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August 4, 2004 - Slowly but surely
everyone is settling into a routine which will carry on through the
Games. It was a pretty early morning for me as there were lots of small
details to work out.
After being stuck in customs for three days, our boxes of Harken gear were
finally released and delivered to the Palace Hotel which has been our
“home away from home” for the past three years. For the Olympics, the
hotel has been taken over by the press including BBC, SI, the Providence
Journal, etc.
I also checked out our living accommodations during the Games, but for
security reasons have been asked not to reveal locations and who will be
using them. They are very adequate and will make life easier for the
athletes during their competitions.
 Some of the athletes have indicated they will remain living in the
Athlete's Village once we have seen the travel time confirmed at 30/35
minutes. Thank heaven for the Athens Olympic bus/travel lanes! Every day
there is bumper-to-bumper, stop-and-go traffic while we breeze along in
the Olympic travel lane at 100 km (62 mph). The lanes are for any
official vehicle accredited by ATHOC, and that means the US Sailing Team’s
Tahoe may use these lanes as well. That will make all the small
errands relatively quick and easy (simple pleasures!).
Measurement started today and our Women’s 470 was the first USA boat to go
through. As with the first of anything at the Olympic Games the very
first boat to be measured took over four hours. By the time we were up
(second of the two boats scheduled to be measured today) Katie and
Isabelle breezed through with only a minor job for Carl tomorrow.
Many more teams are arriving every day and everyone was excited to see the
women’s soccer team – including Mia Hamm -- having dinner in the Village
dining hall. One nice thing about the Olympic Games is that everyone is
an athlete, whether sailor, professional soccer player or gymnast.
Our altered uniforms (for Opening and Closing Ceremonies) were returned
tonight -- we will all look our best representing the USA over the next
three weeks. |
