Nerves and Excitement Mix Together as Beijing Looms
With the final countdown to the Olympics in full swing, WAIS talked with some of the selected athletes to find out how they were coping, in their final build up to the 2008 Olympic Games.
For some athletes Beijing will be the pinnacle of their careers. For others, it may prove to be just the start of a colourful journey. Other athletes have already been through the lifecycle of an Olympic campaign, and prepare for the challenge of being dual Olympians, knowing what to expect.
Nedlands resident, Todd Skipworth will take his place in Beijing as part of the Australian Rowing team. Along side fellow WAIS rower Ben Cureton, they will provide half of the Men’s light weight four boat.
For Skipworth, it will be his first venture into an Olympic village and he is sure to experience a full galaxy of emotions before competing.
Skipworth was schooled at Christchurch Grammar and took up rowing in 1999, quickly finding that he excelled. By 2002, “Skippy” was a WAIS scholarship holder and on a pathway to fulfilling his dream of competing at the Olympic Games.
Skipworth admits that he is feeling a mix of both excitement and nerves ahead of his Far East adventure.
“The excitement has been building up since selections. At the moment I just can’t wait to get to Europe and start racing,” said Skipworth.
Skipworth and Cureton will be joined by Rod Chisholm (NSWIS) and Anthony Edwards (TIS) in the Olympic boat with the squad (coached by WAIS mentor Antonio Maurogiovanni) heading for two European World Cup regattas in Lucerne, Switzerland and Posnan, Poland prior to Beijing.
Speaking about pre-games nerves, Skipworth said “I’m sure the nerves will build closer to Beijing, but at the moment I’m just looking forward to getting involved in some good hit-outs at the World Cups.”
Another first time Olympian selected for Beijing is 21 year-old Tessa Parkinson who forms one half of the Australian 470 Sailing Team. Parkinson and fellow WAIS scholarship holder, Elise Rechichi will compete through various European regattas before heading to China later in the year.
Like Skipworth, Parkinson feels the rush every time Beijing is mentioned.
“We’re really excited, it’s our first Olympics and it’s an amazing event to be involved in,” said Parkinson.
“When we stop and think about it (The Olympics), there are definitely nervous feelings but we’re just trying to stay focused on the competitions we’re doing at the moment.”
Success has been a long time in the making for Tessa. She began sailing at the age of eight, following a family tradition. Parkinson and her skipper Rechichi were named as joint winners of the 2008 Female Sailor of the Year.
Parkinson, who was a student of Penrhos College, lists the 2007 Olympic Test Event as her proudest moment.
“I was so proud of how we had come together as a team after all our setbacks,” said Parkinson.
The major set back was the serious illness suffered by Rechichi after ingesting sea water in China, leading to gastroenteritis and chronic fatigue, an ailment that had threatened to derail all the girls’ hard work.
The future paints a bright picture for Parkinson. She will begin a physiotherapy degree at Curtin University in 2009, but in the meantime has some bigger fish to fry.
“At the moment we’re trying to get as much racing experience from the competitions we’re doing in Europe as possible. We’re also trying to improve and learn more about the light wind, strong current conditions we’ll meet in China.”
In Europe strong winds are more common, but it is thought the light winds expected in Beijing will provide an advantage for Tessa and Elise due to their smaller frames compared to those of their direct rivals.
The emotions are slightly different for WAIS heptathlon athlete Kylie Wheeler. Wheeler has been through the range of emotions all before after competing in Athens in 2004.
Wheeler has also competed at Commonwealth Games, and at Melbourne 2006 Wheeler was named joint Captain along with Clinton Hill of the Australian athletics team.
When asked how she feels with the Olympics so close, the answer was swift.
“I’m very excited. I think it will just be such a spectacular event,” said Wheeler.
“Currently I feel calm and good, but I’m sure as the event draws closer that’ll change. I imagine the nerves may increase a little, but in the meantime, there is a lot of training to be done, and that keeps me grounded.”
Kylie is aiming to achieve a personal best in Beijing and has targeted a position in the top eight as her motivation.
“This time round my selection was more straight forward, so I have been able to focus more time and effort on preparing well for the Games rather than aiming to be selected.
“I would like to score a personal best in Beijing and I am hoping to improve on my finishing position at the last Games (18th position). Ideally a top eight finish would be fantastic.”
AIS/WAIS paddler, Lisa Oldenhof will also be competing in her second Olympic campaign in the K4 event.
At 28 years of age, Oldenhof is in career best form but is not allowing emotion or anticipation to get the better of her.
“I’m trying not to let myself get too excited, as I don’t want to lose sight of the job at hand. At the same time, I’m really looking forward to the experience and sharing it with a great group of team mates and friends,” said Oldenhof.
Oldenhof has jetted to Europe to compete in World Cup events as a final preparation for Beijing. She is experienced enough to know that nerves will affect the best of athletes but doesn’t see that as a problem.
“The nerves are under control now, but they will certainly kick in the few days leading up to racing, as they inevitably do for any big race with me.
Oldenhof perhaps gains an advantage by being in a squad, meaning she can keep a collective focus in mind. Her team focus is certainly evident when talking about her goals for Beijing.
“Our K4 crew is aiming to be standing on the dais in Beijing. We were disappointed with our sixth place finish at the World Championships last year, and are confident that we can improve immensely on that if we leave no stone unturned in our preparation and support each other along the way.
“This year there has been an extra two months of training for the Games due to a different qualification process to 2004 when selection was quite late.
“I think knowing you are training for the Games takes you to another level in your training, and that extra time means that our crew has been doing some really solid work with a clear goal in sight since March, but It certainly doesn’t get any easier, because the bar is always being raised higher,” said Oldenhof.
Regardless of how many Olympiads an athlete has experienced, the common thread between all elite athletes is the professionalism and dedication they display towards securing their goals. It seems strange to think that four years of painstaking work culminates in a two week showcase before the cycle begins all over again.
It can be an unknown as to what follows, but for Skipworth, Parkinson, Wheeler and Oldenhof, fun, relaxation, thrills and wedding bells are all on the cards.
“After the Olympics, I’m planning to go snowboarding and having some fun,” said Skipworth.
“I’m hoping that I’ll feel the relief of achieving what we had set out to achieve, and knowing that we had put everything into that campaign,” said Parkinson.
“Also some time to relax and spend time with our friends and family.”
For Kylie Wheeler, post Beijing will host another major event. But this one won’t include any javelins, hurdles or scoreboards.
“After Beijing I want to do some sightseeing in China immediately, but then I’m getting married in November,” said Wheeler.
As exciting as the Olympics are, Oldenhof has a few boxes to tick post Beijing.
“I’m looking forwards to spending a bit of time making up for what I haven’t done in a long time – staying up late and sleeping in past 7am, going up north fishing, drinking more than one beer at a time. But only for a little bit – then I’ll want to start training again,” said Oldenhof.