Donovan Report: Last race

The journey is over. He swam his heart our and went faster, but the world is younger, taller and faster. His time of 2:30.22 was as fast as he has gone in 2 years, his best time would not have gotten him on the podium.

The last night of the Paralympic swim meet is the most stressful for staff. Those who are of age go out and usually party, those who are younger are in the village. Team meetings and other admin. Stuff delayed Donovan, we went to dinner with Paul and Karen and finally at 10:30 he and Leanne made it. His spirits were positive and as with all meets relief that it was over. He was proud of his efforts, no regrets!

Donovan with treasured pals

The last 2 years for Donovan has been a remarkable journey. He spent 6 months in Colorado attending the National Federation for the blind training facility. He was there from March to October 2011. He learned independent skills and to graduate had to cook a meal for 60 and on 3 occasions be dropped off in Denver and make his way home, no hints given. He also arranged his own training, David Lee took him on at a whole lot of levels, he welcomed David’s approach and training at altitude helped. He met many people and developed a circle of loyal friends.

Lunch with Colorado Crew

Loretta and Steve are two such people. He has climbed mountains with Steve and in fact they plan to tackle Kilimanjaro next June! Loretta has opened her home and heart to Donovan.

Loretta was in town to see her son and his family and yesterday we all lunched together. The group photo says it all. Two beautiful children aged 2 and 4 were curious about Donovan but by they end of lunch they were sharing their treasured stuffed animals with him; they do not often part with their treasured pals.

After lunch we went to Hamsted and a long walk in the park, then zipped down to the waterfront to catch the parade at the Thames festival. Londoners are a participatory folk and the streets were lined for the “Fire parade”.

Fire Parade Mascot

The trip is winding down, today we will facilitate Donovan’s move from the village, fortunately he can stay with Paul and Karen tonight and then he is off on a short vacation. He will make it on his own to Glasgow, then travel to see friends in Belfast, then to the Haag. He will be utilizing the skills attained in Denver to travel independently and with confidence.

Donovan Report: 200 IM Heats

This is Donovan’s last chance for a medal, and his best chance. The last 8 weeks has seen intense preparation as well as prudent management of his time, emotions and physical state. As the meet has progressed the big worry was to find the best performances too early in the proceedings. He has shown improvement each swim, going faster in finals and within striking distance of best times.

This morning was more of the same. He was in the second heat; in my mind the first heat was slow. Beside him was Yang from China, frankly the fly leg, although a good time of 32.77 was pale to Yang who went 28! Donovan was 4 th into the backstroke, third after the breast and finished second in his heat and overall third in 2:30.65. This is the fastest he has swum for a morning swim; he is in a good lane for the final and is ready to go!

Oh, by the way Yang was less than a second off his world record in 2:23! The battle tonight is for bronze and silver.

We met briefly after heats, he is calm and mentally prepared. He has done the work, it is now up to him to continue to put it all together!

Stay tuned.

A day Off

What do you do on an off day? We tried to meet up with Donovan but the logistics were a challenge and we opted to visit Oxford. A short 58 minutes from Paddington and we were in the historic town. As usual the hop on hop off buses allowed for an overview of the town and it’s storied history.

Oxford from the canal

I thought of McGuire as the guide told us of the role of the Franciscan Brothers in making it a legitimate centre of learning. McGuire’s priest is a Franciscan but has not been able to break him of his BC trait (bitchy competitive) and let us lesser souls win on the course. The plethora of small colleges making up the town is overwhelming and drives efficiency zealots like me nuts, but such is history! The town is vibrant with multiple architectural styles that span the ages.

Chinese just around the corner

Deborah and had punting on her bucket list. This involves taking a flat-bottomed boat powered by a long pole out on one of the local tributaries. We went down to the dock only to see 5 Chinese folks trying to get out of the rather tight docking area. Although  not meant to be it was a bumper boat experience that exasperated the attendants! The announcer on the tour bus was a little mocking of the whole thing, and intimated tourists often ended up in the drink. Reluctantly I agreed to go on one of the paddle boats and all was going smoothly until I sighted a flotilla of Chinese paddling 3 boats towards, naturally they were side by side. They had no ability if not inkling to change course. I tried to limit the collision to I1 craft but managed to hit 2! This in spite of being at full stop. Pleasantries were exchanged with a diplomatic letter to follow.

On collision course with the Chineese

The rest of the trip was uneventful except for the Spaniards. They came out of the docking area , young kids with more ability to laugh than navigate. Susequent landing of our craft , although delayed was uneventful.

"Prison" Hotel

We walked around town and were making our way to the train when Oxford castle caught our eye. Unfortunately closed but on the outside well preserved. Attached to it is a converted prison. The prison closed in 1996 and opened as a hotel in 2006. Photos show classical construction ( looks like Alcatraz), but everything has been upgraded. A little different hotel experience!

At dinner Donovan phoned to touch base, he is calm and we reviewed a little race strategy but frankly I have deferred specific advice to his assigned coach. Too many cooks is not productive.

Donovan Report : 100 Fly

Great swim in the 100 fly!

After the excitement and surprise of Paul, Karen and Joanne’s visit, there was the necessity to focus on the next event. He swam late in the morning and looked great. It was questionable as to whether he would get a second swim but finished his second 50 very well with a season’s best of 1:08.76.

He qualified 8^th, the evening swim was faster! 1:07.96, just off his best time from 2 years ago of 1:07.74. This shows he is in good form and peaking on Saturday for the 200 IM is the goal.

A walk across the millenium Bridge

The time between heats and finals goes slowly for parents. For the swimmer there is the lactate test, the warm down, eat, rest then warm up, massage and race again!

New bridge Old St Pauls

Deborah and I took the opportunity to visit the Globe Theatre, getting standing tickets to see part of As you like it. The venue and actors were riveting! Just next door is the Tate Moderne, frankly the exhibits not as well done as in Berlin, but we can say we were there. Last year when we were here the millennium bridge had been completed but not opened due to too much swaying! It was stable today as we walked to St. Pauls Catedral, pausing for a brief nap on the lawn beside the church. We were both drained from the emotions of the morning I suppose.

A quick tube ride back to Olympic Park, a light Greek meal , some shopping and back for finals. One more race to go!

Tomorrow a day trip for us to Oxford.

Guess Who

Team Canada's home in the Olympic Village

Paul surprises Donovan

Donovan’s career has required a lot of support. I have not gone to every meet, time  and work just would not allow it. We have been lucky to live in the same house for 26 years, and neighbours are important.

Paul Britton was one of the first kids on the block we met. When we first met he was 8 years old. He and Donovan slowly fell in to doing things together and as a teen he frequently babysat. In high school he worked in my research group and office. Always reliable, amiable and interested. As Donovan’s swimming career grew, he learned to tap and attend meets with me. As a young adult  he took over more responsibilities and traveled with him to Montreal, San Antonia and Berlin. He remains an integral part of Donovan’s large support group.

Big Hug from Karen

Yesterday we were to meet Donovan outside the village. Leanne did not know what was going on but kept quiet. Paul went up and said “ Your parents were involved in an International Incident, I’m taking over!”  A pause, then a booming “PAUL!”

These pictures catch some of the emotion. With Paul of course was his partner Karen and their friend Joanne. They came to London to surprise and support Donovan. What a gift!

Joanne,Karen and Paul

The 100 fly is in a few hours, finals is the goal, he is in a dog fight.

What’s new

We have been in London for 5 days and have seen Donovan swim twice and are catching up with the city.

Donovan with Tapper Leane

We changed hotels today. We are now in the Earl’s Court area, coincidently the neighbourhood Deborah lived in 40 years ago when she worked at Hammersmith Hospital. The hotel in Clingford was nice enough but the bus ride to Olympic Park made Deb very car sick, we are now a lot closer and can get to the pool easily by tube.

Medals hanging from trees in Leicester Square

What about 2012 venue? It is the first time there has been high end shopping in the form of Westfield Mall adjacent to the Olympic park. The mall is packed and business seems brisk. I am guessing it is part of a private / public strategy to revitalize the area. Access to the area is spectacular, tube, above ground rail, bus and car. There are 3 hotels on the property and a large car park. It could become a destination shopping haven , Stanstead airport is close by. All the big name stores are represented. Time will tell if the inhabitants of the Olympic village and visitors will make it viable, for now it is unique in recent Olympic and Paralympic history.

Weird look of a start photo taken in the square

Last year we were here for 5 days and did exclusively tourist stuff, this year there is less pressure to follow the tour guide. We are wondering around and experiencing the city at another level. Highlights have been the weekend market near the Liverpool Station. Spitafield market is literally one block from the higher end stuff is an endless street market. It extends blocks from the Aldgate station to Liverpool station. On Sunday it was shoulder to shoulder people, there were at least 100 different street food vendors with arisan wares and clothing booths thrown in for good measure. The customers were predominately local and young. The food dirt cheap so long as sitting on the sidewalk was an ok place to eat!

Trafalgar Square Engaged in the games

Yesterday was Covent Garden Market, followed by watching the Paralympic swimming on the big screen in Trafalgar Square, very civilized, beer and food on sale, the Brits cheering their team with gusto. We did the same in Vancouver for the winter games, it was alcohol controlled and security was well co-ordinated. Unfortunately Mayor Moonbean didn’t get it right for the Stanley Cup run, these events are run by professionals, not rank amateurs.

Last night was theatre at the Phoenix, Blood Brothers. We had half price tickets and were 6 rows from the stage. We thoroughly enjoyed it ! Tonight it was War Horses. Great show, the magic of the stage brought the horses to life, a smashing performance

We will see Donovan tomorrow, before his afternoon practise.  I miss the hour by hour involvement at one level, at another it is nice to be at a destination touring as well as cheering! In the village there is more time to write and reflect, outside there are many distractions.

Donovan Report: second swim

The world rankings are of little use in a Paralympic year. The times listed are often 6 months out of date and new swimmers on the international scene are under represented. Donovan was ranked 4^th going into the 100 back. There were a log jam of times very close to one another between 2^nd and 6^th. Bozun Yang, the Chinese swimmer is away  ahead in this event with times a couple of seconds faster than the group.

The morning heats were not particularly fast, Donovan qualified eighth. He was hoping for a faster time, his first 50 was strong and the splits fairly even, the process solid.

The final was a dog fight. He was in lane 8 beside the Ukrainian Mashenko. These Ukranian guys are built like linebackers. There was a lot of contact going down the first 50. Donovan wisely stayed away from him( his arms are as big as Donovan’s legs). In spite of directional changes he split in 34.04, that’s as fast as he can go. The top 3 were under 1:09, Donovan was near best time but clearly went out  too fast.His placing of 7^th was an improvement on the morning, he really wants to be sure to be peaking on September 8^th, the 200 IM.

But wait a minute! The American Snyder protested, there had been contact and he mistook it as a tap. He did a flip turn in the middle of a lap!Under IPC rules he has the right to a reswim. The medalists of course declined, and it looked like the 5 remaining were to go again. In the end only Snyder swam at the end of the session, he improved his time and knocked Donovan into eighth. In  his long career this has never happened, never too late to learn new stuff!

We met briefly after the swim, he remains mentally and physically strong. There now are a few days off until the 100 fly, all these events designed to prepare for the 200 IM.