Sprint to the Finish

London 2012 Round 2 starts Tuesday for me as the flatwater sprint canoe/kayak racing begins for Team USA. We have two kayakers. Carrie Johnson is a three-time Olympian who will affectively retire  after these Games to begin a four-year veterinary program at UC-Davis. The other, Tim Hornsby, is a first-timer whose girlfriend just finished 9th in the pole vault.

Since my last post, I have been able to watch tennis at Wimbledon, women's water polo, men's basketball, rowing and table tennis. It was the first time I had seen many of these sports live, but seeing tennis at the All-England Club was special. It's the closest I might ever get to experiencing Wimbledon. I watched the Bryan brothers advance in men's doubles and Serena Williams do the same in women's singles. Both would go on to win Gold later. I also sat on "Henman's Hill" to watch Federer v. Isner (USA).

In the lull between slalom and sprint canoe/kayak racing, I've been able to set up interviews with BBC World News and Universal Sports. The sprint canoe/kayak venue is even farther away than the slalom venue, and the races are in the morning, meaning I will have to leave my dorm at around 6am to get there in time. I'm not sure if I'll have any time for sightseeing, but if I do tops on my list of things to do are Tower of London and trying out London's bikeshare system. Somehow I never saw the Tower of London during my semester abroad in this city.

Click HERE for my latest photos.
Click HERE for my latest press release.
Click HERE to see the BBC interview.
Click HERE to read one of the stories I helped set up.

An Olympic Reunion

When I'm not out at the faraway canoe/kayak venues, I'm generally at the Main Press Centre in Olympic Park or at my dorm at the University of East London - Docklands Campus. Seems like everywhere I go I run into people I know - some I expected to see, others were a surprise. It was the first time for me to meet 5 of the 7 canoe/kayak Olympians, two coaches and one of my co-workers. Then there's the 11 other Young Reporters that I knew from our adventures in Singapore and Austria. Then there's the good folks at the U.S. Olympic Committee and the other U.S. press officers at other sports. To think it all started with an internship in 2009.

Sadly, all five U.S. slalom athletes were knocked out of competition in the qualifying rounds, many in heartbreaking fashion. After a very busy first two days of competition, I find myself with more free time than I'd care for. Still, I'm working to garner as much media attention as possible while I am in the same city as these athletes. The two U.S. sprint athletes begin competing next Tuesday.

Yesterday, I was able to venture out into Central London for the first time. Olympic Park is in a part of East London that no tourist would have gone to before now. I was glad to finally see the London I knew from my study abroad experience in 2008. I was able to catch some beach volleyball near 10 Downey Street, where the Prime Minister lives. As I write this, I'm sitting in the press area watching Argentina take on Pakistan in field hockey. If I get a full day off, I'm thinking of going out to Wimbledon to watch some Olympic tennis.

Click HERE for some photos. More photos.

Click HERE to read one of my event recaps.

Click HERE to read one of the interviews I helped set up.

Click HERE to watch kayaker Caroline Queen's final run.

Let the Games Begin

The Opening Ceremony was great. It wasn’t overwhelming and over-stimulating as some of these events can be. It was relatively understated.

It started off with a flyover and a bit of rain. The clouds subsided and the fake English country side that was created in the center of the stadium gave way to a long drum-heavy journey through the nation’s industrial age. It told a story without ever using words. Then came a bizarre dream sequence from JK Rowling. Mr. Bean’s bit was funny, but I’m not sure it did justice to the very Olympic film tune "Chariots of Fire". The run through on British music could have been cut in half, because for every Rolling Stones, there’s a Prodigy, or worse. But I loved the choice to play Pink Floyd during the big firework finale and David Bowie’s “We Can Be Heroes” as the British team concluded the parade of Olympians. Paul McCartney’s performance of “Hey Jude” was very good. I can now say I’ve seen a Beatle live.

My canoe/kayakers start racing on Sunday, so it's the last bit of quiet before the storm. Go USA!

This is a Picadilly service to...

"This a Picadilly service to Cockfosters."

That's the first thing you hear after jumping in the Tube from Heathrow Airport. Not exactly the most regal introduction.

For me it's a reintroduction. I studied abroad in London in the Spring of 2008. I wasn't sure when I'd be able to return and I didn't think it would be for the 2012 Olympics.

I was able to sleep on the plane, which is good considering I arrived at 830am GMT and have lots to do today. I am without Internet or cell service as I write this. I took the Tube across town to my dorm and now I'm waiting to be checked in. Wish me luck.

Jumping in Headfirst

I'm waiting at my terminal at Dallas-Fort Worth airport, pecking away on my phone. In about 25 hours I will be hosting my first press conference, jetlag be damned. Things are about to get real hectic. Here goes nothing...

The US CanoeKayak Team starts competing on Sunday. Surprisingly, NBC will be covering much of it live on their main channel. Check nbcolympics.com for a full schedule. The Opening Ceremony is Friday. I'm hoping to snag a ticket.

Visit usack.org to see the media guide I put together.

London Calling

13 days. Less than two weeks to go until the Opening Ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games. I've been fortunate enough to experience Olympic Games of varying sizes. But this one should take the cake, or biscuit, or whatever they eat in England. The Games will mark my return to London after I spent a semester abroad there in Spring 2008. It will mark the culmination of two years of covering canoe/kayak for the U.S., after reporting on dozens of events from my couch and one from the actual venue. It will be the first time I meet five of the seven 2012 Olympic paddlers, whose names I've written about a thousand times.

I'll be staying in a dorm room at the University of East London campus in the Docklands. The industrial area of town adjacent to the Canary Wharf business district has been transformed into an Olympic wonderland for the Games. But I won't be spending much time there. Each morning I'll make the long commute to the faraway canoe/kayak venues. The first week is whitewater slalom racing at the brand new Lee Valley Whitewater Center in Broxbourne, just north of London. After that is flatwater sprint racing at the historic Eton Dorney venue near Windsor Castle, just west of London. I'm hoping to have one day off in between the two events, so that I may experience some other Olympic sports. I'm thinking tennis at Wimbledon or beach volleyball near Buckingham Palace or table tennis.

What sport do you think I should try to see on my day off?

Click HERE to read a feature on 2012 U.S. Olympic sprint team coach Stein Jorgensen.

Follow my adventure on Twitter @nickolivier and @usacanoekayak.

Seven Olympic Tickets

Seven. That's how many U.S. canoe/kayak athletes will represent Team USA at the London 2012 Olympic Games. That's the number of athletes I will be in charge of promoting and fielding their media requests. Four kayakers and three canoe athletes. Two flatwater sprint athletes and five whitewater slalom athletes. Six boats, including a two-man canoe slalom boat. The final two slots were earned this past weekend at the Slalom Pan American Championships in Brazil, which I covered from my apartment in Fort Worth. Click HERE to read my event recap.

Which athletes will fill each boat remains to be seen. The picture will become clearer after the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in April. I'll be attending the sprint trials Oklahoma City on April 20. For sprint kayakers Carrie Johnson (San Diego, Calif.) and Ryan Dolan (Kailua, Hawaii), it's "win and you're in." The media attention is already starting to really pick up.

Countdown to London: 135 days

The photo above is of me interviewing an Iranian alpine skier through an interpreter at the 2012 Winter Youth Olympic Games in Innsbruck, Austria. The photo appeared in the sports section of the local German-language newspaper.