Final Post from Hungary!

by Jill Metz

Holy smokes, what a ride we had in Hungary! The final day of racing brought GOLD for James in the U24 500 meter small boat races—what a thrill! Lisa and Carol nabbed another bronze in the 500 meter standard boats (Sr. A) while my team grabbed silver (Sr. B) out-paddling the Aussies but still chasing Canada (but it was oh-so-close!) We all agreed that the Canadian national anthem (which I believe is forever ingrained in our heads) will be a huge motivator moving forward—we are committed to limiting the air time on that anthem in future racing! Final medal count: James (2) took a bronze and GOLD while Lisa, Carol and I (4 each) had two bronze and two silver). It's a little noisy walking around with multiple medals around your neck, but it's worth the strain!

A big shout out to WPC for sending us good vibes along the way! My experience in a Hungary has shown me that Wasabi Paddling Club is a world-class paddling club that has trained us well and is revered throughout the world by other clubs and teams. Thanks to the coaches, steers and teammates who comprise such a wonderful club! Signing off for now, but hoping to blog from another world event in the future!

IDBF Worlds, Szeged, Hungary: Day 4

by Jill Metz

Bronze is Beautiful, Baby!

Our second day of racing took us to the Olympic Centre Race Course on the outskirts of Szeged.  What a great racing venue with permanent structures for athletes to wait and rest in between heats that overlooks the racecourse.  It was a full day of 1,000 meter races.  By the time my team had arrived at the venue late morning, James had already finished his heats and had just missed the podium by one place.  Lisa, Carol and I all earned bronze medals with only a few seconds separating those on the podium in both Sr. A and B categories.. I snapped this photo of the flags at the podium ceremony for Sr. A women although the flags at the women's Sr. B ceremony were identical.  We continue to chase Canada and Australia and are visualizing GOLD for Team USA!

IDBF Worlds, Szeged, Hungary: Day 2

by Jill Metz

The opening ceremonies for the WDBRC were held last night in Szeged along the River Tisza. What a truly inspiring, fun and emotional ride seeing athletes from 40 countries celebrating together. I snapped this photo, which I feel captures the camaraderie and respect teams showed toward one another throughout the evening. Pretty cool if you ask me!

Team USA had a great day today with Wasabians capturing medals in each of their races in the 2,000 meters. The event was moved to the river from the race venue so we had the standard number of turns with the ensuing excitement with some boats crashing, some disqualified and others penalized. James' U24 team took bronze while Lisa and Carol's team (Women's Sr. A) and mine (Women's Sr. B) took silver! Lets just say we heard the Canadian national anthem A LOT!

We also had a chance to watch some of the other teams race this afternoon. The stroke rate of the Chinese is simply phenomenal; the Germans' and Canadians ' technique was flawless-- truly inspiring to watch. Tomorrow are the 1,000 races; teams will have two races each and will be evaluated by the combination of the two times. I hope to have more good news to report!

IDBF Worlds, Szeged, Hungary: Day 1

IDBF Worlds, Szeged, Hungary:  Day 1

by Jill Metz

The four of us arrived in Hungary safely and have settled in with our respective teams.  Szeged is a quaint and small university town located about 100 miles south of Budapest on the River Tisza. It's been fun walking around the town in the few spare moments we've had outside of our paddling responsibilities.

Today I was able to meet up with Lisa, Carol and James at the practice venue where we all had our first practices at the race site.  It is referred to as the "Olympic Centre" and is a very straight and long course.  Tomorrow (Tuesday) is another day of practice followed by the opening ceremonies tomorrow evening.  The first day of competition is Wednesday -- the 2,000 meters.  Word has it there will only be one turn which is somewhat unusual for a 2k, in my experience.  I Love the 2k and can't wait!  I'm so proud to be representing Wasabi Paddling Club and the USA, especially at this level of competition.   I hope to provide some results on my next post.