Chuck in Delhi: The Haydens head to Commonwealth Games

Regular readers of this blog – and here's hoping there's a few of you – might remember the dispatches provided by Canadian world champion swimmer Brent Hayden's father, Chuck, leading up to and during the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Chuck Hayden provided a parent's eye view of the experience and it was an insightful, sometimes humorous, sometimes poignant take on things.

Well Chuck in China is now Chuck in Delhi as the Haydens are off on what promises to be an eventful trip to the 2010 Commonwealth Games in India.

Here's Chuck Hayden's first dispatch:

So, the Hayden Family is off chasing swimming again. This is the first major meet since the Beijing Olympics which we have attended, and the first as a family since the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne in 2006. Our daughter Andrea was with us then and for a holiday in Thailand on the way home. This time she is bringing her husband of one year, Jamie. We are looking forwaard to good times and adventures together.

It's been quite a ride since the Commonwealth Games were awarded to Delhi. There has been much in the media of late as to the shortcomings, obstacles, and problems facing the staging of the competitions. As the family of an athlete competing there, we have watched and listened intently. We have tried to be judicious as to content, validity and what we should do about it. We have had our flights and hotel in place for many months now.

The biggest worry is the numerous threats posted by extremist groups against the Games themselves. They desperately want to hurt India in any way possible. Since our whole family is going to be there, we are not taking these threats lightly.

We have been told by the Canadian Games people to stay out of the markets, don't wear our Canadian shirts, hats, etc. in public. That part I don't understand: I'm not going to be mistaken for an Indian. I expect I will stand out in the Delhi crowd. I'd rather be taken for a Canadian than any other nationality, under any circumstances. I guess the terrorists could always assume that we are Swiss.

India, I understand, is a most challenging destination at the best of times. We have many Indian friends, plus many more non-Indian friends, who have travelled there. The biggest challenges are intestinal bugs (Delhi Belly) and other diseases: dengue fever, typhoid, polio, malaria, but mostly the mosquito-borne ones.

Well, we armed with DEET and have had every innoculation known to man, plus flagyl, immodium, isopropyl alcohol wipes and hand gel, iodine drops and just about whatever else one can imagine.

We have been told that the thing we will be overwhelmed with is the overwhelming and continual crush of humanity. Rumour has it that whether walking, taking a rickshaw, tuk-tuk, car or bus in Delhi, one should allow about one hour per kilometer. Our Indian friends have suggested we learn to wriggle so as to get through the crowds.

Regarding food, the advice has been confusing. We have been advised not to eat salads, not use ice, to only eat in 5-star hotel restaurants. We've also been told not to eat in 5-star hotel restaurants as their kitchens are usually in the basement, and are usually damp, have poor refrigeration, have rats and cockroaches. We've been told to not eat at street vendors. We've also been told to only eat at street vendors as they cook it hot right in front of you. Don't eat ice. Eat lots of rice. Eat at McDonald's and KFC. Do not eat at McDonald's and KFC as their ingredients are not safe, and on and on and on... !

We will not starve!

Next week we will be in the stands cheering ourselves hoarse for all our Canadian Athletes.

2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games Notebook

 
Heptathlete Jessica Zelinka had just arrived home in Calgary from a strong showing in France when she excitedly began to check out the Commonwealth Games clothing that had arrived.

Zelinka, whose score of 6,204 in France last week was her best since taking a year off to have daughter Anika, is married to fellow athlete Nathaniel Miller, a member of Canada's Olympic men's waterpolo team.

“I got home from France and there was my HBC package,” said Zelinka. “So, I started looking at all the clothes and Nathaniel mentions 'Yeah, so ... a bridge just collapsed ... the New Zealanders say the village is unfit for human habitation. ... ' So I went from excited to 'Oh, oh.'”

But Zelinka, like so many Canadian athletes, is still determined to compete.

“If I was really worried about my safety, I wouldn't go,” she said. “But with every big Games, even Olympics, there's something always that the media blows up. That's a bad word to use, but it gets blown out of proprotion and usually everything turns out fine.

“As (her coach) Les (Gramantik) has mentioned, we've been to a lot worse places that are less secure and more iffy. I do have concerns. If Nathaniel was really worried about me going, I would definitely talk about it and weigh and my pros and cons. We haven't got there yet. Once we get better information, I'll be able to make a better decision about it.”

Parental Concern: Understandably, Canadian sports officials are fielding calls from the concerned parents of athletes headed to the Games.

“They're concerned about dengue and they're concerned about the terrorist actions, but I think they understand that with any major city of that size there will be security concerns,” said Canadian track and field coach Alex Gardiner. “I think more than anything it's the compounding of everything.”

Judy Armstrong, the mom of shot putter Dylan Armstrong, said she's concerned but is confident it will all work out in the end.

“It's a worry for sure,” she said. “I worry about him. I worry about them all actually for sure. I would never want anything to happen, but at the same time Dylan's travelled a lot and is quite experienced. He's smart. If he said he didn't want to go, I would respect that decision. The ball's really in his court and he's monitoring everything. ... You never stop worrying about your children now matter how old they are.”

Grass is Greener: Swimming Canada boss Pierre Lafontaine is no stranger to the last-minute scramble to put on big events.

His father was a landscape architect for the city of Montreal during the '76 Summer Olympics. “He had a crew that would paint the grass at night because it had been laid on gravel and was dead by Day 3,” said Lafontaine. “It's just part of it.”

Still, even the ever optimistic Lafontaine acknowledges the Delhi Games will offer a unique set of challenges.

“I think more than ever, we're going to have to keep an open mind, there's no question about that,” he said.

Still, he adds, “I think at the end India has everything to win by still hosting a great event.”

Diving Right In: Canada is sending it's top divers to New Delhi and, according to Diving Canada's technical director Mitch Geller, they're anxious to make the trip.

“They just wanted to know 'Are you letting us out of the gate or are you holding us back?'” said Geller. “I haven't heard anyone say 'I'm not sure I want to go.' Nothing like that. Probably more like 'You're going to make it happen, right.'”

(The photo of Zelinka was taken by the Canadian Press at the national championships this year)

Adam Van Koeverden on Rob Ford: We can do better!!

You don't see active athletes wade into the political fray too often, but Olympic kayaking champion Adam Van Koeverden has been outspoken on Twitter in his opposition to Rob Ford's mayoralty campaign.

Today on his twitter account vankayak, Van Koeverden wrote: The purpose of this tweet is to emplore Torontonians to consider who Rob Ford is before they #voteTO for our new Mayor. We can do better!!

Last week, he wrote: If you live in Toronto and you're planning to vote, click this please: http://www.fordonford.com/ WE CAN DO BETTER #voteTO#stopthemadness

Van Koeverden doesn't claim to be an expert on all the issues in the campaign, but does know he's distressed by things Ford has said.

“Some of the things he's said regarding bike lanes, his comments regarding AIDs and HIV and drug use and just his general attitude towards, in my opinion, social welfare are intolerable, I can't really reconcile any of them,” said Van Koeverden, who lives downtown.

“His political leanings are just not, in my opinion, what Toronto needs. It's not a progressive approach to a better city. He's sensationalist. If you're sensationalist, someone will vote for somebody who's charismatic and loud.”

Van Koeverden said he just returned from a trip to Vancouver, where he's very impressed with the leadership of mayor Gregor Robertson.

“I don't hear anyone there saying 'Our stupid mayor Gregor Robertson is ruining the city with these bike lanes and progressive thinking,'” he said. “Everybody's his fan. I've met him and he's an amazing guy with a great attitude on what makes a city great.

“There's so many ways Toronto can improve. I just don't see any of those political leanings of Rob Ford being progressive.

“I respect democracy. If that's what Toronto wants, maybe I live in the wrong city.”

(The photo of Van Koeverden as flag bearer at the 2008 Beijing Olympics opening ceremonies was taken by Amy Sancetta of AP)

Michael Barry's book may be cycling's version of The Game

Toronto's Michael Barry is a bard of the bike, a writer whose prose gives you an insider's look you'd never get unless you were right in the peloton.

His current book Le Metier: the seasons of a professional cylist could well be his sport's version of The Game by Ken Dryden.

Barry, who hopes to overcome his painful rib injury to compete Sunday in the Queen's Park Grand Prix, will be at La Bicicletta at 1180 Castlefield Avenue in Toronto on Wednesday from 7-10 pm signing copies of the book. It sells for $65.00, part of the proceeds going towards youth cycling development in Ontario.

It's well worth it. It' a beautiful book, illustrated with the photos of Camille J McMillan, but it is Barry's words that really bring it to life.

You could use almost any paragraph as an example of the vivid writing but here's a few for your perusal:

“If someone speaks of crashes, everybody turns away. We sink our heads to avoid the topic, pretending to be preoccupied. Those who understand cyclists know that we don't speak of what scares us in the fear that it may happen. By avoiding the subject, by not listening to our fears, we somehow think we are protected. If we did calculate the risks and odds, we wouldn't race. In Paris-Roubaix, we prepare for the race and pray for protection.”

Later in the same section entitled Spring -- the book is divided into seasons -- he writes:

“As we roll to the bus, the mechanics grab our bikes in haste, hose them down, and pack them up. Slowly, I step on the bus. Teammates hug one another. In contrast to the staff who hurriedly pack up the gear, the riders move slowly. The grey concrete velodrome showers resemble those in penitentiaries: the floor is cold and dirty, the air is damp, and the concrete is grim. Yet we linger under the shower, enjoying the hot water as it pours over our worn muscles. After six hours of panic and chaos, the moment seems idyllic. Food tastes better, chairs seem more comfortable, and being completely exhausted is divine.”

Barry's epiphany for the book came on a training ride in December in Girona, Spain, while doing a mountain climb in the pouring rain.

“I was just thinking about how the public sees very little of what the cyclist's life is all about,” said Barry in an interview. “They see us at the races and most of the time they only see the peleton, they don't see the guys suffering at the back. And most of the time, they only see the last hour of the race. They don't see the first 200 kilometres or the first five hours of the race.

“At the top of the mountain when I was thinking about this, I thought it would be kind of cool to do a book where I wrote about my experiences and Camille photographed the life of a cyclist from his perspective.”

The pictures that captivated him as a kid growing up in Toronto when he looked at his father's cycling magazines were the ones of cyclists away from the races, in their hotel rooms or at the dinner table together.

“Anything that gave me a glimpse on their lives outside of the racing environment I thought was really intriguing," said the father of two young boys. "I still find that when I see photos of athletes out of their sporting environment. It kind of brings a face to them and gives you a glimpse of what their lives are like.”

That's what McMillan has captured and, at Barry's request, he didn't focus on the Canadian, either. The photos reflect the life of a cyclist rather than Barry's life, in particular.

He chose the title Le Metier because it's the phrase his teammates in France used when they talked about doing the job properly, about their profession, when he began training there as a young man.

“Cycling is an all encompassing sport where you have to sleep, eat, you basically live for the sport and you do everything you possibly can to be as fit as possible,” said Barry.

“That's what it takes to be competitive at the highest level. You really have to be devoted, passionate and also have an experience, the savoir faire. ... I think also to me Le Metier, it's more than a job, it's a life pursuit, almost like a calling.”

That's how it comes across on every page, too.

Steve Giles' strong message to new canoe/kayak boss

Steve Giles was like the Steve Yzerman of Canadian canoeing.

A classy guy, he proved he could deliver pressure, winning an Olympic bronze in 2000 in Sydney and a world title in 1998 in the cradle of canoeing in Hungary.

He was also a quiet, reserved athlete, definitely not the outspoken type. Just try to find a controversial Giles quote out there.

That's why the higher-ups in the sport should pay attention to a blog post by Giles this week giving advice to the new high performance director of Canoe Kayak Canada, yet to be named.

You'd be well served to read the whole blog at www.snappyexit.com but here's a synopsis:

* If you don't fully back canoeing at the Olympic level – 25 per cent of the program was removed a year ago without a whimper from Canada, wrote Giles – the sport will die out.

* Don't stay in your office in Ottawa, get out in the field to get to know the athletes and coaches at every level.

* Abolish time standards for qualification. They make no sense in a sport where the wind can cause a 30-second swing in times.

* Fight the progression criteria established by Sport Canada. Unless sport administrators are willing to stake their own livelihoods on progressively better performances, we should not be willing to ask athletes to do the same.

* The women's kayak team is on the ropes and needs a saviour. Give the current coach the freedom and the time to build this team up and he will be successful.

The post is really worth a read because you can see Giles' passion for the sport in his words. If those in charge ignore them, they do so at their peril.

Knockout Event: Speaking of the canoe/kayak scene, the 4th Annual Mazda Knockout race is going to be held Saturday in front of Ontario place. Canada's top paddlers will be battling for $20,000 in prize money in the event that begins at 10 a.m.

Among those competing are Olympic champion Adam Van Koeverden, Olympic bronze medalist Tom Hall, Mark Oldershaw and Emilie Fournel.

Money raised through racer registration and other donations will be matched by Mazda and given to KidSport Ontario, which helps disadvantaged kids take part in sport. There will be a KidSport Funzone at the event.

It's a good chance to intermingle with Olympic paddlers when they're competing at a low pressure event.

(The picture of Steve Giles in Sydney was taken by the Star's incomparable 2-way man Dale Brazao.)

Speed skater spends summer in Korea chasing girls

 
Phil Riopel isn't different than a lot of red-blooded Canadian males -- he spent a good part of his summer chasing girls.

But he's unique in that he did it wearing speed skates and the girls were quite a bit younger, yet he still couldn't catch them.

An adventuresome and good-natured sort, the 22-year-old Riopel spent five weeks this past summer in South Korea training with the Mokdong Speed Skating club in Seoul. (see below, that's Riopel crouching in the bottom row in the middle)

He's a long track speed skater, but all the training was in short track. A number of skaters have made remarkable transitions from short track to long track, including Lee Seung-hoon of South Korea, who won gold in the 10,000 metres and silver in the 5,000 metres at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.

It was a performance that opened a lot of eyes, including those of Riopel, who took advantage of an invitation from Mikhail Choi, a Canadian speed skater who returns to his family's Korean roots each summer.

As Riopel isn't afraid to admit, the competition was more than he could handle, even as the picture above shows he had them beat significantly on the tale of the tape.

“I was skating with some 12-year-old girls that were way better than me at short track,” said Riopel, a member of Canada's national development team. “I've grown up skating short track in Montreal. I only switched over to long track four years ago. I have a decent short track background. It was getting better towards the end of my trip, but I was still trying to keep up with the girls. They're pretty impressive over there.”

The experience worked out far better than Riopel even imagined. He was already thinking about returning next summer before his trip had even ended.

“I don't think anybody trains like Korea,” he said. “I think they know that, too. But there's different ways of training. Their way of training is to train as hard as you can and as much as you can. We do it more balanced and with more thought behind it.

“I'd show up at training and we didn't have a written program there. We'd get on the ice and the coach would tell us the program. It seemed like he would make it up on the spot. Whereas here we sometimes get our programs two weeks in advance and it's all planned. It's a different approach. Both seem to work. But it's a different world over there.”

The cultural experience was also rich. They appreciated that Riopel was willing to give their methods a try. He and Choi stayed with Korean skater Kwak Yoon-Gy, a member of the Olympic silver medal winning relay team who is currently suspended for a year for his alleged involvement in a race fixing scandal.

“It's kind of changed my way of approaching skating,” Riopel said of the trip. “A lot of them don't skate for the same reason we do. I think here in Canada we really enjoy skating – I don't think I'd be skating if I didn't like it – but over there with the volume of training they do in a day, it's a full-time job for sure. They don't have time for anything else.

“The guy that I was staying with, at the Olympics he had to do the last two laps of the relay. In Korea, the military service is mandatory for everyone. You have to do a two-year service in the army. The only way you can get out of that is by getting an Olympic medal or an Asian Games gold medal. He said the only thing he had in mind for the last two laps of that race was 'Military service.' They ended up getting second – and that was his last chance of getting a medal.

“That's something we wouldn't even think about in Canada. It's just a different approach. I'm not going to start skating now thinking 'They have it way worse than we do.' It's just really two different approaches. I want to really try to get the best of both and build from there.”

Ride with Ryder Hesjedal offers quite the view

There are fantasy sports camps and then there is what Canadian Tour de France hero Ryder Hesjedal has on offer this December for cycling fanatics with a thick wallet.

Picture a week in Maui training with the likes of Hesjedal, Garmin-Transitions teammate Christian Vande Velde, Ironman standout Chris Lieto and two-time Olympian mountain biker Seamus McGrath.

Hesjedal, who stirred a nation with his impressive and surprising seventh-place finish in this year's Tour de France, is the headliner for this adventure which runs from Dec. 4-11 and has 15 spots available at a price of $9,850 per head (U.S.) through www.mauicyclingcamps.com

Hesjedal bought a home in 2007 in Maui and uses it to lay down his training base through November to December. Among the rides there is the infamous Haleakala climb up a volcanic crater that goes from sea level to over 10,000 feet. Hesjedal set the record for the climb in 2009.

Hesjedal will be racing in Montreal and Quebec City this weekend and comes to Toronto to race in the Queen's Park Grand Prix on Sept. 19.

It's important to the 29-year-old Victoria to promote the sport in Canada and to that end he has set up a fundraising intiative called Wheelman.ca, where $5 from the sale of every t-shirt will go towards helping aspiring male and female cyclists in the country.

It definitely seems that Hesjedal wants to start a movement.

“Wheelmen is about the love of cycling for its sporting challenges, health benefits and its positive impact on the environment,” said Hesjedal.

Here's some video of Hesjedal taking on the Haleakala climb:

Ryder Hesjedal :: Haleakala Record from Media One Multimedia on Vimeo.

Here's some footage of him riding in Maui with the likes of surfing star Laird Hamilton:

Maui Training Ride With Ryder Hesjedal from Media One Multimedia on Vimeo.

Nicolas Macrozonaris hangs up his spikes at 30

Click on the YouTube video above and you can watch Nicolas Macrozonaris’ big moment as a sprinter – knocking off then world record holder Tim Montgomery in Mexico in 10.03 seconds.

It made Macrozonaris the third fastest Canadian in history and he will take that for now into retirement.

Macrozonaris just turned 30, but for many of us covering the Olympic scene he will remain frozen at 19, his age when he burst onto the Canadian track scene to earn a spot for the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

He was a fresh-faced kid, goofy in a charming way – he’d run outside after Donovan Bailey’s Olympic win four years earlier and used a tape measure to mark off 100 metres on the street so he could start training.

But one got the sense that Macrozonaris never quite developed the work ethic to get every ounce out of his natural ability. His one-time mentor and agent, Bruny Surin, said as much when he was working with Macrozonaris.

But he was an entertaining personality and a good guy.

Good news for Mandi Schwartz: Mandi Schwartz, the Saskatchwan native who plays hockey at Yale University, got some good news today in her battle with leukemia. She’s in remission and plans are being made for a stem cell transplant. You can read more here.