 |
| Lauren Spalding of Kula, Maui, is scheduled to paddle with Kailua's Kathy Colin in two Olympic kayaking events.
Jeff Widener • The Honolulu Advertiser |
| Canoe-kayak (flatwater)
At Schinias Olympic Rowing and Canoeing Center Hawai'i times (might differ from TV times) Heats Sunday, Aug. 22 — Women's Kayak Fours 500, 8:20 p.m.; Men's Kayak Doubles 1000, 8:40 p.m. Monday, Aug. 23 — Women's Kayak Doubles 500, 9:40 p.m. Semifinals Tuesday, Aug. 24 — Women's Kayak Fours 500, 8 p.m.; Men's Kayak Doubles 1000, 8:20 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 25 — Women's Kayak Doubles 500, 8:50 p.m. Finals Thursday, Aug. 26 — Women's Kayak Fours 500, 8:20 p.m.; Men's Kayak Doubles 1000, 8:35 p.m. Friday, Aug. 27 — Women's Kayak Doubles 500, 9:25 p.m. |
Of the 11 American kayakers in Athens, three are from Hawai'i — Kula, Maui's, Lauren Spalding and Kathy Colin and Andy Bussey, Punahou graduates from Kailua.
Hawai'i's impact on the sport is so deep, Spalding and Colin once competed with a Hawaiian flag on their boat and a sticker that read "Onipa'a" (steadfast and strong).
Some simply explain Hawai'i's affinity for the sport as a "feel for the water." Others, like Bussey, see it as so much more.
He describes it as a "natural instinct" for kicking a kayak into high gear with ultimate efficiency. It is an innate action and attitude. It appears effortless.
"I think that because kids growing up in Hawai'i spend so much time in the water many naturally develop a 'feel for the water,' " Bussey said. "That's why we pick up sprint kayaking easier than those from the Mainland.
"There is so much potential in the youth of Hawai'i that three Olympic kayakers is just the tip of the iceberg. Hopefully, seeing Lauren, Kathy, and myself in Greece will expose more Hawai'i's kids to sprint kayaking. If that happens, I can see in 2008 or 2012 the majority of the team being from Hawai'i."
For 2004, the team's Hawai'i connection consists of America's finest female paddler since 1999 (Colin) and two of its most compelling rookies.
At 30, Colin is the oldest on the American team. She is also the first to point out that the top three female kayakers in 2000 were over 30, a gold medalist was 35, and all will be in Athens.
A software engineer by trade, Colin has worked and trained full time since finishing ninth at the 1996 Olympic Trials, despite little experience. She has been on leave from her job with Northrop Grumman since February to devote herself to what she believes is her last Olympics.
A pair of 12th-place finishes in Sydney left her unfulfilled in the boat and at the Games. She has promised herself she will enjoy this Olympics more, and wants to be completely caught up in the magic of her racing moments to preserve her competitive edge.
"I need to know I gave everything possible each stroke of each race," Colin said.
She paddles with Spalding in the K-2 500 meters, and with Spalding and two other teammates in the K-4. Hawai'i's female Olympians met when they raced on the same six-person canoe across the Moloka'i Channel. The second time they ever got in the K-2 boat together, they won the U.S. Trials.
"Lauren is an incredible athlete," Colin said. " I am honored to sit in the boat with her.
"In the boat Lauren gives me power, commitment and confidence. Outside of the boat, she gives me a good laugh, sticky rice and Aloha Shoyu from Hawai'i."
Their best K-2 time in competition is 1:45, which Colin believes has to be cut by at least three seconds to have a chance of reaching the final. The team-best 1:35 in the K-4 might be two seconds off a medal, by Colin's calculations.
Spalding started paddling at age 3, was doing regular channel crossings at age 13 and is a three-time 'Oiwi Moloka'i World Champion. But her leap from roughwater to flatwater came less than two years ago, and with son Haena, now 5, cheering from the sidelines.
Spalding traces her physical gifts to extremely active parents, Mike and Jill. Along with paddling, Lauren grew up surfing and "hiking the back sides of all the islands ... I spent most of my time lost behind my dad."
Her diverse background, and "feel for the water," were ideal cross training. In 2000 she decided to "train hard and see where it takes me." That would be Athens, as her roughwater past opened up the flatwater world.
Bussey had let go of his Olympic dream this year when he failed to qualify at a training camp. Driving to Los Angeles Airport, on his way to train in Europe, he got a call from his coach asking him to take the place of Angel Perez, who dropped off the team for personal reasons.
A disbelieving Bussey told the coach to call Perez again to reconfirm. He did and, ever since, Bussey has been in a kayak with Jeff Smoke.
They had seven weeks to train for their K-2 1,000-meter race, and try to cut four seconds off their personal best of 3:19 to reach the final eight.
"A four-second drop is usually much too much to hope for in only seven weeks," Bussey admitted, "but a number of factors make us believe it's attainable."
Warning: include(/www/specials/olympics2004/footer.html): failed to open stream: No such file or directory in /srv/users/thaarchives/apps/thaarchives/public/specials/olympics2004/stories/kayaking.php on line 62
Warning: include(): Failed opening '/www/specials/olympics2004/footer.html' for inclusion (include_path='.:/opt/sp/php7.4/lib/php') in /srv/users/thaarchives/apps/thaarchives/public/specials/olympics2004/stories/kayaking.php on line 62
Warning: Use of undefined constant php - assumed 'php' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /srv/users/thaarchives/apps/thaarchives/public/specials/olympics2004/stories/kayaking.php on line 63