My left bicep is killing me. I think I might have hurt it in the workshop this morning, when I was moving a bookcase I'm working on. I was trying to lower it from the workbench to the floor and found myself in an awkward position. Middle age... sigh.
I did manage a set of exercise ball drills just before lunch (for those of you just tuning in, I'm doing the static drill demonstrated by Jingjing Li, an Olympic kayaker from China, in this video).
If I'm not mistaken, the U.S. has won five Olympic medals in flatwater sprint. Yes, that's a small number: the sport has been dominated by European nations for most of its history. But 1988 was a remarkable year for the U.S. Team, which entered the Olympic regatta in Seoul with legitimate medal hopes in three events. While the '88 Olympics are now cemented in U.S. canoe and kayak lore, I had never actually seen the television coverage of that competition myself until this past week, when I noticed a link on Face Book of footage that is now posted on You Tube. It is particularly enjoyable for me to watch it now because my involvement in flatwater and open water kayak racing in the last fifteen years or so has given me the opportunity to become friends with two of the leading athletes in those '88 Games, Greg Barton and Mike Herbert.
Here, Mike becomes the first U.S. paddler ever to compete in an Olympic K1 500-meter final.
Greg entered the Games as the reigning K1 1000-meter world champion, and here he tries to win it all again in the Olympic K1 1000-meter final.
Just a little more than an hour later, Greg is back on the water with partner Norm Bellingham for the Olympic K2 1000-meter final.
Many readers of this blog probably already know how the guys did, but I won't spoil it for anybody who doesn't. Watch the videos and re-live the excitement!
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