11.08.2009

Flame continues countdown to track and field titles

Sharon Hannan continues her exclusive online diary for Athletics Australia as she guides Olympic silver medallist Sally McLellan towards the start of competition at Berlin's Olympic Stadium on Saturday.   

Cologne – August 10, 2009. It’s Monday afternoon and in close to 30 hotel rooms here at the Regent, suitcases have been dragged out and their cavernous depths are being filled with green, gold and white. Most uniforms have been tried, altered, washed, swapped, worn, tested and finally… folded and placed excitedly in bags.

Sessions are getting shorter and dinners are getting longer in line with the lengthy conversations that are starting to unfold. We’re all trying to fill in more spare time. Movies are being swapped. Some have brought over their whole series of Entourage, or the best of Friends. Some are going ‘out’ for dinner, especially looking for red meat. It’s a rarity rather than the norm here in Europe. (Event coach) Penny Gillies, (4x400m athlete) Ben Offereins and I have been learning to play cribbage. Confusing, but fun. Others have learnt to play Sequence.

The medical team has been kept busy, thankfully mostly with niggles and maintenance. The massages are relished and the booking sheets are full in advance.

Even though the university facilities are fantastic, they, like the rest of Germany, shut down on Sunday. The track is also open for only two hours on Saturday. Most athletes had to rearrange sessions but again, that’s part and parcel of the joys of being an athlete in Europe.

Last night we had a full team meeting after dinner. Information about the bus trip to Berlin was high on the agenda. There was also a presentation on the new team name, to be launched in Berlin on Wednesday. It was easily accepted by the athletes and I’m sure you’ll be impressed and feel proud of the new label.

Tonight we were down to about half-strength at dinner because there was a large group that went to Dusseldorf for a competition. Even so, we made a presentation of a signed kangaroo to the chef and his staff. Justin Anlezark did the honours in the absence of the newly-named team captain, Steve Hooker. The chef and staff also received t-shirts and the chef is obviously a good boss because he kept asking for more so that EVERY one of his staff had one.

Sally had a PB day today. She did a PB for a six second repetition in the pool this morning, equalled it this afternoon and also did a 12 second PB in the afternoon session. This is a good place to be right now, as the countdown to the start of competition is well into days numbering single digits.

There’s a great buzz in the camp and it’s infectious. Our bus leaves at 10am in the morning so not many athletes are training tomorrow. The distance athletes will train and will leave an hour later in the second bus. We should arrive in Berlin by 5.30pm with two stops along the way. It should be a good day for travelling because the weather prediction is awful! (My all-time favourite TV ad comes to mind here.)

I’ve packed most of my belongings tonight, but need to get up early to get to the laundromat. Last week I took my uniforms to a tailor to be altered and picked them up this afternoon. Good job. Unfortunately, they’ve been sitting in a smoke-infested shop the whole time and I couldn’t possibly pack them or wear them. We’re wearing polo shirts and shorts or skirts on the bus so I’ll whizz down early and get them washed and dried. Tristan Thomas’ favourite shorts got up close and personal with a bottle of vinaigrette at dinner, so I volunteered to add them to the small bundle.

This is just a short report, but I’m sure my first report from Berlin will be exciting.  

Cheers from me again.

Sharon