my fears. I absolutely refuse and my victory will include handling this situation with Gods grace and with humility. My husband has been so supportive and encouraging to me. He is so wonderful and I dont know what I would do without him. Thank you Adam for your advice, inspiration, pep-talks, and prayers. I love you so much! Thank you for everyone who continues to pray for me and write me encouraging emails. I love reading them and I appreciate all of them! Thank you! Laura and Sara dive tomorrow for semis- cheer them on! I hope to be able to write more tomorrow. Till then- God bless and have a great day! Oh, by the way- if the devil thinks a little shoulder pain is going to stop me- well- he has another thing coming! 8/20/04 Just got back from Lauras and Saras prelim. They did solid, got the job done a qualified for tomorrow. Theyll be in there- their vols are outstanding right now and I think theyll move up easy. I had a tough day yesterday but it was really good. My workout was ok, I am soooo happy my shoulder is feeling better. But now I am battling doubt and fear. I dont feel comfortable on the boards and in my hurdle. Ive realized that I have a choice right now. I can lie down and give in to my doubts or I can stand up to them and fight them. I havent been dealt the best hand of cards but you can bet I am going to play them for all I can get. Ive been off for a week, my shoulder has hurt the worst it has ever hurt, I am in a tough atmosphere at the biggest meet of my life and I was hoping to feel extremely confident and sure of myself. Well, I dont. But, that is ok. I have to earn my confidence back. I have to train through these next 6 days and say- I refuse to lie down and I refuse to lose to doubt. The whole reason I got here is by guts and determination and Gods grace. It is not time to change that now. I am not comfortable- ok well I am going to find a way to get comfortable. I may not get it by next Wednesday but I am going to do everything in my power to try and get there. I really want to come here- dive up to my potential and let the chips fall where they may. I realize that I may not feel comfortable, but I can still dive great and I can still fight for each dive. I am a fighter. I know I have odds stacked against me- but all the better to go for it and fight for it. I have to go and get treatment, so Ill write more later. 8/18/04 Had a great day! I was able to do more diving today and my shoulder feels better! I did vols and leadups this am, then tonight I was able to take up backs and gainers to 3M. They werent very pretty but I did them. This is such a good lesson in humility. I dont feel good, I dont feel like my dives look good, but I have to not care what people are thinking. I have to remind myself why I am diving and that I am not diving for anyone around me. The only dive I havent done is front 3 1/2. I am so happy that my shoulder is getting better- thank you for the prayers!! It is very difficult coming back from an injury and diving with pain. It is such human nature to protect the place of pain, but I have to consciously work through that and know that my shoulder is not going to hurt. It is difficult in the dive to not cringe and get protective of it expecting that it is going to hurt. It doesnt hurt and I need to tell my brain that and go for my dives. It is going to take a little time, but time isnt quite on my side! Thats ok, Gods timing is perfect and I trust that. I was able to go to gymnastics last night- it was so cool! Very exciting in person, a lot going on- even with only 2 events going at once. I am very proud of the Americans- good for them!! Today I was able to go to tennis with Caesar. It was my first tennis match and seeing how fast and hard those guys hit the ball in real life is amazing! I got to see Roddick and a guy from Chili. Roddick lost but it still was awesome and I think he is incredible! We are going to try and get to bed before 1:00 am, weve been staying up really late and I am pretty tired. I am sooooo excited to see my husband and my family next week. Lauras family came in today and she got to spend some time with them. Oh, it was so neat, in the cafeteria- I got to get my picture with the athletes from Iraq. I tried to trade pins with them, but they said they were out- they only got a few per athlete. Ill upload it as soon as I get it from Peter- we used his camara. Today I saw the biggest person I have ever seen in my life. He was Chinese and possibly on the basketball team. His head was HUGE! He looked like a giant. I am not kidding- his hands were probably as big as my computer screen here. His head was as large as a big watermelon!! I wanted to get my picture with him, but didnt want to bother him- what do you say I want to get my picture with you because you are the biggest person Ive ever seen!! Weve signed up for trampoline tix for Friday and Sat, I hope we get them! That would be very cool! Again, thanks for the prayers for my shoulder and the team- keep em coming! I appreciate them so much and it is so nice to know I have so many people supporting me from home. Take care and Ill try and write tomorrow. I think I am doing an interview with Coke Radio- supposed to be between 2 and 3 my time and is supposed to play in Houston during that time. Ill let you know how the shoulder feels tomorrow after bs and gs! 8/18/04 I am going to add some pics, some are from the swimming venue, some from gymnastics last night- we got to go to the womens team final, and others. The shoulder is doing better!! I was able to do a couple of optionals last night on 3M! The confidence is going to come back with time, but it felt awesome to do some spinners!! Ill write more in between workouts, need to get treatement. Pics: http://www.snapfish.com/share/p=416171092809562572/l=31887466/otsc=SYE/otsi=SALB
8/17/04 Ok, yea I was able to do more dives this morning! I did 2 each required dives, then some front and inward leadups on 1M. It felt pretty good! It was very sore before I got in, but as it warmed up, it felt much better. The bad sharp pain is decreasing so that is awesome! I did a lot of thinking about last night and I learned a lot of lessons. Being in sport, you understand that ANYTHING can happen. Heading into the last round, you felt that the Chinese were going to take it, then bam! They are out. Then you thought we had the medal locked up when Russia hit the board. I cannot imagine what our boys were thinking, but they were in such a hard position. As an athlete, I would love to think I could block of the hype out, block out the results, the atmosphere, the potential medal- but after some serious thought, I dont think I could. I am human. It is good for me to realize that those thoughts will creep in and that is ok. Also I am ok with the fact that I might not be able to handle that kind of pressure. That is the beauty of sport. Not many people can handle that pressure. None of the favorites last night did. China, Russia, USA- they all didnt handle it. Greece, Germany, Australia had nothing to lose. I dont feel in any way that Troy or Justin choked or lost that opportunity. It was extremely tough to be in the spot they were in. I thought, if I were in that position, I would seriously have to take a moment, drop to my knees, cry out to God to give me the strength to get through it. A part of me doesnt like saying this or admitting this, but it is a reality and I dont know if I could handle that situation. But- that is ok. It is freeing to be able to admit that and be able to let go of it and not dwell on it. God will give me the strength and grace to get me through whatever situation I am in, and it will be enough. Sport can be so frustrating. You work so hard and you think that should somewhat guarentee that it will pay off in the way you think it should. That is just not the case. It can be so frustrating knowing that I have worked so hard, sacrificed so much, dived with so much pain- why would this be happening to me now. All I can say is that I have faith in God. I dont have that faith for what I can get, but I have that faith for WHO He is. Just because I want it the most, worked so hard for it- it doesnt guarentee anything. We dont understand the plan, we dont see the big picture but we do know God loves us and knows what is best for us. We never thought about being in the situation Troy and Justin were in last night. You always imagine you have to hit your dive because everyone else is hitting theirs and if you do yours, you could possibly win a medal. You dont plan on having the heavy favorites completely out of it, and you just have to land on your head and its yours. The medals werent our boys. They still had to dive. They didnt lose the medal because they didnt have it to begin with. You cant lose something you dont have. Again, great lessons are being learned here for me and I am growing as an athlete and as a person. Ive learned to stick with your game plan, stick to your dives, trust your training, stay aggressive and be ok with crazy-outcome oriented thoughts. I want to say thank you to everyone for being so supportive of me through all of this and for encouraging me- it means the world. I am so excited to compete- I am excited to stand up with humility and grace. I know no matter what my shoulder feels like I will give it my all and that is all I can ask. Thanks for listening- I hope these lessons are applicable to you in all areas of your life. Think about them, they apply past diving and sport.
8/17/04 WOW- I hope you all saw the diving last night- it was the most bizarre, wierd, shocking event I have ever seen!! I dont have much time right now, but I want to say how proud I am of all the divers yesterday- Sara and Cass did great and came back strong from a wierd fluke when Cassie hit the tower. Troy and Justin found themselves in an incredible position to take the gold- this is sport though and I cant imagine how it must have felt to be is such a bizarre contest! My shoulder is feeling better- yea!! I was able to go head first yesterday off 3m. I just did a couple front 1 1/2s but it felt so good to turn something over! I tried my first back line ups yesterday on 1M and it was ok, little pain. Its a little sore today from using it more, but he major sharp pain is reducing- praise God! I am going to take it easy and try and get back into things. It is so hard for me because I love diving so much, but I need to be smart and ease into it. I dont want to find myself one step forward, 3 steps back. So, Ill keep you all updated. We dont have any diving competition until Lauras and Saras event on Friday. We are going to go watch the womens team final in gymnastics tonight, that should be fun!! As you saw yesterday, ANYTHING can happen. NOONE would have been able to imagine that contest last night. I have thought a lot about it and hope I get time to share some of my thoughts. This is the Olympic Games and from what I have seen so far, you have to be prepared for the unexpected. Again, it is so good for me to watch and learn through all these competitions- what an experience. If any of you want to, Troy Dumais has a website at www.troydumais.com and you might want to send a note of encouragement to he and his brother Justin. He is going to come back strong in the individual event and I think he will do great. Thanks, hope to write more later today. 8/16/04 Quickly, I wanted to upload some pics from the Today Show, and then the Badminton game Laura and I went to last night- it was soo much fun! The US team won, Howard Bach and Kevin Han was the doubles team we went to watch. It was my first badminton game and wow- it was so exciting! Those guys are soo quick! Here the pics: http://www.snapfish.com/share/p=278151092636373302/l=31748817/otsc=SYE/otsi=SALB YEA! I was able to do some hurdles last night at workout! It felt ok doing those- I still want able to put my arm over head for a line up, but at least I can do something!! I am going to see what I can do this morning! Ill try and write more later! Take care! 8/15/04 Well, the competition is underway. We had Mens 10 Meter synchro last night and I am so proud of both Mark and Kyle. They truly showed what the American competitive spirit is about. They started off strong, then on their second dive, Kyle was a little stuck and Mark missed his hands on the entry. They battled and finished the rest of their list very strong. It was just too much of a deficit to make up in such a short contest. Again, they went for it- that is all you can do or ask of any athlete here. They didnt leave anything behind and they gave it their all. It is very interesting to me in the village, now that competition has started. Before the Opening cermonies, everyone is excited, happy, giddy- but I know as things get going, there will be disappointments, upsets, and emotional letdowns. This is good for my perspective on things because, how a person competes in their sport doesnt change or alter who they are as a person. I still think every diver who didnt feel they dived as well as they would have liked is an incredible, unique, awesome individual. Their placement or finish doesnt change that. There are so many great athletes here and only a few gold medals. It can feel so big and like your whole identity is wrapped up in your results, however; that isnt where you find your self worth. I understand this now at this stage in my life where I dont think I did a few years ago. Ive said before, diving is what I do, not who I am. I know who I am as a wife, daughter, sister, friend, and child of God. Sitting on the sidelines right now is killing me inside because I love to dive and I want to be out there, but I also know things are ok and there are so many more situations that are a lot worse than being an Olympian sitting watching practice! As for my shoulder, I went over hoping it would feel ok to get in, but it hurt to stretch it over my head so I did my visualization with Kenny, got treatment, did rehab and did a few jumps off 1 meter. It felt good to touch the boards and the water again. I may try some hurdles this afternoon. Congrats to JJ Kinzbach and Harrison Jones for making the Junior World Championships in October in Brazil. I am so excited for you guys!!! Way to go! I hope you are all enjoying watching the coverage on NBC and other stations, the Olympics are a magical event and magical things happen here. Thanks for the encouraging emails and support- I appreciate all of them!! Take care and God Bless! 8/14/04 Quickly, we had a blast on the Today Show today. Laura was on it with Steven Lopez, 2000 Olympic Gold Medalist. We were in the crowd, then Lester came over and talked to us! It was so much fun!! We are getting ready to go over and cheer on Mark and Kyle! GO TEAM USA! 8/14/04 Well, dreams do come true! The Opening Ceremonies were incredible! It truly was one of the most memorable moments in my life. I will never forget it! I was so touched and moved, I was in tears walking around that track. You know, you dream about something for so long, you imagine it, you visualize it, you try and picture it- however, there are just some things you cannot touch with your mind until you experience it. This was one of those moments for me. As we were getting ready and waiting around to march into the stadium, I was thinking about how Ive imagined marching into the Olympic Games in the Opening Ceremonies, however I never imaged all of the side experiences that go with it. The getting ready with your team, the village a buzz, waiting and waiting to line up, being in the gymnastics stadium taking all kinds of pictures with everyone, meeting famous athletes who are just as excited to be there as you, being on your feet for over 7 hours, seeing a sea of red/white/and blue, hearing the crowd from outside the stadium, not knowing what is on the other side of the stadium wall, hearing the announcer announce the countries before you, seeing American flags sprinkled all throughout the crowd, etc. AMAZING. I am so thankful to God for blessing me with that opportunity- it was more than I could have imagined. As I walked in and saw the crowd, heard the cheers, saw our flags- we were waving and in absolute awe! I totally lost it throughout the march thinking about all the experiences that brought me to being there on that track, living my dream. I was crying as I waved to the crowd, amongst my teammates, thinking- THIS IS THE OLYMPIC GAMES! I think it truly hit me at that point what I am a part of. I will add 3 albums for you to see my pictures, they are so much fun and I hope they do some justice of the spectacle of the opening ceremonies. As for me, I am doing good. Keeping my spirit lifted up. I went back to the Dr. yesterday and we decide to do one more injection inside the joint of the shoulder. All my other shots have been outside the joint and it had been feeling slightly better, but I am still having a lot of sharp pain with movement. So, Dr. Rodeo gave me another injection and I pray this will help alleviate some of the pain. I am going to take another day off today (Sat), and try diving tomorrow. Nothing like taking off the week before your biggest meet of you life!! But, I look at it as what an opportunity for Gods strength to be shown through me. Yesterday was a blast being a part of the Today Show with Katie Couric. She was really nice, it was soo hot out there!! Today, Laura is going to be on it again and Ill be in the crowd. Ill add that album also to this entry. Last night I called my dad, Gary, from the field of the opening ceremonies. I told him, Dad, I am down on the field, it is amazing, etc. etc. He was so cute because at first he didnt realize that I was actually at the REAL Opening Ceremonies- I think he thought I meant a dress rehearsal. I wanted to call him because I was thinking about those I love down there and wanted to share it with them. I called my husband also and was able to reach him. I was stading there looking around and was thinking about all the unconditional support my dad, brother (Chris), sister in law(Nicole) and husband has given me. Dad, I love you very much and am so glad I caught you at home with my phone call yesterday. You are such a big part of my life and words cant explain how grateful I am that I have such a humble, generous, loving father who supports me 100% and is so proud of what I have accomplished. But more importantly, I know no matter what happens- you are one of my biggest fans and I wouldnt trade being your daughter for anything in the world! I love you dad!! I cant wait for you to get out here and see what it is like to be a part of this! Ok, so I am sitting hear crying again! Geez, these Games are an emotional roller-coaster!! Tonight, Mark and Kyle kick us off with mens 10 meter synchro. It is going to be a battle- I hope you all watch it on TV. Thanks again for the prayers and support- Ill write more when I can. Pictures from yesterday 8/13: http://www.snapfish.com/share/p=303131092465429750/l=31692603/otsc=SYE/otsi=SALB Pictures from last night 8/14 Opening Ceremonies: http://www.snapfish.com/share/p=734131092464869328/l=31692006/otsc=SYE/otsi=SALB
8/13/04 9:09 AM, well it is finally here!! We have Opening Ceremonies tonight. The team left for workout, I am going over in about an hour. My shoulder feels slightly better today. I met with Dr. Rodeo again and were gonna try diving tomorrow morning and see what happens. I found my lost laundry bag- Hooray!! Mark Ruiz and I will be on the Today Show piece for Speedo, that should be fun. The village is crazy!! When Justin W. and I nominated Laura for flag bearer, she made it to the final 3!! Because of this, she gets to walk up front- what an honor! I am so excited for Opening Ceremonies, it is going to be such an awesome experience! Ill try and keep you updated on my shoulder- thanks again for all the prayers!! LET THE GAMES BEGIN!!! 8/12/04 Well, I have more pictures! I hope you saw the ones from Germany below. Here is the link: http://www.snapfish.com/share/p=365121092329056875/l=31607381/otsc=SYE/otsi=SALB We had a really fun day. We got up and ate and tried to pick up my laundry and they had a total system breakdown and I only received one of my bags, the other is lost! Hopefully they find it. Well see. Then we went to a press conference at the main media place. It was fun. Then we had workout, I did treatment and talked with Peter our sports psychologist. Then I went with Laura as she was on the Today Show! It was really really fun. I made a sign with a pillow case and a sharpie! I am going to be on the Today Show tomorrow doing a modeling segment with Speedo apparel!! That should be a lot of fun, so keep an eye out for that in the morning. Then we walked around the Olympic Park where there is all kinds of things for spectators when they come. We went to the Samsung Olympic Rendevous area, really cool! I am in a hurry, sorry this will be short- Ill try and write more later. 8/11/04 Well, I just wrote a huge entry and the computer froze- for the 2nd time! Ugh. So here we go again. We made it back to Athens fine. We actually got our luggage and on the bus and to the village very eaily. Its amazing how easy it is when you know what you are doing! The airport was buzzing!! There were tons of new athletes and press coverage everywhere. When we returned to the village, man it was hopping! Tons of people, bikes, scooters, skateboards, etc. All sizes, shapes, colors and style of uniform and bodies for that matter! It is so neat to see all the different body types! We took a bus to our home and I dropped my stuff off and went to the International Zone to be picked up for an interview. It was in the neatest location! It was across the street from the stadium and there were tons of people milling around because they were doing the dress rehearsal for the opening ceremonies. We were on the top of a building and the view was awesome! When I got dropped back off I was behind a female athlete from Jamaica or someplace like that and she was the tallest, largest female athlete I have ever seen! Her leg was as big as my torso! She was beautiful! It is so fun to sit in the dining hall and look at all the different, unique bodies that God created and how each person is using it in their sport. Ive seen 46 gymnasts to over 7 waterpolo players! I saw two Chinese female athletes who were HUGE! The tallest I have ever seen (and no I havent seen Yao Min from Houston, yet!) Weve had a blast just sitting in the dining hall- it is so alive! People all over, almost all the stations open, all kinds of apparel, hairstyles, etc. I was on the bus today with the USA gymnasts- its so cool to see these athletes and others from other countries are just as in awe of being here! Everyone is running around with camaras and video camaras- we all look like a bunch of tourists.
We did our interviews tonight for NBCs soundbites- it was fun. Cynthia is always so much fun to work with. Anyway,I will attach my pictures from Germany below, enjoy them! http://www.snapfish.com/share/p=198111092255159145/l=31545046/otsc=SYE/otsi=SALB http://www.snapfish.com/share/p=628111092246102737/l=31544786/otsc=SYE/otsi=SALB 8/9/04 We are in between workouts right now. It is our last day here. I had a good workout last night, but my shoulder is still bothering me a bit. This AM I just did voluntaries and no lead ups. I am having to limit my numbers, but its ok. We just went downtown again to a shopping plaza. We were on a hunt for Birkenstocks, we found some- they had some for 25 Euro! I got a pair for me and one for Adam. I hope they fit him. We walked a little around the plaza and took the tram home. Now well rest until 6:15 tonight and go to workout. We leave tomorrow morning, so I will write next from the village!! I feel so blessed to be on this journey and I thank God everday for this whole experience!! What a ride it has been. We all cant believe we have opening ceremonies in 4 days!!!! I am so excited!! Take care, talk to you from Greece!! 8/8/04 It is Sun morning, the internet wasnt working yesterday so I couldnt write. I decided to take off the whole day yesterday for my shoulder. I think it was a smart move because having a healthy shoulder is priority right now. Because I didnt dive, Justin Wilcock and I went down to West Berlin. We took a tram, then switched over to the S Bahn and went to downtown W. Berlin. It was really cool. It reminded me of New York or something, lots of shops, restaurants, cafes, street entertainment, etc. We walked a little and shopped a little, good bargains!!! It was interesting to see the difference from East to West Berlin, West Berlin definately seemed more nice and modern. We then rode back and met the team for lunch at the hotel. Then we hung out and rested, got treatment, then I wasn sure if I wanted to dive or not, but then decided against it and stayed back and read and did my visualization. Then after 2nd workout we had our team dinner. We went downtown to an older part of town and went to a German restaurant. It was really neat! Ill upload pics when I get back to Athens. We ate a lot, laughed a lot, played Kennys game Golly-Golly and got home around 1 am. It was late, but worth it. Today I am going to try and dive twice- well see how the shoulder feels. Prayer warriors- thank you for continuing to pray for my shoulder, I appreciate it!! Everything is shut down today because it is Sunday- on Monday some of us want to go downtown again and get some Birkinstock shoes- they are cheaper here than in America and they have all different styles, our trainer Tammy got 3 pairs yesterday!! It is very hot here, our air conditioning doesnt work so all of our rooms are extremely hot! This internet cafe doesnt have air either and I am sitting here sweating, so I am going to go and come back later. Bye! 8/6/04 8:19pm, I didnt dive this evening, my shoulder needs a rest. The rest of the team did great!! I had a meeting with our sports psychologist- Peter Haberle during workout. I cant find a way to upload pictures, so they will have to wait until I get back to Athens. The pool is so cool- it is like the old donkey kong game with ladders and stairs all over- about 5 ways you can get up to the boards and platforms. We have dinner tonight at 9:00pm. I think we will have our team dinner tomorrow night at a German restaurant- maybe the same one we went to last time- it was incredible!! Looks like the ESPN thing will be the 10th when I get home. Heard from my brother Chris today, it was nice. Always nice to hear from home. Gonna go and eat- talk to you all tomorrow!! 8/6/04 We had our first workout this morning. My shoulder is pretty sore, I think I am going to take this afternoon off- we havent had a day off yet. Everyone looked good again! We dive everyday from 11:30-1:30 and again at 6:30-8:30 then dinner around 9. We found a grocery store and peanut butter!! Ill write more later today!! 8/5/04 Well, we made it to Germany. We left early this morning and rode the bus to the airport- got on our plane- arrived in Germany-took a bus to the hotel and we didnt have any huge adventures!! We couldnt check in right away, so we walked around our hotel, there is a bakery, food places, small grocery store, etc. Then we checked in, rested, had dinner and team meeting, then treatment, then off to the pool. We had a nice short workout, just touched the water and did some line-ups. The pool here is incredible, its all underground, Ill try and upload some pictures in a few days. We are having fun and learning to stay up late because most of us will be competing at 9:00 or later!! We certainly are spoiled in the village- you get used to all the free drinks, sodas, food, internet, etc. you want, and here you have to pay for it!! Im off, Ill write more soon. 8/4/04 8:00 PM, Afternoon workout was AWESOME! Everyone looked great! Kyle smoked everything, Laura was on, Rachelle looked amazing, Caesar was a disappearing act, Kyle and Marks synchro timing was perfect, of course Troy looked good- I felt good myself. So, it was a fun and upbeat workout. Then after workout I have been waiting for ESPN to contact me about my interview tonight and they hadnt before I left the pool so I took the bus to go to the village to eat. Of course they contact me on my way home. It turned out to be a total miscommunication and the interview didnt end up happening. I am hoping it works out when I get back from Berlin. Well see. Anyway, did some laundry. The way it works is they give you little mesh bags you put divide your whites and darks into. Then you drop it off at the laundry center and they wash and dry your clothes for you in the bags and you pick them up. Pretty cool. The city is looking better and better. People seem to be scambling to get stuff done- they are putting landscaping and tents in everyday. We still see bulldozers and piles of dirt - but with what- 10 days- plenty of time! Tonight we pack and get ready for Germany. I miss everyone at home, especially Adam. It is nice to hear his voice when we do talk. Ill check in when I get time in Germany! Good morning for you and good night to me! 8/4/04 We are in between workouts right now and Ive uploaded a few more pictures- not much. The web address is: http://www.snapfish.com/share/p=67641091617226242/l=31181102 We had a good workout this morning- my legs are almost back!! Dick Kimball- our team leader has been filming me with my camara and so it is nice to watch what I am doing along with what Kat does. We leave tomorrow for our training trip to Berlin- itll be fun. The village is getting busier and busier! Our other team coordinator Russ Bertrum is doing an exceptional job! He is running around getting things and info for us. He is actually going to try and get something for our beds because they are so hard! His job is so hard and we really appreciate all the hard work he and Kimball are doing. Yesterday the group that went to the Acropolis had a funny adventure. Caesar Garcia decided to do a handstand and get a picture of it on the edge of the Acropolis by the Nike temple. The guards came running out screaming and blowing whistles- Where do you think you are????!! They yelled at Caesar and he apologized profusely- but at least he got the picture! Too funny. The US Womens Soccer team moved into our house last night- it was neat- we saw Mia Hamm, Julie Foudy- etc. The US swimmers are here too- I got to talk to Natalie Coughlin and Jenny Thompson. It is fun in the cafeteria- I feel like I am celebrity watching! Ive seen famous gymnasts, softball players, etc- its all really cool. We go back for 2nd workout then I am trying to meet up with ESPN for an interview after that. Ill try and write from Berlin! Take care. 8/3/04 Its 5 in the afternoon on Tues. We had a workout this morning- it was really good. Everyone is looking better and better- again, as our legs get beneath us. Then we came home had a quick lunch, then 1/2 the team went downtown to the Plaka and the Acropolis. Because we were able to see those places in Feb, the rest of us went down to the beach. We took the sailing bus and went to the sailing venue. There are a lot of venues down by the water- they are very cool, we saw volleyball, beach volleyball, field hockey, sailing, etc. Then we took a tram to a shopping area and walked around and looked at some shops. Laura did an interview over the phone with KSBJ Christian radio station as we were walking. We then walked to the water and touched it and got some pictures- I will upload more in a couple of days. Then the boys stayed to play at the beach and Laura, Sara and I went back and caught the bus home to the village. I am pooped!! Weve been able to analyze film while we are here- its great! Kat from the USOC comes with us to workout and videos us and saves each clip on Dartfish, then we analyze it on with a projector on a wall in the evenings- Dartfish is a computer program that we use to analyze our dives slow motion, frame-by-frame, etc. I am still trying to work it out with ESPN to do an interview- they want me to go to the Olympic Stadium to do it- its actually close to the pool. I may try to get there tomorrow- well see. Anyway, I hope you are well. I am good, feeling better on the boards and enjoying myself immensely!! If this gets into the Conroe Courier I want to say hello to everyone at the Ark Family Church- thanks for praying for me and I am having a wonderful experience here- I miss you all! Hi to my family and friends also- it is amazing to be living my dream! Thank you for all your support and help to get me here! Good night- or good morning where you are! 8/2/04 We are in between workouts right now. This mornings workout was really good, feeling a bit more normal. There are more divers coming in, Greece, Great Britian, Canada, etc. The village has a little more activity- its fun to see all the outfits and shoes, etc. We are going to take tomorrow and have 1 workout then maybe do something fun in the afternoon. ESPN is trying to find a time and place to do an interview with me, that would be cool! I am trying to figure out how to put an active link so you dont have to copy and paste my pictures. But, for now if you want to see my pics, just copy and paste the link below. We are trading pins all over- getting some cool Athens ones. The team is great, we are such a strong and friendly team. Everyone is getting along really good and seems to be having a lot of fun and diving really well. The tower divers have been tearing it up in practice. Justin Wilcock is back on the boards and diving again- that is great. He also has a website at: www.justinwilcock.com and he has a diary too! Check it out. Thanks for taking the time to look at this, I hope you are enjoying a little glimse into what we are doing. Take care, talk to you soon!! GO USA! 8/1/04 Try this link to see photos: I dont know if it will work: http://www.snapfish.com/share/p=35011091382807209/l=30997155 8/1/04 We had our first day of 2 workouts. It was good. We had morning workout around 11, felt good to move and get in the water. Then had lunch and went back for afternoon workout. We are all feeling a little jetlagged and our legs havent caught up to us yet, but we did some good stuff. Things take so much longer here so it doesnt feel like we have had a minute to rest. The USOC said they will have a website called usocpressbox.com where you can updates on all the events pretty quickly. I am going to try and link some photos to this page. Well see if it works. 7/31/04 Well, I am still awake and sort of functioning normal. We finally got our luggage last night around 11:30pm. Then we slept and got up early and went to the American College of Greece for processing with the USOC. It was really fun. We had a team briefing then we got to go to the goody room and get a laundry basket and walk around the room filled with fun outfitting stuff. We got shirts, warmups, hats, shorts, sweats, shoes, socks, vests, skirt, opening and closing ceremony stuff, and other fun goodies! We packed them up into 2 bags and took a team picture in new warmups. Then I had to go to the alterations room and get some pants hemmed up! Then we had lunch and met up with the rest of the team at the pool. It was awesome! It looks incredible. We took lots of pictures and walked around some. At the bottom of the diving well they have a huge emblem with Athens and the Olympic rings. I had Laura take a picture of me floating over it! We had our first workout and it went well- considering jet-lag, sore legs from our marathon through the airport, new pool and other fun stuff. We were the only team there and that was great. I found my board (that means the 3m board I will dive from) and had a good workout. I was the first female into the pool and |
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