Off to Athens

Article courtesy The Maui News --- Sunday, July 04, 2004 —

By DANA McBRATNEY, Sports Editor (Maui News)

WAILUKU - Just over a year ago, Lauren Spalding left Maui with a dream.
That dream will become a reality Aug. 13 when she marches into Olympic Stadium for the opening ceremonies of the 2004 Athens Olympics as a member of the U.S. Olympic team.

"It will be total chicken skin, because how many times will I get a chance to do that?'' Spalding said. "It's unreal. It is a great honor to be a member of the U.S. Olympic team. I think it is slowly sinking in more and more. I feel very fortunate because I just broke into this sport.''

Spalding will represent the United States in canoe-kayaking Aug. 23-28 after earning spots on the K4 and K2 teams at the Olympic trials. The Kula resident burst onto the scene in July of 2003 when she competed in the national tournament for the first time. She finished fourth in her first-ever K1 race and since then, her life has been on the fast track.

"I trained really hard before last year's trials in July,'' she said. "I knew I was in shape and I had a really good base. But, I have learned a lot since that race. I had no idea how to race a 500-meter race. Now, I feel like the amount I have learned is just huge.''

The fourth-place finish gave Spalding a chance to hone her skills at the U.S. Olympic training facilities in Chula Vista, Calif. There, she battled 19 others for a spot in the K4 boat that would compete at the trials.

"I was a little worried because I wasn't sure I was being looked at,'' Spalding said. "I didn't want to get caught up in everything. When I decided to really work hard and not worry about things, that is when things began to go my way. We were not racing and nobody knew who the good paddlers were.

"Racing is my strong point. I am a really good racer. There was one girl there that always beat me in the time trials but when we lined up on the line and raced, I won all the time. I have a different mind-set when I race.

"I found out I had been selected at the last serious training camp. I feel like I went into it with the right attitude. I went into it to have a good time. There was one point this year where I wasn't sure if I was having fun. I never look at anything as a lock so I go into things looking to have fun, so if I don't make it and I look back, I don't have any regrets. You have to go with the right kind of happy attitude and just kind of balance it.''

Not only was Spalding selected to the K4 team, but she was also picked for the K2 team with Kathy Colin of Kailua, Oahu, a 2000 Olympian.

"No one really put any focus on the K2 because everybody thought our ticket to the Olympics would be the K4,'' Spalding said. "The K2s were not selected until late. Kathy and I felt like we paddled real similar. We have similar strengths. We decided to race together and our coaches were pushing it also. They said that would be the fastest boat.''

Spalding, Colin, Carrie Johnson of San Diego and Marie Mijalis of Miami won the K4 competition at the Olympic trials while Spalding and Colin took the K2 title.

"I knew the K2 race would be between us and our other K4 partners,'' Spalding said. "We had done time trials and we did have faster times. We had a great race. It was only the second time we had done a 500 race. We are just getting stronger and stronger. It seems the more we race and the more we train, it just keeps getting better and better. We have only trained together for such a short time in the K2. I am very excited to see how that will play out. I think we have a lot of potential.''

The K4 and K2 paddlers still had another race to win, however, before they would get their tickets to Athens.

The Americans headed to Curitaba, Brazil, for the Continental Qualifier in early May. The competition had boats from Canada, Central America and South America. The winners of each race would qualify for the Athens Olympics.

"When a lot of people heard what I was doing, they assumed I was going to the Olympics,'' Spalding said. "I had to tell them that I had to be selected for the K4 team then we had to win the trials and then go to Brazil. There were three major steps.''

Spalding and the rest of the K4 crew blew to victory in Brazil, beating the second-place boat by six seconds. The Americans were headed for Athens.

"It was a major relief to finally get that spot in the Olympics,'' Spalding said. "Winning at Brazil was huge. It was like, 'All right, we are going, it is done. Now it is go time.'

"Before, we weren't sure what we were doing. Now that we know we are going to the Olympics, it will make it a little easier to train. It's business now so it is more enjoyable.''

Spalding was able to make a quick trip to Maui after the Brazil races, but then it was back to Chula Vista to prepare for a trip to Europe in early June where she would compete against some of the top boats in the world.

"We went to the Czech Republic and Germany,'' Spalding said. "We were very pleased with how we performed. I had seen the international crews last year at the world championship. They are so tough. These girls, like the ones from Hungary, have been training since they were 6 for this. This is their world. This is all that matters.

"I went to Europe with no expectations. We got fifth in a couple of finals and took second in one race. We were going against the top countries in the world. We really started to improve at the end.

"In K2, we did well. We made the A final but it was always the last race of the day and we were so exhausted. We know what we have to do to get better.

"The coaches were pleased. This is by far the fastest K4 boat this country has ever had. With a lot of hard work, I think we can make the A final at the Olympics and if we do that, anything can happen. It will be amazing. It is important that we race our akoles off and have the best race of our lives.''

The trips to Brazil and Europe were Spalding's first taste of the security she and her teammates will see at the Olympics.

"When we were in Brazil, we were advised not to wear USA gear except on the podium,'' she said. "When we travel, we do not wear USA stuff. We used to wear it but now it is real low key. One day in Brazil, Kathy and I were going to go running and we had on our USA jackets but the name was real small on the jacket. A guard stopped us and told us not to go running, especially with our jackets on. It scared us a little bit.

"In Europe, things seemed pretty mellow. Everybody seemed pretty friendly.''

Despite all the concerns over the athletes' security, Spalding is not that worried. Outside of the opening ceremonies, the U.S. canoe-kayaking team will not be in Athens. The competition will take place at the Schinias Olympic Rowing and Canoeing Centre, northeast of Athens along the coast.

"I know that I will definitely be aware of the security but my focus will be racing,'' Spalding said. "A couple weeks before we left for Europe, they had a brunch for all the athletes at Chula Vista and the master chief of the Navy SEALs talked to us. He told us we were the best of the best going to represent our country and their best of the best have been working over there to make sure we are all safe. It was definitely comforting.

"I am just going to go thinking everything will be fine. I'm going over there to do something else and I will focus on that.''

In between her travels around the world, Spalding found time to return to Hawaii and participate in the Molokai World Championships, a 32-mile outrigger race from Kaluakoi Beach to Hawaii Kai, Oahu, on May 18. Spalding successfully defended her title, finishing in 4 hours, 30 seconds. She beat the runner-up by 31 minutes.

"I don't know how I pulled that one out,'' Spalding said. "I really hadn't trained, trained for it. It was pure head strength.

"It is so special to be out in the channel. It is probably one of my most favorite places to be. It is just like therapy. It is just part of who I am.''

Spalding points to many people who have helped here get where she is today.

"My mom and dad have been huge,'' she said. "You can't do something like this by yourself, especially psychologically because it is so draining.

"Tracy Phillips and Chris Ball have been coaching from Oahu and they have been a huge support network. Support from my family and friends throughout Hawaii has really kept me going.

"Another person who has been an inspiration is Bubba McLean. We grew up together and we are really close friends.''

McLean heads to the Olympic track and field trials next week to try to qualify in the pole vault.

"We were together for a while at the training center and it was just awesome to see him and he is doing so well,'' Spalding said.

Despite all the success and all the places Spalding has visited in the last year, it hasn't been easy for her and she is not sure the 2008 Olympics in Beijing are in her future.

"You have to make a lot of sacrifices and you put a lot of sweat and grind into it,'' Spalding said. "It is rewarding and it feels really good to accomplish that. It was very hard being away from home for such long periods of time. After all of this year, I have said this is it and I am never doing it again. But, I don't know. I definitely will be even stronger and if I keep training, I could do even better. But, that is four years away and you never know what will happen. I am not going to say no. I am just going to let it play itself out.

"It is extremely stressful being away from home. To do what I am doing, you have to be selfish and it takes time away from everyone else. That puts a strain on me.''

One thing she is very certain about is her love for Maui and Hawaii.

"You know how everybody is so happy in Hawaii, it isn't like that in Europe,'' Spalding said. "There is not a warm feeling. It is a little more straight up and hard. It makes me appreciate Hawaii a little bit more. I enjoy traveling but it makes me appreciate where I come from.

"I am representing Hawaii and I feel like we are all in it together. I feel honored, especially among the paddling community here.

"I think the world is pretty cool but Hawaii is still number one.''

Posted by keizo on Thu, 07/08/2004 - 4:16pm