Now on to the important stuff. Benn lives to race another day. He did not have his best day ever, but it was good enough. In C1 the top 12 advanced to the semifinal. Benn was 10th. Tomorrow he will need to do better. I don't mean to downplay a top 12 Olympic finish. What I mean is that to advance to the final he will have to finish in the top 8 in the semifinal run. It was a very exciting day typical of a day of tough competition in that our moment of celebration included some disappointing results for others. Our good friends Jamie, Pablo, and Scotty P did not advance. All had heart breaking results as Jamie and Pablo in their respective classes were the top finishers to not advance, each by less than a second. Scotty P looked like the medal contender we believed him to be, crushing his first run. In the process of laying down an equally fast second run he received a 50 second penalty on the last upstream gate. i know many of you don't get that, but it's bad. It was a close call. I couldn't even tell in the replay. My friend Mary was briefly inconsolable. She is MOO, in fact two times now. It was fully her right to have a few moments of disappointment.
We got to spend some time with Benn after the race. He had to go get ready to race again, so our time was limited. Tomorrow the adrenaline mounts again. The field is very strong tomorrow. I expect the results to carry a narrow margin.
Stay tuned.
The day was not all about racing though. We learned that the Chinese are much more experienced and adept at bargaining than we are. We visited a market this morning. Marsha and Davis each thought they were up to the task. Each in turn got taken to the cleaners, we think. Although it's hard to say for sure. Then tonight we stayed in the Shunyi Area late to eat and the busses were all gone when we finished. We had to convince cab drivers to bring us back to Beijing. We had to agree through a language barrier to pay for the trip and the return. Tomorrow Davis and Marsha think they are up to the task again. They plan to do some shopping before the semifinal. fortunately for me there isn't much time and very little room to carry extra stuff home. I think they will get fleeced again.
Davis looks like a giant walking through the market.
Addie learned how to say taxi in Chinese.
Today's runs do not count anymore. Tomorrow is a start over but with seeding based on today's results. Don't know what else to tell you. It's a race. Benn can do well, but it's the Olympics, so can the other 11 guys. Am I a little nervous? No. A lot! But I am looking forward to it very much. Benn seems calm.
11 comments:
Thanks for the post, Tom. Love your blog. I hope it's going to be on TV. We're all pulling for BENN and are so proud.
Pam Trube
Tom & Marsha
This from Berry friends in Rome, GA! We are reading your blog and laughing most of the time. Wendy W. had told me back in the spring about Benn's possible Olympic trek and so we have been following the news/blog. Congratulations to all. We are pulling for Benn and proud to say we knew his parents "way back when". Randy likes to relive the days of Darlington soccer vs. West Rome when you were the coach.
Kathryn & Randy Nobles
Berry grads 82/80
This is Renee a Heritage graduate with MOO. Benn's picture is on the Canoe/Kayak homepage of nbcolympics.com. Here's the link:
http://www.nbcolympics.com/canoekayak/index.html
We continue to lift him and all of you in our prayers. Sounds like you are having a wonderful trip.
Enjoying the blogs and thanks for keeping us updated. I hope and pray he metals.
love
sue fanning
Hi Tom and Marsha,
Love reading the blog updates and I know what you mean about the neotiating with Chinese....I have done it in my Real Estate and it was NOT fun.
My Ben went out and bought a dozen VHS tapes to try and tape each TV station to see if we could catch BENN on TV. We are all in the spirit with you!
We wathced the men's swimming relay last night who won by slim margin. What a comback race. That fighter spirit is what I remember Benn having. Best wishes for a fantastice run in the Semi-finals.
Congrats!
Joann, Ben, Christine and Kevin Bennett
PTC
PS...Christine still fondly recalls Mr. Fraker's "Chainsaw" story!!!!(among others)
Moo, Why weren't you at school today? Did I miss something?
xoxoxox
Hope you're all having a blast. Enjoy every minute! GO BENN!
I just found this yesterday and have really enjoyed reading everything. Had Matt tape the olympics today. I hope that we got Benn!! Barb Mason is sending info and articles to all of the Landmark family and all who know Benn are trying to keep up with all that is going on. Have a great time shopping Marsha and Davis!!!
Just realized that I forgot to sign the blog of 6:23 This is Becky Fergus from Peachtree City
Stay safe you guys. I rushed home early to see what you'd written. thanks for letting us live the olympic experience vicariously through your blog. I'm setting my alarm for 3am and will be cheering at my laptop at race time!
Hugs
We just watched the semi finals on TV! We saw it first streaming on-line then the delayed broadcast on tv. The commentators said - this is a young man who loves to paddle whitewater - other commentator said - yes, but more than that he loves to throw himself into something bigger than he is. It is so amazing to watch Benn on TV and hear people talking about him like that. It looks like he's made it to the finals, so we are up for another hour.
Congratulations Benn on your accomplishments. Even though we have never met(I only know your dad), I feel a connection to your entire family from reading the blogs. Thanks Tom for posting these blogs to keep everyone in the loop. From what you write, it seems that Fraker sense of humor is a genetic thing ! Have a great time in China and maybe sometime you can explain the difference between a kayak and a canoe ! To these layman's eyes, they look the same. Take care.
TR
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