The Last Race

We both knew the significance of the night. The last time in this forum. No more pressure, no more crowds, no more expectations.

We have both worked hard to enjoy the moment. To smile more. To dwell on success and not perseverate on what could have been.

As he slipped on the LZR for the last time, I took out a loonie we had been given prior to the meet. As many know, there is now Canadian folklore of the luck of the loonie that was imbedded at center ice for the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics of 2002, which culminated in a hockey gold medal. The loonie fit perfectly in the back of suit and we made our way to the ready room.

He swam well, the best time for the season, he finished seventh. On a personal level a good swim, best 50 free this season, however he was not in the mix for this race, he is a distance guy.

We shook hands as we left the deck. His head was high, there was a smile. It was over.

Rick Mercer

Rick Mercer is in town. He wanted to do some work here with the Paralympians. At one of one meetings Erin Sulpher, our press attaché had mentioned that the Mercer group was to be in town and did any one have any ideas of what we could do with Rick.



Immediately two things came to mind. Firstly, swimming with opaque goggles and secondly getting into a LZR suit.



Swimming effectively blindfolded is an extremely difficult task for someone sighted. The sensory deprivation is astounding. I remember years ago having to take a course in guiding blind skiers. It was at Grouse Mountain and I met our instructor and a group of trainees in the ski line. We were blindfolded in the line and were to be guided by instructors to the top of the lift. I had never met anyone in the group and as luck would have it the lift stopped for about 20 minutes. The delay felt like 2 hours! All of the usual social clues in conversation had been eliminated, making conversation without eye contact a huge challenge. When we eventually made it to the top of the hill, the rest of the day was spent skiing as either a guide or blindfolded. I admit it, I peeked! The difficulty of judging time, space and terrain, plus absolutely trusting somebody I met that morning was asking far too much. We were suggesting Rick get in a pool and swim with Donovan’s goggles, there would be humour there.

Getting into one of the LZR suits is an exercise in strength, perseverance, and losing one’s inhibitions. First, in order to get the suit over the feet we put plastic bags over the feet, and then the suit is rolled down, and slid over the feet. The next step involves painstakingly pulling the suit up the legs and with the assistance of one or two people hiking it over the hips. Once over the hips it is further stretched so the shoulder straps are in place. The last step, bringing the back of the suit together to enable the zipper to be close the back of the suit and to then locked at the top.

Some photos here show to what ends McCord will go to support this team! In the change room yesterday Donovan was leaning back on the wall. It is temporary, and rattles. We joke that it is like a cheap motel room. In the room was the Spanish coach with Mohamed and the Japanese coach with Kuwai. As the wall was rattling both Craig and Donovan starting moaning as the wall vibrating rhythmically. The place cracked up!

After the 50 heats we met with Rick Mercer and the CBC crew. There was an interview in front of the cube and then we traveled to a practice pool for some of the action shots that had been planned.

Mercer is a true entertainer. He submitted to the McCord method of suit deployment, and swam completely blind with Donovan’s goggles! It went very well, Rick demonstrated the vagaries of swimming blind with some acute turns, which could have been dangerous without tapping. As the scenes concluded, with his goggles still on he attempted to pull himself out of the pool. Unfortunately he caught the bridge of his nose on the pool ledge. There was a scream, and frankly I thought he was horsing around. I knew he wasn’t when he saw blood a let of an “F” bomb while cameras were rolling! True to his professionalism he completed the scene after some medical care.

Who knows what will be shown in the end.

Last night was another excellent effort, very close to best time but not fast enough to make the podium.

The young Chinese swimmer, Bozun Yang broke the world record for the win beating his own mark by .7 seconds, the second and third place finishers were at 1:08, and 1:09. Donovan was well back at 1:11.9.

The 50 free heats went well, he was able to claw his way into a second swim, this is not his best race but will be his last as a Paralympian, he is aware of the significance of the swim!

The 100 free

A great day in the pool for Canada. The Canadian S13 ladies again swept an event, 1,2,3!! It was the 200 IM and the second time this has happened in the meet. As well Stephanie Dixon scored a silver medal.

Donovan’s race was an exciting one. Young Mohamed set another world record in the 100 free, 57.65.Before last year no S11 had gone under 1 minute for the 100 free, the world record was set 20 years ago by John Morgan, a man who was an able bodied scholarship swimmer at Stanford who progressively went blind over a short period. His record of 56.75 will likely be broken within the next year. Bozun Yang as well went under a minute in 59.25; the young Polish swimmer took the bronze in 100.49. Donovan was a game fighter but finished fourth.

Tomorrow s the 100 back, his last legitimate medal chance. We both know this to be the case and took care in the warm down to normalize lactate, ate sensibly and he will be asleep before 10 pm. Tomorrow he will be in the last heat of 2, he is ranked in the top 5. These guys are going fast, he will need a great race to make the podium.

The medal Ceremony was exceptional. Donovan sat beside Bozun Yang, he beside Mohamed. Yang held both their hands and in English said” We are not at war, we are friends” I was taken both by his English and sincerity. Donovan received his medal first; standing proudly, medal around his neck, cane in 1 hand, and flowers in the other. Before Yang stepped forward to receive his silver medal he was guided to Donovan, whom he embraced. He then received his medal and flowers to wild cheers from the Chinese crowd. The march off saw more of Yang’s colorful antics; he donned a cape, kissed his flowers and threw them into the crowd.

Then off walked three men who had swum their hearts out to win Paralympics recognition.

This capped a hard fought evening. The preliminaries were a cat and mouse game, no one wanting to show their finals strategy. To be frank I have been concerned over the last 6 months as to how fast the winning time was to be and had estimated between 4:36-4:38. In the morning Yang had done his first 100 meters in 1:03 and the decayed but swam a 4:44. Mohamed had coasted as had Smyrnov at 4:55, Donovan was at 4:57. The final was to be between these four men. Yang set an early pace but was soon passed by Mohamed. Donovan was in touch finishing the 200 in 2:15, but could not stay with Mohamed and Yang. The last 100 was anxiety provoking as his old nemesis, Smyrnov started to make a move. It was too little too late and for once in the Paralympics Donovan had beaten the much bigger and stronger man. His finishing time was well off his best time but we had gambled on going for gold with the fast first half, which he could not hold.

Tomorrow is the 100 free. Again he will have to find a way to the final as he did in the fly, as the field is very deep.

He swims in 11 hours. Hydration, and rest are now in order.

Sept 10

Sept 10

Today was recovery day. Weigh in at 0700, breakfast and then head to the pool for a 10:00AM swim. Transportation here has been exceptionally good as has been communications. Today was an exception. We arrived at the bus stop to get the 9:45 AM and were politely told the buses were not running! After a few gesticulations the problem was solved and we were shuffled to a bus scheduled to the Bird’s Nest, which left us a few blocks from the Cube. Although a little behind schedule we made it work.

We were careful today to be in full recovery, last night was a hard swim and despite a good night’s sleep we need to be sure Donovan is not over stressed. His heart rate was at all times below 140, usually 110. He swam 2600 meters with two 50’s at 400 pace, just to feel race speed. He was right on.

We have been very cautious regarding fluid containers. Earlier this week Donovan left his bottle at the warm down pool. I returned to fetch it and to my horror a Russian coach was holding it with the lid off! I politely took it and tossed it into the garbage! I have never seen this at any swim meet! I noticed he coaches 2 blind swimmers in Donovan’s class.

We went this evening to watch finals for an hour. It was quite a night for Canada and our S13 girls. As you know the latest is the new LZR suit from Speedo. They have played a role in multiple world records since February. We have been able to be out fitted by Speedo and most are wearing the new suits.

Tonight in the “ready room” (a gathering area prior to the swimmers’ march on) as Kirby Cote and Val Grande’Maison were zipping up their suits both had nightmares. Both suits ripped. The support staff sprung into action locating replacement suits and a quick change was made within minutes of the races! The result was incredible with Val winning the gold Chelsea Gotell winning the silver, Kirby missing the bronze by .5 seconds. The three ladies are pictured here, far more composed with suits intact. Picture “borrowed” from Swim Canada web site and likely taken by Chad Webb or Mike Ridewood.
Left to right, Kirby,Val,Chelsea

We have our own equipment failures, (not as exciting as Janet and Justin at the Super Bowl). In a race simulation the zipper on Donovan’s suit blew. He completed the set in record time but we have since replaced his suit!
The whole team is now very conscious of the need for replacement equipment and support staff is at the ready.

As this is posted we will be 12 hours from heats. There should no problem getting to finals, all we need is a lane.

The 100 fly

The 100 fly


The depth of S11 swimming has grown incredibly over the last 4 years. The winning time in Athens, 2004 was 1:06.34; in today’s heats there were 3 swimmers under that time. The Spanish swimmer Mohamed was just off his world record, and the ever-persistent Ukrainians were lurking as was the young Chinese swimmer Bozun Yang and the wily veteran Kawai. I was concerned that Donovan might not final, but he found a lane, qualifying 7th in 1:11.03. In fact, from my perspective he is lucky not to have been disqualified at the finish as his arms recovered a short distance underwater. Craig McCord was tapping at the finish end and appeared to move a judge out of the way to make the tap. I do not believe the judge re-positioned himself fast enough to see the infraction. Luck never hurts in this game, I am not impartial but Donovan did not gain any advantage with this finish, and I firmly believe the rules should be modified so a swimmer who is blind can make a reflexive defensive move when so close to a wall in order to protect themselves from injury when traveling at race speed.

After the race Donovan was a little disappointed with the time, he was hoping to go under 1:10. He warmed down his post race lactate was 12.8, after water and 1000 meters protocol swim it was 1.4, a good sign of his fitness and ability to recover. It is important to flush out lactate to recover in time for the next swim. Afterwards it was back to the village for pasta, hydration and a rest.

The evening swim was awesome.

Firstly the winner, Mohamed , from Spain broke a 20 year record, an amazing 1:01. for the 100 fly. The Ukranians caught the young Chinese swimmers to finish second and third. Interestingly the great Kawai held on and tied for third.

Donovan knew he was to swim significantly faster just to be in the race. To his credit he went out in 31.28, essentially tied with Smyrnov. He could not keep the pace up but managed a best time by 1 second, 1:09.53.

In an event we had entered to “get wet”, it was nice to see speed and a second swim. These guys are fast and all medals will take superb individual efforts!
Tomorrow will be rest, easy swimming, some pace work and prepare for the 400 free.

The meet is on!

Donovan does not swim until tomorrow. We have a number of responsibilities.

Firstly we need to stay sharp. His first race is the 100 fly. This is a strong event for him but the world has become much faster! He will have to go best time to qualify for finals. We have been working on fly drills, starts and turns. Today we practiced in the LZR suit. This suit is brand new to swimming and an excellent option for Donovan. He is very muscular in the lower body and the suit provides him with buoyancy and support for his mid section. His break outs are as fast as ever !

Secondly, he has to manage himself. He needs to maintain hydration, the proper number of calories and a disciplined diet. He has done a stellar job in this regard. Daily weights and urine specific gravity determinations provide objective feed back in this regard. He needs to protect his sleep and nap times, he has a lot of swimming, 5 events over six days a very tough schedule!

Thirdly, he has to visualize. (pretty tough for a blind guy!) He has been working with his sports psychologist in this regard and it has paid off

Last, but not least he needs to support his teammates. We will attend heats and finals to cheer on his teammates. The emotional support of one another is a key to team dynamic and success!

Opening Ceremonies

It was exhilarating! As we waited in the passageway leading into the stadium we could hear the din from the crowd of 91,000 as each country was introduced. Along the passageway were workers, security and performers taking pictures of our stunning hostess holding the Canada sign. Looking back behind us was the Canadian team, a sea of red many with flags all walking and rolling with pride and confidence. Pride is the single best word to describe being part of this exceptional group


Donovan and I had not had a chance to practice with the flag. He made a few key points abundantly clear. He wanted to walk with his cane, a signal of his disability and capability. He wanted a minimum of help holding the flag. This was accomplished by me giving verbal directions and holding on to the sling like flag holding device wrapped over his shoulder. I commented that his orientation and mobility instructors would not be impressed with this unapproved guiding technique!

Pictures with the help of Chad Webb

Donovan's Competition Times

When does Donovan swim ?

We are 1 day ahead

Tuesday September 9 100 fly
Thursday September 10 400 free
Friday September 11 100 free
Saturday September 12 100 back
Sunday September 13 50 free

Results can be seen at

http://results.beijing2008.cn/WRMP/ENG/Schedule/SW.shtml

The Flag Bearer

Debbie Low came to the microphone, “ And now what we have all been waiting for, the Flag Bearer is Donovan Tildesley!”

There was a loud cheer, the loudest from the swim team. I guided Donovan to the front of the room and we unfolded the flag to display to the team. Donovan is only 5 feet 7 inches tall and the audience could only see his eyes over the flag.

I have known him all his life and I have never seen him so genuinely surprised and emotional. He was literally shaking and I was concerned he would be incapacitated by the moment. After a short pause he regained his composure and was both eloquent and humorous in his speech.

It was only three weeks ago Donovan was informed that he was short listed to be the Flag Bearer for the 2008 Paralympic Team. The swim team had discussed a nominee and he had put his name forward. There are many swimmers worthy of the nomination, however most would be competing in the first 2 days. Donovan does not swim until day 3, volunteering would not adversely affect his performance.

The others named to the short list were Paul Gauthier, as well a multiple games participant and medalist in Boccia, and Chantal Petitclerc, competing in her 5 th games and a multiple gold medalist. Frankly I did not think he was in the running.

What followed next were interviews with the CBC, then a quick walk where the flag was actually raised in the International zone, followed by more interviews by phone.

By 10:30, he was ready for bed and I think we all were. Our Swim Canada press attaché, Erin Sulpher and CPC staff, Norma Revler and Judy Joseph-Black, had supported him throughout.

Although this honor can be a huge distraction and effect performances, I was struck by one of Donovan’s comments in his last interview, “I have never been in a better place mentally or physically in my life!
(Photos by coach Chad Webb and Erin Sulpher)

TV Times

For all those interested here are the broadcast times:

CBC ENGLISH

Saturday, Sept. 6: 19:00 to 20:00 (Opening Ceremony)

Saturday, Sept. 13: 13:00 to 15:30

Saturday, Sept. 20: 12:00 to 13:00

Saturday, Sept. 27: 14:00 to 15: 30


RADIO-CANADA (FRENCH TV)

Saturday, Sept. 27: 14:00 to 16:00

Saturday, Oct. 4: 14:00 to 16:00

One Week Before the First Race

One week before the first race


You could feel the buzz. It is hard to describe. As you enter the eating area you can feel the energy. You can discern the increase in noise, the louder bustle of movements; people seem to be walking faster. There are more food stations opened, more choices and yet the lines are longer. There are more wheel chair athletes, with their unique strategies for best navigating the queues, there are more colors as the village fills up with the participating national teams.

The inevitable march of time continues, we are getting closer to the competition and the more senior athletes are becoming focused. They all have their various mantras; some are obvious, some only known to themselves. We try to do Ruskos each day; these are the tests of heart rates done each morning lying and standing. (See Osaka: the first few days for a description). Donovan’s resting heart rate is 6 beats faster when lying, his response to standing is unchanged from last week, we think it is the anxiety of travel and adaptation to the village, we may modify training if it persists. He is not alone, many of the athletes are showing some subtle changes and the coaches are aware. It is because of these adaptive challenges that travel was timed to give a week in the village prior to the start of competition. All know that the preparatory work has been done; I like to say the cup cake has been baked; we now have to put on the icing.

Massage plays a huge role in this preparation, it relaxes and any minor injuries or sore points can be attended to. Also, our massage therapist, Vikki has known these swimmers for up to eight years, the swimmers are very comfortable talking to her, and they can allow themselves to decompress to ease some of their tension.

The coaches are meeting with Shane more frequently. He has valuable data on their hydration status, based on daily measurement of urine specific gravity and the Ruskos.

Today was a rest day for Donovan, a decision that was somewhat validated by his resting heart rate? He kicked back, answered emails and took a longer nap than usual. An S11 swimmer has many challenges. There is not only the swimming issues, such as staying straight and making quick turns after a tap, but out of pool concerns that need to be addressed. Today for instance I had checked on him a number of times and was reassured that all was quiet. I knew he wanted to nap and besides the door to his apartment was locked. The rooms here are really apartments. His has a front door with a separate key and there is a substantial common area as well as 3 bathrooms, and 4 bedrooms. Although the village is as secure as any we have been in we habitually lock both our individual rooms and the front door if no one is at home. When I came to his room for the second time, I knocked and was surprised that he was just on the other side of the main front door. The door was locked and it took rather precise instructions to extricate him!

We were able to have a leisurely lunch, Donovan caught up with another S11 swimmer from Ireland, Steven Campbell. He went blind a few years ago and is adapting admirably. He from Belfast where Donovan spent New Years a few years ago and they are able to share common memories and Donovan it appears knows most of the pubs.

After lunch we were getting our gear from the checkroom (all bags must be checked for security reasons). The system works surprisingly well here, an attendant comes out and provides you with a wrist band and yesterday she was able to 5 of our bags at once, by far the most efficient system we have seen. While in line there was a very pleasant S11 woman from New Zealand who responded to my describing her as Kiwi. Behind me was an Irish man, competing in sailing with right lower arm prosthesis that was essentially a hook with a pincer. After some jocular to and fro with her, he threatened to pinch her bum! In fact as the Kiwis left I noted he was continuing his apparently friendly conversation but following closely behind.

This morning at breakfast I scanned the cafeteria. In the 180 degrees I saw only 3 able bodied people. It is humbling to be a minority at these games, and inspirational to see the resolve, focus and determination.

We Are in Beijing

Yesterday was a travel day, an early wake up call, all luggage in the hallway by 6 AM, on the bus by 6:45 and at the airport by 7:45. We took off uneventfully . JAL have a camera in the nose of the plane so you can see lift off first hand as well as see the scenery below. (handy if you have an isle seat)

This will be my third Games; by far this has been the best transition from landing to the village. As we boarded the plane in Osaka we were given our Games ID, which also is our visa. The Games ID was validated upon landing, shortly after we had cleared customs in a special Paralympian lane. Forty-five minutes later we were in the village, our pre arranged room assignments allowed for key dispersal and quick access to our rooms. In the rooms was our Hudson Bay Company gear, which included t-shirts, shorts, pants, shorts, and ceremony gear.

The village is spectacular! I will try to dedicate a future blog to catch the essence of the beauty, organizational efficiency, and magnitude of the structures associated with these games.

We were able to train in a 10 lane “recreational pool” within the village. It was important to get a little limber after the 3.5 hr flight. After practice we had a team meeting with the mission staff to cover protocol issues, the hierarchy of who to talk to with a problem and of course our RCMP officer to give us the info on safety issues.

The morning came quickly and we bussed to the pool that had been used in the Asian Games. A magnificent building, the pool has 10 lanes and enough seats for an estimated 3000 fans.

So far we have run into some old friends. “Grub”, Graham Campbell from Australia. He is one of those men who are bigger than life, with a quick wit and a fan of Donovan’s. The two of them often compete with who has the rudest jokes! I sometimes think Donovan should have been an Australian! The Cuban head coach is here. She is unilingual but always communicative. She is my source of high-end Cuban cigars, which can be used to pay golfing bets with Kurt Aydin. At lunch we met the coach of the great Japanese swimmer, Kawai. He will be swimming in his fourth games, a teacher by profession and now well into his thirties. He swam 1:08.00 for the 100 fly last month, and is now ranked 3rd in the world.

On the way back from lunch we bumped in Smyrnov’s coach. Smyrnov won 5 gold medals in Athens, and was Donovan’s nemesis, they will all be competing hard, and they would have it no other way!

This afternoon we went to the Cube. Here are some pictures of this magnificent edifice. It is actually a building within a building, the outer shell made of plastic and the visual effect of making the building look as if it is bubbling.



We were to practice in the warm-down pool, but I took the opportunity to take Donovan into the competition pool. It is magnificent with some 20,000 seats. It is however much like the Olympic pools we have competed in, just new and familiar because of the recent TV exposure. Donovan felt the starting blocks and is pictured here giving lane 4 a kiss. He has never done this before, but I generally go with the flow. Old hockey players understand superstition. I left him standing for a minute, visualizing his tasks in the upcoming meet. As we prepared to walk away a Chinese reporter got our attention. She had taken a picture and very politely asked for his name. She tossed her notebook and I accommodated her request. As we were walking on, she very politely asked” Just one question, why was he kissing the block?” I left Donovan to answer, but we were both amused that the picture will likely make the local paper.

Tomorrow will be a day off. He has trained hard and a break is in order as we prepare for the final push.