Although the Olympic Whitewater Slalom Trials concluded a week ago, I've been slow to recover from an emotionally draining weekend in Charlotte. Back at home in Tennessee, a few runs down the Ocoee River and a few mountain bike rides with friends have helped to re-energize me but I hadn't quite found the right way to resolve my own participation at the Trials - as a coach, spectator, and as part of the media.
For me, when it comes to the last word about anything whitewater paddling, it begins and ends with Jamie McEwan. Known in whitewater cirlces as the "living legend," Jamie won America's first-ever Olympic medal in whitewater slalom at the 1972 Olympics in Munich. Equally impressive, he competed and competed well at the 2008 Olympic Trials in Charlotte at the age of 55.
In a weekend of huge emotional ups and down, nobody offered more stability and good in the world of whitewater racing than Jamie. Competing with vigor, passion, and respect, his participation continues to set the standard of what it means to be an Olympian in Whitewater Slalom racing. Check out Jamie's essay about his Olympic Trials experience.
http://jamiemcewan.com/unpublished.html
Well done, Jamie.
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