SCOTT RUSSELL - Olympic Javelin Thrower

2011-09-01T09:20:00.000-07:00

19th place - 77.49m (needed to be 12th to throw in final - 81.03m cut off)

It's hard to write this right now, but I will say it again, it is what it is. Some people might say, chalk it up to experience. I really don't need experience. I have it! Some will say they are so proud of me just making it here. Really, it's not about just being here! Don't get me wrong, I know you are all rpoud of my accomplishments and so am I. However, at 32, the only reason to do it, is to win medals! Oh, and I love throwing.

I wish I could say I felt terrible! I wish I could blame nearly getting killed by my javelin case. I wish I could say that our staff here wasn't the greatest (They're the best! Thanks Larry, Carm, Garfield and BOB!). The food was good enough and bad enough at the same time, so I didn't put on too much weight. I wish I could say that I was really intimidated by Andreas (Olympic Gold Medalist), Tero and the others, but I feel at home on the field. Really, I felt like a million bucks! Mentally, physically and emotionally.

So then why did it go so bad??? I just couldn't fly the javelin. Being able to fly a javelin takes so many things in sequence and timed up perfectly to throw far. Basically, you have to use your entire body to throw a 9 foot spear, but you have to hit in perfectly thru a 2" hole. Imagine trying to pitch a baseball thru a hole that only the baseball could fit thru (with no extra space). Hard right? Javelin throwing is harder. I could continue to explain how hard it is to fly a javelin, but unless you have thrown one, you rally won't understand (Kevin Romary & Andrew Baker - Lawrence, KS News 6 found out a month ago). Check out the link.

6 News - Lawrence :: Sports Challenge: Javelin

When it all ended tonight, it just didn't go the way I imagined my comeback to the world level would go. The hard part now, it going to be talking about how it didn't go well. Explaining to 400 middle school kids will be tough. Sorry fellas!

I wish people really understood what goes into being a top ranked javelin thrower. The amount of work it takes to balance work, training and family life. There are a few people that really know the ups and the downs of this crazy sport. The first being my parents, they have stood by me through thick and thin. I can't thank them enough. My brother, best bro a guy could have. my sisters (not sure if they understand this sport yet. All of my friends. My physio, chiro, and doctors (not sure if they totally understand it either, but I know they know what it's doing to my body). And they deserve a big thanks!!!! Dr. Rob Jones at Peak Performance has been helping me since 2001 and is one of the main reasons I can still compete. The Docs at OrthoKansas (Dr. Randal & Dr. Cupp). They have both taken stuff out of my body. Also, Jeremy Zimney, my physio! Great physio and great friend (can't wait for Thursday night poker, i only have two more months)!

Dr. Jones


Dr. Randall (Cleaned up my shoulder and knee)

Dr. Cupp (Knee injection)

Jeremy Zimney (Works on me every Friday)

Last but not least, is my wife, Tiffany. She knew the result before I could contact her.

"I saw the results. I am still proud of you and can't wait to see you soon." - words that make everything seem not as bad.

Tiffany and Myself at English Bay in Vancouver, BC. Our short vacation during the Canadian NTL Meets (July 1, 2011)

She really understands me, the sport, and the insane balancing act that I attempt to do on a daily basis. She is the one that gets cancelled on the most, but she always seems to understand. She is the one who hears all my complaining. She is the one that helps me down from the edge of the cliff, when I am about to jump. She is the one who I can't be without! I love everything you do for me and everything you are. Thanks for making this year happen.

I say this last line, because I was about to quit back in February. I was struggling with training and little injuries that were just making training painful. I felt like I wasn't progressing and falling farther and farther behind. We had a discussion about what was going on at practice and why I wanted to quit. WE decided that I would train until my first meet (KU Relays) and make the decision on May 1, if I would retire or not. And wouldn't you know it, I nearly qualified for worlds, so I decided to continue to train for Worlds this year. She helped make the decision with me to continue.

About a month ago, I was in a similar scenario again. I was not qualified for worlds and needed to qualify or retire. My last meet was in Toronto. I had 6 throws to qualify for worlds or walk away for good. That day was really strange, I was tweaking my groin on my warm up throws and did not feel good. The day before, I couldn't jog down the runway because my Achilles tendons were hurting so bad. My first two throws didn't qualify me. I get to my third throw and I recall thinking, "Is this how it's going to end? In Toronto, in front of my family? This would be a good way to go out." But my javelin flew farther than it had ever gone in my career. A Canadian National record! Sometimes things just work out.

Just when you think your ready to be done (and for me, I was retiring in Toronto), you have no hope or belief, something just clicks. You put it all together and you realize that you have the skill. the ability and the knowledge to be one of the best in the world!

Now, I return to tonight. There is nothing I can do to change this night. I can only move forward, onto the next year. If there will be one? At this point, I am ready to get the ball rolling towards London, but some things need to fall into place before I make my final decision, but I'm ready!

BAG of TRICKS

2011-08-31T21:15:00.000-07:00

What you need to throw at a World Championship or a twilight meet any day of the week.

1. Javelin Boots {CHECK}
2. Credentials to get into track {CHECK}
3. UNIFORM
Socks {CHECK}
Underwear {CHECK}
Hats - can't throw without one{CHECK}
Short Tights {CHECK}
Long Tight {CHECK}
Jersey with name on front, number on back {CHECK}
T-Shirt for warm-up {CHECK}
Long T-shirt for Warm up {CHECK}
Jacket and Pants {CHECK}
New Balance Shoes - PLUG (any one at New balance out there???? {CHECK}
Orthotics - For my messed up feet (did ya see em in the pick {CHECK}
4. Water bottle {CHECK}
5. Bag of Neoprene Braces to hold body together {CHECK}
6. Towel {OOOPS, throw that in...CHECK}
7. 1kg throwing ball {CHECK}
8. Foam Roller {CHECK}
9. IPOD with earbuds {CHECK}
10. GOOCH Ball {CHECK} those that have used it will understand
11. Sun-G's, you never know how bright the lights are {CHECK}
12.TOUGH AND BAD Band (BLMS!!!!) {CHECK}
13. Bag of Chalk -ROCK CHALK JAYHAWK!!! {CHECK}
14. Spider Tack - hand stick'em to the javelin in rain {CHECK}
15. WEDDING BAND {CHECK}
Last but not least,
16. HEAD tied on right {CHECK}

Basehor-Linwood MS - BULLDOGS

2011-08-30T07:12:00.000-07:00

The last two nights, I have Skyped my first hour health classes at Basehor-Linwood Middle School in Kansas. Tonight, I came to a realization! I am really lucky to be where I am in life. I have a fantastic wife, whom i love, miss very much and is substitute teaching for me. I have a baby on the way (October 23). I have a great job. I work for a set of great bosses (Thank you, Mike, Mike and David!). I work with a group of great teachers and people. AND I am a "professional" track and field athlete (I only put professional in "" marks, because professionals live on the money they make from their profession). And last, but not least, our kids in our school are great kids and students!!! I have a great life!

It makes you realize, that all the stress, work and dedication to doing everything that I do, all together, is really worth it (remind me to read this again, if I am ever saying that I am stressed or want to quit before I finish something).

I've been asked for a link to watch the World Champs, so here are a couple. I cannot guarantee that you will see me throwing, but they should show a couple of throws. Thank you Basehor-Linwood, Lawrence (the town I live in) and Windsor (the town where I grew up). You have put me in a great place!

The first two, you may have to pay for, but the feed will be great.

In Canada

In the U.S.A

This one will be free, but may not be good quality.

Anywhere in the World

This is a live feed from Europe. Tomorrow, there will only be the 20km race walk. But, it will be back to the full world championships on Thursday. Tomorrow is a down day on the track.

THE BIG SHOW

2011-08-28T00:18:00.000-07:00

Two nights ago, Jim Steacy (Hammer Throw), Heather Steacy (Hammer, Jim sister), Larry (Coach), Alex (Head Coach) and myself had the opportunity to walk onto the field in the Daegu Stadium. We walked into the stadium and wondered around, until we found our way to the field. While we were on the field, we realized, that the stadium security was doing a sweep of the entire stadium. There was about 20 officers each standing in their own row and walking the lower bowl of the stadium.

I calculated in my head that we had about 2 minutes before we got kicked off the field. I was right. A gentleman walked up to our head coach and struggled to find the nice way to say you have to leave. The way he said it was, "You...No...You Have to Go!" I think he was really trying to be nice, but didn't have the correct words in his English vocabulary to say it differently. He was nice enough to let us get a few pics.


Daegu Javelin Runway

The gentleman behind me booted us off the field


We walked thru the media area, here is where S.I. will be shooting from (end of the 100m).


Update of the Shoudler (Day 4)

Last night, was the opening night of the World Championships. The environment was electric! In the two years I had to take off, I had forgotten what it was like to be sitting in the stands with 65,000 people cheering on track and field athletes. After arriving, my adrenaline was running. It took me about an hour to relax and enjoy my roommate (Jim Steacy) competing in the Men's Hammer Throw. Unfortunately, Jim did not throw u to his expectations. However, I am really proud of him. He also was forced into taking two seasons off. He also had two surgeries, but instead of his heart (like me), he had one surgery on each foot. One, to repair a broken bone in his left foot and the second to repair torn tendons in his right ankle. Jim finished 19th with 73.32m (240ft).

Arrival in Daegu - 4" PVC Pipe + Escalator + Low Ceiling = BANG!

2011-08-25T06:35:00.000-07:00

The last week, Team Canada has been preparing for the World Track & Field Championships in Changwon City, Korea. I have been keeping busy. Currently, I am training once a day, so that leaves a lot of down time to fill. Lately, I have been filling this time with teaching. You will ask, how do you teach in Korea? Right now, I am just keeping up on my classes in Basehor-Linwood. I sat down the other day to finish locker assignments for boys P.E. This is a job and a half. While doing this, I ask myself a lot of questions. Who shouldn't be beside each other? Who will be good at sharing lockers? How will I space out my classes, so everyone has room? The locker room set up is really an art. This took me about 4 hours of work to arrange this.

Other things I do in my spare time...

Hang out with Jim Steacy (Right) at the track watching the 4x100m team run time trials.

Stand in tubs of ice (always good fun).

Tame wild Korean snow tigers.

The morning of the 24th, we left Changwon City (Team Canada has been there training for last week). We travelled by high speed train.

I was told 200km/h. The trip in total was 1hr. The country side was beautiful. It is what you would expect of Korea. Rivers, mountains, rice paddies, heron and cranes.

Upon arrival, the adventure began. We unloaded all our bags off the train and proceeded to the upper floor of the train station.

I'm just glad I'm not a pole vaulter

Earlier in the day, our throws coach was talking about his experiences in Budapest, Hungry as a javelin thrower. One story he had told me before, but he decided to share again. It involved a javelin case (pictured above), an escalator, a ceiling and a javelin thrower. So....today, I decided to demonstrate the story to everyone when we arrived at the station.

As I get on the escalator, I always check to see if I am going to have issues with my javelins at the top. From the bottom, it looked like there would be no issue. So I continued my conversation that I was having. NOTE, all of this I am about to tell you happen in about 2 seconds.As I get to the top of the escalator, I soon realize that the end of my javelin case (made out of 4" PVC) is lodging itself into the ceiling above. In my head there are many things that come to mind... kick the bottom out, QUICK... Pull on the top, QUICK... Yell HELP!!! ... Start to cry now, because something bad is about to happen. All I could do was wait. Wait, to see if 4" PVC is the same as 3/4" PVC pipe. Does it bend or does it splinter into sharp pieces. I only know about the splintering, because I attempted to find out if it was possible to bend 3/4" PVC without heating it, this summer. Well, 3/4" snaps and sends pieces of PVC flying in all directions. Who ever made my safety glasses, thank you.

This day, I didn't have safety glasses and the PVC pipe was 4". Does it snap??? I hope not!?!?!?! Back to the story... There I was with my javelin case wedged into the ceiling and the escalator running. Now, the case begins to bend away from me. Internal thought.... Wow, this piece of PVC is bending and not breaking...AMAZING! Oh wait, what happens next... It's gotta go somewhere?

Let's think about this. If it's bending away from me, it's either going to snap and the top of my case will hit me in the head or it is going to unload, like a spring and hit me somewhere between my head and toes. Next I hear a huge CRACK! And then BAM!!!!!!! My case just hit me in the stomach, chest and shoulder. At this point, all I can do is make a grunting sound (UUUUUUUUGH), because I cannot breathe. The wind has been knocked out of me. Next, I have to save myself from falling down 40-50 stairs and in doing so, save everyone behind me from the domino effect. I grab the rails of the escalator. One of our sprinters (Oluseyi Smith) is behind me and he helps me from falling. In about 10 more seconds I reach the top of the escalator and everyone give me a hand with my bags and body.

The first thing I do is laugh, because my coach was just talking about this less that one hour ago. Secondly, I have to make sure the pole vaulter in front of me and the sprinter behind me are ok. They say they are ok. Now, I can bend over and take a breath. Here, I feel like puking, but I think I'm ok. I take survey of all my parts. Head...CHECK! Chest...CHECK! Stomach...CHECK! Hips, knees legs and feet...CHECK! Arms... Left... CHECK! Right????? Oh NO! OUCH!!!!! The javelin case hit me in my throwing arm. I am battered and bruised, but it feels ok.

Within 5 minutes, we are on a bus and onto the athletes village.

30 minutes after accident

Today, our team doc, Linda Thyer, check out my shoulder and thinks it is ok. just to make sure it is just a bruise, we went on an Adventure called... the Korean Health Care System!!!!!


The ride


Dr. Thyer (Team Doc) and Me in an ambulance

The table I was X-rayed on

After a 2 1/2 hour trip to the hospital, we found out that I don't have anything wrong with my shoulder that wasn't already there. THANK YOU!!! I am just bruised.

One day after being an idiot on an escalator, and yes this is my throwing arm.

...and the peasants rejoice!

DAY OFF

2011-08-20T15:11:00.000-07:00

Most people have no idea of what it is like to go to a world championship. That is the best part of the trip, when you don't train, you always have the meet to go to. However, when you still have 12 days until you compete, you have a job to do. What is that job? To get ready to compete!

What does that involve? My training schedule is training (working out) at 4pm - 5pm. My program for training has three different days of training.

Day 1
Warm-up (400m jog, Sprint drills, rotator cuff exercises, hip exercises)
4-5 Short approach throws (for rhythm)
4-5 Full approach throws

Day 2

Warm-up (400m jog, Sprint drills, rotator cuff exercises, hip exercises)
10x 1kg (2.2lbs) ball throws from standing position into the throwing cage
6-8x 1kg 3-step throws for distance
8x 4kg 2 hand overhead heaves for distance
2x8ea 5kg Medicine Ball standing twists into wall

Day 3
DAY OFF!

Today was a day off. So, what do you do when you have a day off. Well...
This morning I went for a 1 1/2 hour walk to see what I could find. The previous night, while looking out the window, I saw a lighted area not far from the hotel. I figured why to start there. Once I got to this area, I quickly realized that it was just a little dirty area with some typical Asian restaurant and bars. It looked like a pretty rough area, but I felt safe. There are times on trips, where you just get and uneasy feeling. Like the trip I took to Rio de Janerio in 2007. I felt like something was going to happen anytime I wasn't in the hotel or the track. Today, I felt safe.

I walked around this area for about an hour. There really wasn't anything to do. Some of the shops that existed in this part of town were primarily mechanic shops and hardware stores. Not something you would intentionally seek out on a tourist map. The one thing I could do was take photos.

After my walk, I went to lunch and then had to get treatment for a few nagging injuries and body aches. Tonight I had our Physical Therapist, Bob, work on my hips. I have been really tight all year and this is one thing that always helps in my throwing. My second appointment was with Garfield, our massage therapist. I have been working with Garfield on Canadian National teams since 2001. The treatments we can recieve range from physical therapy and massage to chiropractor, acupuncture and cold baths. Basically, we have a team of therapist with us.

An athlete getting acupuncture on tight neck muscles.

Garfield worked on my abs and hips. Now, when you think of massage, your idea is that a person plays some light music, puts warm and great smelling massage oil on and gently applies it you your skin. Your treatment is usually focused on relaxation and stress relief. Let's put it this way, the massage that Garfield can put on you is anxiety ridden and stressful! But in the end, it is all about getting the tissues that he is focusing on (muscle) to be loose and function properly.

It is amazing how you can walk in and feel tight, sore or like something is out of place and our team of therapist put their hands of you and sometimes put you in more pain that the injury. In the end, you walk you feeling loose and overall great! Sometimes I think it's just because they have stopped inflicting pain. Really, I am grateful to have a group of therapist as talented, knowledgeable selfless and friendly as Garfield, Bob, Carmen, and Wilbur. Not to mention some of the past therapist like Marilou and Al B!

Best Flight of my Life!

2011-08-18T18:29:00.000-07:00

The last few blogs, I have been trying to catch everyone up on what my life was and what it has become. Now, I will start to begin this Blog the way it is meant to be done, follow me in the day to day, week to week and month to month leading up to the 2012 Olympic Games in London, England.

I left Kansas City on August 15th, the first day of in-service for school. I have had to take all ten of my days for the year and my remaining 5 that I have saved from the previous year. Should make for an interesting year, being that Tiffany (my wife) and I are having our first child in October.

Last week, we had a 3-D ultrasound last week. Which was our first glimpse of what are child looks like. And I must say, I think she has my nose.

So at this point in my life, you must imagine how difficult it is to leave a wife who is 7 1/2 month pregnant. Last last word of advise for my wife was, "Please carry this baby to full-term." We made a deal.

I left on August 16th and had the best long flight of my life. The flight from Chicago to Seoul, Korea was 11 hours. On the flight, I read 70 pages in my new book, Dan Brown's "Lost Symbol", watch 2 movies ("Limitless" & "Hanna") and slept for 6-8hrs. Now, let me tell you, with femurs (upper leg body) as long as mine, I usually have my knees driving into the back of the chair in front of me for 11hrs. This time, I was lucky and had an upgrade.

This was the the only reason that I was able to sleep for the first time ever on a plane. Usually, I will sit upright in my chair fighting sleep like an infant in a high chair. But this time, this is what I had...

This is the reason that I arrive in Seoul not feeling like I was rolled up in a sardine can for 11hrs. I was able to lay down on my side, back, front and basically get comfortable.

Upon arriving in Seoul, I had a 3 hour layover. Really not that much time. During that time, I Skyped Tiffany and made up locker combination lists for our middle school football team. Upon, leaving Seoul, I had one more flight to a city in the south east of Korea, called Busan.

When I arrived, my bag arrived, but my javelins didn't. At any point in my career prior to 2008, I would have been hysterically crying, but being a veteran in my sport, you just have to live by, "It is what it is!" If you stress the little things, you will not be successful.

At this point, it was 10:45pm on August 16th and there was a cab waiting for me. I love getting off a plane and there is someone with a card that says your name. After, getting my bags, we (one of our coaches, Jessica Zelinka - Canadian Heptathelete) hopped into the van and 45 minutes later, we arrrived at the hotel.

The team manager for Team Canada met us at the door with our room key and I was quick to get to my room and even faster to sleep!

The morning of the 17th, I walked to the track with our national throws coach (Larry Stienke - he writes my workouts and coaches me via youtube) and James Steacy (Canadian Record holder in the Hammer Throw).

The view from our room

Larry Steinke (Our Coach)

We are training in a large soccer stadium in Changwon City, Korea. The stadium seats approximately 25, 000 - 30,000. Team Canada has exclusive rights to the stadium from 9am-12:00am and 4:00pm-7pm.

Tough Road Back!

2011-08-17T21:09:00.000-07:00

This year of training was quite possibly the most difficult of my career. You take two years off, the issues with my body, and add to that a full time job (as a middle school PE & Health teacher) and you have a season of training that will have you questioning why you train.

The shortened version of my daily schedule looks like this.

6:15 am Wake Up
6:30am Out the door to Basehor-Linwood Middle School (Great place to be!)
7:00am Arrive at School
7:05am On a Physical Education Day - Set up gym for Lesson, Health Day - Prep for Lesson
7:50am 1st HOUR starts
2:55pm 8th HOUR ends
3:00pm Clean up classroom or Gym
3:15 - 3:30 Leave for Home
4:00pm - Let Dogs out, Grab a Snack
4:15pm - Off to my workout
4:30pm - Warm-Up
4:50pm - Start Throwing portion of workout
5:30-6:00pm - Head to weightroom
7:00pm - Head to Sauna or Home, if I am tired.
Bed time ranges, this year, between 7:30pm and 10:00pm. It really depended on the night, stress the workout, etc

Repeat day 2 and day 3 no workout. Repeat, Repeat, Repeat. There were a lot of nights this year, that I got to 4:15 and off to practice didn't happen due to fatigue. This kind of schedule isn't ideal for being a great teacher, a great athlete or a great husband. And that is why I struggled with desire to continue to do track.

In February this year, I nearly quit! I was continuing to have issues with both of my knees, I had bulged a disc in my low back and trying to get back into throwing shape was not happening. I felt like I was getting farther and farther away from my goal, returning to the World Championships and Olympics. I sat down with my wife and discussed my options. I could quit right now (Feb) and just walk away or I could wait until May and give myself a chance to see if I can still throw competitively. I really wanted to just stop, but I didn't train for 6 months to not see how I would do in a competition. I decided to make my decision on May 1st. The reason I did this, was to give myself a chance to do at least one meet, Kansas Relays.

April came around and I was still having issues with injuries. I had only throw a few times in between mid-March and Kansas Relays. About a week out from KU Relays, I was able to start throwing again. My first good practice in two and a half years came three days before Kansas Relays. Maybe I'm back?

I decided to rock the pink and the blue one more time. For those of you who don't know what the "pink and blues" are, they are the best uniform in NCAA athletics. Many people question why an athlete would want to wear fuschia. However, there have been many great NCAA and Olympic athletes that have worn them. To drop a couple of them, Bill Mills (Olympic Gold - 1960 10,000m) and Al Oerter (4x Olympic Gold Medalist - Discus). Why wouldn't you want to wear something that one of the greatest throwers of all-time wore? I wore, because of the pride in KU that I have and maybe there was a little magic let in that old Jersey.

My Series of throws was unreal! My first competitive throw in Two years was 79.31m! Insane! That is good enough for "B" Standard for the world championship. The rest of the day looked like this...
79.31m, 81.96m, 74.41m 75.60m 78.31m FOUL

That's right 81.96m. That was 4cm off of qualifying for the world championships (if it was after May 19th - opening of qualification period for Athletics Canada).

So, basically, I had to continue throwing. How could I quit, when I had just thrown my best opening throw in my career. Later in this season, I won my 9th Canadian Championship and decided to compete in Canada the remainder of the summer. I competed in the 1st Annual National Track League in Canada. To shorten this blog, I competed in 5 Meets (in two and a half weeks), the last won being the best.

Canadian Nationals - 77.46m
Edmonton - Cancelled because of rain
Vancouver - 79.51m
Victoria - 73.78m
Halifax - 79.43m

Toronto - 84.81m Canadian National Record!!!

Actually, I though Toronto would be the last meet of my career. I needed to throw 79.50m or better to qualify for the world championships in Korea. If I didn't do that I was finished and could begin my coaching career. I was mentally ready to be finished and I told myself that it is ok if I am done. Just when you think there isn't a hope and you just don't care, you find something in you that blows your mind. My third throw flew and I knew it was good, but didn't know how good. 84.81m!!! Canadian National Record! World Qualifier! #8 World Ranking. And more than enough reason for me to believe that I can be one of the top javelin throwers in the world at the world championships and Olympics

There were many times this year that I wanted to quit. There are even times now, I question why I am still doing this, but the simple answer is that I love this sport and I don't feel like I have accomplished all that I am capable of.

Welcome Back!

2011-08-16T21:27:00.000-07:00

Wasn't really sure what to name this new entry, but I thought that "Welcome Back!" is fitting after being off for two seasons. Those who are close to me, know and understand why I was forced to take two competitive years off. And that is where I will re-start my blogging. Sorry, but this first one may be long, it's been over two years since I last posted.

The 2008 Olympics were successful, but I tore my left Patella tendon 3 days before qualifying (not complete and in-fact probably really small). That wasn't the only thing going wrong with me that year. I had chipped cartilage in my right knee in May before qualifying. This didn't make throwing a javelin easier. The big issue was my heart!

After the Olympics, I also accepted a teaching position at Basehor- Linwood Middle school as there Boys Health & P.E. teacher (more on this in another post). I also got married in November of 2008 to my now wife. Everything was great, except my body which felt like it was falling apart. Now, back to the heart.

You might say, "YOUR HEART!?!?!?" How does an Olympian have issues with there heart. I said the same thing, but at the time, there was a lot of publicity about a few NFL football players dropping dead at training camps that summer. So you might ask, how I figured out that I had a problem.

Well, one of my good friends in Kansas (Chris Dunback) asked me to play recreation basketball in Eudora, KS (10 minutes from where I live in Lawrence, KS). I thought it would be a great way to get back into shape after taking 2 months off after Beijing. One of the first games, we were playing a zone defence and I was in the middle of it. I felt tired and my heart was beating really fast, I felt completely out of breath and next thing I know is that I can't see anything. My field of vision narrowed and completely went black. I ducked my head and went out of the game under the basket. Everyone asked me what was wrong and all I could tell them was that I couldn't see!

I sat down on the bench and took some time to catch my breath. My friends wife said that I looked really pale. And I felt like it. I caught my breath and my heart rate decreased. At this point, I thought it would be a good time to get checked out by a doctor.

I asked the KU (University of Kansas) athletic trainers who they use for cardiovascular screenings. I guessed that would be a good place to start. The recommended Cardiovascular Consultants in Lawrence, KS. I called and set up an appointment.

Upon seeing my doctor, he said that it sounded like I may have Artial Flutter. For the next month, he hooked me up to a heart monitor to record what my heart was doing when I was having symptoms. The doctor said that I should not lift anything heavier than 10 lbs or do anything too strenuous. I told him that I am a world class javelin thrower trying to prepare for the next world championships (2009 - Berlin). That being said, I was only getting symptoms when I was active. So my doctor said I could do everything normal until I get 1 recording.

After wearing this monitor for a month, we found out that I have Atrial Flutter and possibly atrial fibrilation (Which my father was diagnosed with the winter of '08). On the follow up visit, I just wanted to know what the treatment was. After talking to my doctor for 30mintues, he held his hand above his head and said "Doc, it hurts when I do this." Basically, he was telling me to not do what hurts. All I really wanted to know was, is there medicine or surgery to fix it. When i aksed he directed me to an EP (Electrical Physiologist) in Kansas City, Dr. Ramza.

Best doc ever. He dumb down all the technical information (even thought I didn't need it). What they needed to do was a surgery called an ablation. Basically, they had to go into my femoral artery in my hip, travel up to my right atrium and cauterize (Burn with a laser) a nerve.

I had the surgery in October of 2010. The next day in the hospital, the nurses had me walk every half hour to get ready to go home. While walking down the hallway with my wife, I passed out completely! Hope I am fixed. It was great for a week, but got 100 times worse the second week. At this point I couldn't walk up a flight of stairs without my heart racing and having to bend over and rest. There were times teaching, that I was concerned I might pass out. I re-visited my doctor in KC and he told me that they treat it conservatively to not do too much damage. I thought, what a good idea, but I want to be fixed. Schedule ablation #2. And what a great New Years 2011 it was. Heart Surgery and laying in a bed (hope I don't pass out again - I didn't).

Once the heart was fixed I could go back to training for throwing a stick and get ready for the World Championships in Korea. More on training to Qualify for the 2011 Worlds, next time.

After Thoughts and Future Thoughts

2008-11-06T16:43:00.000-08:00

One of my close friends has been giving me grief about finishing my Olympic blog. i didn't realize it until now, but I left it in a cliff hanger. So here are my thoughts in retrospect of the 2008 Olympic Games, my experience and the experiences that lay before me.

The night of the final was just another day playing Javelin. I was so relaxed and ment to be there. In warming up, I was continuing to have difficulties with both my knees. I knew that my best chance of throwing far would have to be early in the competition. I opened the Olympic final with a throw of 80.90m. I improved my mark from the qualifying round by almost 50cm. My knees felt like they were going to blow. However, I wanted more than just making the final. I ran a little harder on my second attempt and came up short (78m). At this point I questioned whether I had one more throw in my knees. I was currently sitting in 8th place going into the third round, but was passed up coming into my last throw (top 8 places get three more throws). I came down the runway with doubt in my head. I tried to block it out, but my knees were killing me. I planted my left leg to throw and it gave out. I hobbled thru the end of the runway and put my head down in shame.

I was passed by one more thrower in the third round, to finish 10th. Looking back at what I did at the Olympic Games, I am extremely shocked, pleased and excited to the potential of the future.

Firstly, I'm shocked because I would have never thought back in fourth grade (when I first heard about the olympics) that I would not only be competing in the olympics, but be one of the top competitors. In an earlier post I discussed injuring my right knee (chipped piece of cartilage in May). At the time it occured, I thought my chances of making an Olympic Team would have to wait another four years. Luckily, I found my technical form and had a few injections of Hylagan (Rooster Comb) into my knee to have it feel good enough to make the standard.

Secondly, I am extremely pleased. How could I not be. I have accomplished a major life goal. I have put life on hold for so long to achieve this goal and now it is complete, or is it. To finish 10th in the world.... be the 10th best javelin thrower in the Olympic Games... WOW! It's extremely pleasing to compete well at major championships. I have been to other world championships and have not competed well and it is extremely disappointing. A majority of people don't understand the sacrifices and time that is put into making it to The Games. Some athletes seem to make it look easy. They excelled in high school, University and then go into the pros. Not only "go pro", but win at the professional level. My path hasn't been the smoothest to get to this point, but all the hours and sacrifices have been worth everyone of the 6 seconds that I came down the runway at the Olympic Games.

Lastly, I am extremely excited about the potential that I have seen in myself at the Olympic Games. Yes, I placed 10th, but my personal best (84.41m) would have placed me 4TH! I have now made the realization, that I should be competing and training for a medal at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin.

It's a long road to Berlin and an even longer road to London, but WHY NOT?

Olympic Video

2008-11-03T18:22:00.000-08:00

Olympic FINAL!

2008-08-22T06:58:00.000-07:00

The Bird's Nest and Warm-up Track - View from the CBC Broadcasting booth in the Olympic Tower.

For the last 3 Olympiad or 12 years, I had a goal of making the Canadian Olympic Team. On June 15th, when I made my standard to be selected for the team, I started to analyze my whole thought process.

The view from the Olympic Tower - I was interviewed in CBC's Broadcasting booth. I filled in for Scott Russell (the Ankorman)

I had a goal that was unatainable for so long and was number one in terms of life goals. What do you do when you achieve your greatest goal? The thought that went through my head was will I be satisfied with making the team? And the answer is NO!

When I made standard, it didn't seem real, when I was anounced a member of the team, it wasn't real and now that I am here it doesn't seem real. Not in a living dream kind of way, but a relaxed, fun and like I've been here before. This feeling is obviously becuae of my experience with other World Championship team, but something feels different this year.

This year I had a different attitude toward the sport, my event and the things that happen in life when you don't expect it (injuries, etc). I was given a cloth ("clan clooth" - scotish family cloth) this year from my fiancee's cousin. I didn't know this saying was attached to my family's origin in Scotland. The saying is,

CHE SARA SARA

What will be, will be.

I didnt' know that I was living this saying every day this year. I have had a different attitude this year. When I had surgery on my right knee in September, I didn't care, I knew it would heal. When I strained my hamstring in January, I didn't care, it would heal. When I strained my groin in March and again in April, it didn't matter. I would be ready! Then I chipped a piece of cartilage in my knee and I thought my chance for making the team was over. However, I treated it like every other mishap that occurred this year. IT'S NOT GOING TO STOP ME!

When I woke up on the morning of the qualifying round and saw rain, IT DIDN'T MATTER! It wouldn't stop me. When the event was delayed an hour and I had to warm up again. THAT WOULDN'T STOP ME.

NOTHING WILL STOP ME.

I can't tell you what my result will be tomorrow night here in CHINA, but I can tell you one thing, that there will be nothing that will stop me from leaving everything on the track and having no regrets!

Faith

2008-08-20T15:09:00.000-07:00

5:00am wake up,

Open the blinds,

No sign of light,

Rain,

No worries,

Preperation!

Competition!

Redemption!

Blind Faith!

Thank you for all the support. I love you all!

Scott

The Startlist is UP! 9AM it is!

2008-08-20T00:19:00.000-07:00

Javelin Throw - M

QualificationQual. rule: qualification standard 82.50m or at least best 12 qualified.

Group A
Thursday 21 August 2008 - 9:10
Order
Athlete
Country
SB 2008
PB

1
Magnus Arvidsson
SWE
83.28
85.75
2
Uladzimir Kazlou
BLR
80.52
80.52
3
Bobur Shokirjonov
UZB
77.92
77.92
4
Jarrod Bannister
AUS
89.02
89.02
5
Igor Janik
POL
83.21
83.38
6
Teemu Wirkkala
FIN
84.10
84.10
7
Jae-Myong Park
KOR
79.23
83.99
8
Breaux Greer
USA
67.20
91.29
9
John Robert Oosthuizen
RSA
86.80
86.80
10
Víctor Fatecha
PAR
76.55
78.01
11
Sergey Makarov
RUS
86.88
92.61
12
Ignacio Guerra
CHI
78.54
78.54
13
Ainars Kovals
LAT
80.24
85.95
14
Eriks Rags
LAT
85.05
86.47
15
Anier Boué
CUB
79.45
80.53
16
Stephan Steding
GER
83.50
83.50
17
Yukifumi Murakami
JPN
79.71
81.71
18
Csongor Olteán
HUN
72.82
78.15
19
Scott Russell
CAN
83.20
84.41

Group B
Thursday 21 August 2008 - 10:40
1
Melik Janoyan
ARM
78.03
78.03
2
Leigh Smith
USA
83.74
83.74
3
Stuart Farquhar
NZL
83.23
83.23
4
Aleksandr Ivanov
RUS
83.21
88.90
5
Kolyo Neshev
BUL
75.73
82.55
6
Mihkel Kukk
EST
81.77
81.77
7
Tero Pitkämäki
FIN
87.70
91.53
8
Matija Kranjc
SLO
76.15
78.08
9
Qi Chen
CHN
79.25
81.38
10
Pablo Pietrobelli
ARG
78.52
79.45
11
Roman Avramenko
UKR
80.08
80.08
12
Ilya Korotkov
RUS
84.04
84.04
13
Ioánnis-Yeóryios Smaliós
GRE
79.33
79.33
14
Vadims Vasilevskis
LAT
85.78
90.73
15
Alexander Vieweg
GER
83.27
83.27
16
Andreas Thorkildsen
NOR
87.73
91.59
17
Tero Järvenpää
FIN
86.68
86.68
18
Vítezslav Veselý
CZE
79.80
79.80
19
Mike Hazle
USA
82.21
82.21

Where the Dream Started

2008-08-19T02:02:00.001-07:00

Everyone must wonder where the Olympic Dream begins. Is it an inner drive from competition over the years? Maybe. Is it the drive of the individual to be the best in there sport and this is the only place to test it? Quite possible.

My Olympic dream started back in 4th grade. The year was 1988! The Calagary Olympics in Canada! That year I was in Mrs. Flukes 4th grade class. During the Olympics that year, we did an Olympic unit during the games. My memory for the actual unit is not good, but I do remember being a member of the Brazilian Bobsled Team. Which now seems absolutly hilarious, but at the time it couldn't have been more perfect.

It just happens, that another Windsor (Ontario, Canada) native was competing in those olympics. His name is Chris Lori (Bobsled Driver) and at the time he was my hero. Chris Lori was going to compete in the Winter Olympics as a bobsledder (I think that is the correct term) and so was I (but our grade 4 Olympics).

Thanks to Helen Ule and Facebook, I was reminded of the day of my Brazilian glory. (I'm in the green pants and yes, our bobsled was my mom's red wagon, but it was the best bobsled and fastest one we had).

I remember the torch run that when it came through Windsor, the mascotts and I remember how amazed I was at my chance to be part of the Olympic. Since that winter, when Mrs. Fluke introduced me to the Olympic Games, I have been hooked. It started as a fan and now it is a little more than a day away.

The '88 Olympic Torch

Hidy and Howdy, the '88 official mascots

Tonight, I will goto the stadium to relax and watch a couple of events. Other than that it has been only on the TV that I have been able to be a part of the game. My time is coming...

Back to Beijing

2008-08-18T16:43:00.000-07:00

It has been a few days since my last entry, so there has been a few things occurring since then. I am now comfortably In my room in the Olympic Village again. If you missed my previous posts, I was training in Singapore with the Canadian national track and field team (for about two days – Half of the team left for Beijing on the 11th). Camp was good and the 45 minute drive to the track turned out to prepare me for sitting on buses and in taxis in Beijing. There’s a little story to that one.

At large international events, whether that be an Olympic Games or a world championship, large companies like Nike, Adidas, Budweiser, etc, have hospitality suites. Yesterday (18th), Massimo Bertochi decided to take a cab down to the Nike hospitality. It is set up inside Dang Dan Sports Center. I have no idea what the center is for, but it is currently wrapped in Nike. This is where being a sponsored athlete is really nice. Nike had a package for Nike sponsored athletes. It consisted of 3-4 t-shirts, 2-3 shorts, sunglasses, a watch, 2-3 pairs of shoes and a bag to carry it home in. I personally witnessed our decathlete receive approximately 11 pairs of shoes! It almost made me jealous, but I realized that I only have to do one event in one day, and he has to do 5 a day! And one of those events is the 1500m, poor Massimo.

The Nike hospitality suite - Dang Dan Sports Center

After sitting at Nike for about an hour, we needed to get back to the village for diner (Nike also has food services for us, but we were too late). For comparison, the cab ride to Nike took about 20-30minutes and cost about 35 yuan (Chinese dollar – about 15:1 for the USD). On the way back, I think that the driver wanted to let us see his beautiful city of Beijing. Don’t get me wrong, I want to see the city, but not from a cab window. The ride back to the village must have been 1 ½ hrs. The ride cost us 75 yuan and the driver knew that we knew he was lost. I really believe that none of the taxi drivers know this area of the city. I assume that this section of Beijing has been close to the public until the opening of the games. And a large section (the Olympic Village) is really unknown to the population.

The view from my hour cab ride

Needless to say, my knees didn’t need to be stuck in the back of the cab for that long. Luckily, our physical therapist, Mary Lou Lamy, was ready to treat me when we returned. The knees almost feel normal now.

PS - 2 days left

Bad Practice, Good Practice

2008-08-15T02:43:00.000-07:00

As a few of you know, I had surgery this fall on my right knee. I had a piece of my lateral meniscus removed (Cartilage). It was an extremely long rehab and I only started training in January (usually start in October). Even with the lack of a good fall of training, I came out with a bang. I opened my season with 81.53m (267'). However, I reagrivated my right groin. This took me about two weeks to start feeling better from and BINGO! I had chipped a piece of cartilage off of my femur (right behind my knee cap). Needless to say, it hurt.

This is where I get to my bad practice. My first thrwoing session went well when I arrived in Singapore. I threw 74m (240') from a short approach. Which is a good practice throw for me. Then the BAD practice happened. I felt good through my easy throws, but the second I brought a little more speed down the runway, my knee really hurt. I finished the practice with a best of 70m (NOT SO GOOD). My next throwing session isn't until the 18th. So I will post about that later.

Now the good practice happend today! I think because I had all my streching ropes, rehab equipement and a clean pair of underwear on. It was my last heavy lift and I was worried that my knee wouldn't let me do it. I talked to my knee and it said "Go ahead, have a good day, I'll let ya this time." I truly believe my knee has a life of its own this year. Some day sgreat others terrible. Basically, I got through my lif twith little to no pain.

Hears what it looked like.

Hang Snatch Pulls
3 @ 60k
3 @ 80k
3@ 90k
3@ 100k
3 @ 110k
3 @ 120k

Squat
5 @ 70k
5@ 80k
5 @ 90k
5 @ 100k
3 @ 110k
3 @ 130k (Big jump becuase 110k felt too easy)

Pullover
4 x 5 @ 50k

Abs and Rehab

The Bag That Travelled the World

2008-08-14T23:41:00.000-07:00

This man was performing in a classical chinese band for a hand puppet show in Singapore.

Let’s start with my luggage! Well, I left Kansas City on the 6th of August at 8:00am. And I arrived in Beijing at 3:00pm on August 7th. I waited around for what seemed like 2 hours. Oh ya, it was. The flight I was on was United 851 from Chicago O’hare. Every athlete on the team said they knew it was Chicago, but I have never had any problems in Chicago. However, this time, I did!

What happened first was I picked up my javelin (really fun to travel with! {Sarcasm!}). I gave the woman my claim tickets for my bags. She took the one for my javelin and gave my other claim ticket back. I then continued to wait. The baggage claim I was on unloaded my flight, a flight from Stockholm, Sweden and started to unload a flight from Osaka, Japan. At this point I made the realization, that my bag wasn’t showing up any time soon.

I decided that I would go to the United lost baggage desk. However, in Beijing there is just one desk that handles all lost baggage. Oh, and nobody is fluent in English! NICE! So you can imagine the struggle to tell them that their agent at the oversized luggage gave me the wrong claim ticket. When I looked at my claim ticket, it read, “Mcvey, Deborah.” [Are you following me?]

So I think that the woman that handled my javelins and claim tickets gave me the wrong one back. Well, it turns out that what really happened was the agent in Kansas City put the wrong tag on my bag. WOW! All I can think is how did that happen?

Basically, I sit and bang my head against the wall for about a half hour and they tell me they don’t know where my bag is. All I can do is laugh! If something with travel can go wrong, it will go wrong to Scott Russell (me). Not to sweat though, I’ve learned through the years of competing in Europe, that if you have your javelin boots, that’s all you need. I had been through much worse. I’ve slept on the floor of the Seatle Washington/ Tacoma Airport floor, because I didn’t have enough money for a hotel I’ve even showed up to the airport to fly to the World Cup in Athens, Greece and I had a ticket, but it was not purchased. It was going to be $3600. Nice try! Spent that trip at home and I’m still bitter.

Luckily, that when I arrived in Beijing, I was headed to our uniform fitting. Thank god! This gave me a good amount of clothing. The next day I went to the Nike Hospitality to pick up my package. This gave me a few more shirts, shorts and shoes.

At this point, I was happy to have any cloths. However, one pair of socks and one pair of underwear is not nearly enough. Hand washing your underwear every day and hanging it to dry isn’t fun. But I made it work.

So….. my bag shows up to Beijing on the 11th. However, I’m in Singapore. Ingrid our team manager (my savior) had my bag shipped UPS. I truly thank you Ingrid! Basically, my Bag has seen more of the world than I have on this trip.

In the end, I get my bag last night (Aug 14th) at 9:00pm. All I can say is it’s nice to have two pair of underwear!

What I look like when I get my luggage. HAPPY!

Singapore, Singapore

2008-08-14T23:32:00.000-07:00

This is a Lamp shade at a Brazilian Steak House that we went to last night.

I apologize to those who have been following my blog. As most of you know, I am currently in Singapore. Which is both a country and a city. It is actually a small island south of Malaysia. This is where the Canadian track and field team is based for preparations for Beijing.

I am part of the last group of athletes that will leave Singapore. However, the first set of Canadian (track and field) athletes has just begun competing today. My friend Jim Steacy (he throws the Hammer Throw – Yes, the ball on a chain) threw this morning and qualified for the final that will be held on August 17th. I am totally excited to watch his final. Only, this time I will not be watching it from Singapore, because my group enters Beijing on that afternoon.

So, many of you may be wondering, “Why Singapore?” I ask myself the same question. I assume it is because of the extreme excitement of being in the Athlete’s Village and the surrounding competitions. I assume that if we are not in Beijing, then there is less chance of distraction. The second reason from my understanding is the potential effect of the pollution on performance. Personally, I though it looked my worse then it was. However, I was there for less than 48 hours. I’m sure it may be worse if I lived there permanently.

Now, what does an athlete do at a training camp? Well…. Train, Eat and Sleep. I know, I’m in Singapore! It must be exciting? Not really. And that is why it has taken me so long to post again. When there is nothing happening, it’s hard to write about. I would have a lot of post that would ready,

The sign outside of the train station next to the Bukit Gabok National Training Center in Singapore (the title makes it sound glamorous, it's nice.)

“I woke up at 5am this morning for breakfast, then I went to the track at 9:30am, then I ate lunch at 1:00pm, then I went to the physio for massage and treatment (that’s actually quite nice to not have to pay for!), then I had diner at 6:30pm and then I watched the Olympics on TV and went to bed at 10:00am and did it all again the next day.”

However, I felt with the start of track and field and a bad practice, a good practice and my luggage finally arriving, I had a little more to write about today.

If you live in Canada, here is when I will be televised.

2008-08-14T23:08:00.000-07:00

CBCSPORTS.CA PRESENTS LIVE ONLINE STREAMING OF
THE 2008 OLYMPIC GAMES FROM BEIJING, CHINA

CBC is on the inside track in Beijing, China this week with live online streaming of the 2008 Olympic Games at cbcsports.ca. Coverage of Athletics begins on Thursday August 14 at 9:00pm Eastern Standard Time (EST).

CBC Schedule of Athletics (EST)

Thursday August 21
10:40pm
Javelin
Qualification
Scott Russell
Windsor, ON

Saturday August 23
7:10am
Javelin
FINAL
Scott Russell*
Windsor, ON

* To compete at that day and time the athlete must have qualified from an earlier event (Heats, Quarter-Final or Semi-Final)

Visit? http://www.cbc.ca/olympics/schedule/ for the complete online streaming schedule.

CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) Live FEEDS!

2008-08-11T02:59:00.000-07:00

From my understanding, the CBC has nine live feeds from the Games. I'm not going to say that omne will specifically cover the javelin, but there is a good chance that there will be at least one live feed for track and field. The web address is:

http://www.cbc.ca/olympics/livevideo/

I hope they cover the event.

Letter from DAD

2008-08-10T17:53:00.000-07:00

Just recieved an email from my lovely Father! When you recieve things like this and talk to a man that has been all about supporting his family through the thick and thin! I have never thought that a father could be more proud than my dad has been through my career. Nore Could a father have been more supportive. I love my Dad and he is one of my inspirations for competing! Love you DAD! SCOTT.

"Hi buddy

Love the Blog Scooter. It's like I always said to you guys and Like I found out. Sometimes you learn more in defeat than you do in victory . A defeat can fire up your personal drive. If you compete then part of your person says all the time I can do better or I'll prove to you guys somethnig about me. Having the heart to get up over and over again tells you something about your mental toughness. There are many competions within the competion.

So Hold On Tight To Your Dreams ELO.

Dad

First Throwing Day.

2008-08-10T08:04:00.000-07:00

Usually when I travel, I'm ok on day one and three, but day 4 through 7 I feel pretty crappy. However, today is my third day over here and practice went well. All things being considered!

I left Lawrence on the 6th, traveled for way too many hours (Chicago to Beijing was 13 hours alone. That doesn't include the flight to Chicago from KC (1 1/2hrs) and the time to the airport (45min). I also had a three hour lay over in Chicago.

I did some light weights on the 8th. Then did the opening ceremonies that night. Left the village at 6:30pm and got back to the Village at 1:30am. One cool thing that happen on the way to the dining hall was I saw Chris Bausch (Toronto Raptor - American). Massimo (Canadian Decathlete) and I stopped into the bathroom. Who else was in there? Jason Kidd, Chris Paul and Lebron James. I know it's not a real glorifying story of seeing these guys, but you know what, I talked to Chris Bausch and being in the presence of these guys was cool. I don't really get star struck, but this was one of those moments. The only other time was when I competed against Jan Zelezny (World Record Holder in the Javelin - 98.48m).

Then on the 9th, I traveled to Sigapore. Had 2 1/2 hrs of sleep and left at 6:00am and arrived at 2:30PM. I attempted to do a warmup on an elyptical that night, but I got to 1 mile and realized I wasn't sweating at all. That's Weird! I then had my specific gravity taken. If you don't know what that is, basically, I pee in a cup and the team doctor puts it on a machine and it measures the density of my urine. Which then spits out a number that tells me if I am dehydrated and suprise, I was!

As for my training today, I had an easy technical throwing session. I threw from short approach which mean I don't run very hard, but I still accelerate into the block (Javelin terminology for my leg leg). Of the 7 short approach throw that I took, I had 4 just over 70m and one between 74m and 75m. I know it doesn't sound that impressive when your PB/PR is 84.41m, but my best in practice is 78m. Needless to say, a fair start.

_____________________________________________________________________

Here's what the training looked like since I arrived

Aug 6th
Depart house at 5:00am

Aug 7th
Arrive in Beijing 3:20pm

Aug 8th
9am
10mike Stationary Bike
30min stretching
Squat
6@ 60k
6@ 60k
6@ 70k
6@ 80k
6@ 80k
Pullover
5 x 5 @ 40k

11:30am
30min massage

6pm-2am
Opening Ceremonies

Aug 9th
Travel to Singapore - 6:00am
Arrive in Singapore - 2:30PM

7pm
1.0 miles on Elyptical
approximately 7 minute

8pm
30min Massage

Aug 10th
5:30am
Wakeup

930am
On bus to track

10:30am
Arrive at track
Warm-up/Stretch/Sprint Drills
Picks up and down field 1x each (approx 10 throws)
easy 7 steps (approximately 5-8 in the grass)
easy 7 steps (4 off of track)
Short Approach (7 off of track)
BEST Average
74-75m 70m

4:00pm
Art/Chiro with Gerry Ramogida

Perseverance

2008-08-09T18:11:00.000-07:00

No, you can't always get what you want
And if you try sometime you find
You get what you need

As I sit in Singapore reflecting on the events of 8-8-08, I recall the lyrics of Mick Jagger. You can want something so bad in life, whether that be material things, wealth, happiness or in my case a life long goal, but sometimes things get in the way and you don’t achieve these things. I have felt this way for so long. When I missed qualifying for the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games, I felt like I was still too young and immature in this sport to be extremely upset. I was nowhere near my peak in terms of age, so I was not heart broken. At the time I was still a Jayhawk at the University of Kansas and I had two more years of competition in the NCAA to look forward to.

The Canadian delegation prepares to depart for the opening ceremonies

On the other hand, the 2004 Olympics were a heart breaker. I was EXPECTING to qualify for these Games. How do you take not achieving a life time goal? At the time I felt like life was over! You train for four years with the expectation of making a team and in the end, you get nothing. I recall standing at the back of the runway in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada at the 2004 Olympic trials with one throw left to qualify for the Olympic Games.

Yao Ming - China's Flag Bearrer

Down the runway,

Carry your speed,

Hand High,
Quick to the block,

Finish the throw!

NOTHING but Tears.

Tim Barett (50Km Race Walk) and Nicole Forrester (High Jump) wait for the athletes parade to start.

Most of you know my 2005 season. I was determined to redeem myself. My funding from Sport Canada was dropped and Nike dropped me. I was determined to prove everyone wrong! It was extremely easy to train with a chip on my shoulder. Every session, I would think of the people who doubted my ability. If a run or a lift was difficult, I would think, “They don’t think you can do this!” Training went great all year. The only problem was I was not seeing the result in meets.

Tim Barett and myself sweating enough to fill the swimming pool in the water cube. I lost 4 lbs.

It’s extremely difficult to feel like you are as fast, as strong and as ready to throw far as you ever have been and get nothing in terms of results. I felt ready all year. I even warmed up that year at the KU Relays at 82m (really far for warming up). All I could manage all year was 73m to 75m. What I thought was going to be my last chance to qualify for the 2005 World Championships in Helsinki, Finland was the Canadian Championships in Winnipeg, Manitoba. I threw 77m which was a great throw in the monster of a head wind that we threw into, but not far enough to make the team. I WAS DONE!

Massimo Bertocchi (Decathalon) and myself on the infield at the opening ceremonies.

Most people say I quit or I’m done or I’m retiring and really don’t mean it (like Brett Favre). I really mean I was quitting! Luckily, I was talked into and sponsored by a very generous donor to do two more meets. I Travelled to Ottawa, Ontario and first competition, first throw, VOILA! 84.41m! NEW CANADIAN RECORD! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ViZ4c1uU7uQ)

The Olympic Tower - The diamonds on the tower at broadcast booths for major broadcast companies.

There is obviously two more seasons that lead up to this point, but here I stand at the entrance to the “Bird’s Nest”. I am approximately 100m from entering the Olympic opening ceremonies. I am standing with approximately 150 other Canadian athletes about to experience the greatest experiences in the Olympic Games, the opening ceremonies.

You think about the opening ceremonies, what stands out to you as a moment that you will remember for the remainder of your life? Entering the stadium? The first sight of the crowd? The Parade of athletes? Seeing Roger Federer, Dirk Nowitzki, or the entire USA Men’s Basketball Team? The lighting of the torch? No.

The Canadian delegation moments away from expereincing one of the greatest opening ceremonies in Olympic history.

As I stand in the tunnel, 100m from entering the stadium, the entire Canadian delegation starts to sing the national anthem! I still get chills thinking about that moment. As the anthem ends, “O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.” The Chills run up my spine. I begin to think of the work that was put into making this dream a reality. The countless number of hours running, jumping, throwing, the weights, my coaches, my family, 2005 when I almost quit, the doubters, and the believers. I think of the perseverance, that I now realize I had in the face of the hard times that athletes (not only myself, but thousands of others) go through to make it to the Olympic Games.

Middle Eastern athletes enjoying the opening ceremonies

I am grateful to have the family and friends that I have met from being in this crazy sport. Without the thousands of people that have made an impact on my life, I would not be here. The support that I have been given to this point is what has inspired my performance to date. I am here, because I love throwing the javelin, which at times was gone, but in this very moment has never been greater. I love this sport and the experiences that I have been given from it.

And if you try sometime you find
You get what you need

There are more of my photos posted on my photo webpage at:

http://www.jpgmag.com/people/sr90

On my WAY!

2008-08-07T16:48:00.000-07:00

And “IT” finally begins! I have waited for this trip to start for over 12 years. Imagine you have set a goal for yourself and your life and it is finally occurring. How would you feel? Excited, elated, and blown away? I’m can honestly say that I’m excited about the opportunity that lies ahead of me, but in a somewhat strange way I am quite calm and relaxed.

I may be relaxed because I have no choice because I have to sit on this Boeing 747 for 12 ½ hours. That makes a little more sense now. I had a really surreal moment today in Chicago O’Hare Airport today. As I walk to gate C 16 I realize that a majority if not all the people on my flight are traveling to Beijing for the Olympic Games. There seems to be an anxious feel in the air. You can tell that everyone is excited to go to Beijing. I wonder if they all feel the same as I do.

Chicago O'hare tunnel.

The short flight from Kansas City International was a breeze. One and a half hours, not a bump. When I arrived in Chicago, I had about a three hour lay over. I figured that I would have more than enough time to sit around and do nothing on the plane. So I went on a short walk to see a bit of the airport. The lights in the tunnel between terminal B and C are still cool (if you have ever been through Chicago O’Hare, you know what I mean. As I arrive at my gate, I figure I better try to get a better seat than 58G. That’s right, back of the bus! I attempted to upgrade my seat to business class or first class, even tried to get an exit row for the flight. But the gate attendant said, “I understand that you are a very tall gentleman (Side note - I’m 6’9” and easily the tallest person on the flight by 7”), but we have over sold business and first class and there are no open seats in Economy.” I thought to my self, “I wonder if this person has ever had their knees driving into the back of the seat in front of them for 12 hours? Not a chance! She is 5’2”.” I could usually do it for an hour or two, but 12 to 13 hours is just too long? If the seat in front of me wasn’t so close, I would take a pic. But you know what? I’m on my way to the Olympic Games!

Ready to board!

Now, I am stuck on a plane for 12 to 13 hours. What fun can you have on a plane for that may hours? Not a lot. However, there is a large group of family and friends of US Swimming on the flight. I received more than a few good lucks from them. I also met a man named Robert Andrews, who is a sports psychologist and works with one of the US gymnasts (I believe his first name is Raj). His athlete was one of the alternates in 2004 and was supposed to be the same this year. However, Paul Hamm, reigning All-around Olympic champion pulled out with an injury. Which gave Robert’s athlete has a huge opportunity that just a few weeks ago was not an option. As I look at this story, you realize that there are hundreds, if not, thousands of athletes at these games that have a story of struggle. And I look forward to hearing a few more of them.

Well, it’s 5:00am in China and I only have another 10 hours left, so I better try to get some sleep.

The main street of the Olympic Village

Room with a view. Off to the right of this photo is the "Bird's Nest". But you can't see it because of smog.

What a surprise! When I arrive at the Beijing Airport (2:30pm Aug 7th) my javelins show up, but not my cloths. Long and short of it is that I think the person working the United Airlines desk in Kansas City put the wrong tag on my bag. Upon filing a lost bag report, I notice that my name is not on my baggage claim ticket, but Deborah McVey’s name is on my claim receipt. I’m not really sure how this one happened, but if something weird and messed up can happen, it will happen to Scott Russell (forgive the third person narrative). The plus side of this story is that I went in for my Olympic apparel fitting tonight at 8pm. So I do have some cloths. I’m just lacking some underwear.

But you know what? I'm at the Olympic Games!

Going to the olympics

2008-06-22T20:30:00.000-07:00

Just recently, I achieve the Canadian Olympic A+ standard in the JAvelin. I achieved 83.20m in the Kajaks International Track and Field Meeting in Richmond, BC, Canada. I followed that competition up with a 78.90m effort in the Victoria International Track Classic. Both meeting are great meets and I hope to compete in them in the future.

As for what's next, back to training. I have about 9 days before I leave for the Canadian Olympic Trials, which just happen to be in my home town! Windsor, Ontario, Canada. Let me just say what a relief it is to go into our trials and mkow that I have the standard and all I have to achieve is a top four finish. Going into my last two meets, I was worried that I would have to do it under pressure at our olympic trials.

So I've unofficially made the Olympic team. WHAT A RELIEF! However, let me tell you about the stress that lead up to this point.

Let's begin with last season. 2007 was one of my best season's of my carreer. Up until I tore my Lateral meniscus in my right knee in Paris. I continued to compete the remainder of the season with a torn meniscus and a strained right forearm (from a meet in Switzerland). In September I went under the knife of my fantastic surgeon, Jeff Randall (He also did my shoulder in 2001). Apparently, I had a small flap tear in my posterior (back) of my Lateral meniscus. Dr. Randall removed the small tear and VOILA, I'm healed. Not Really. It took me a until December until I was comfortable enough to squat. Fair enough! I still had plenty of time to get ready!

Some time later in January, I managed to strain my hamstring on the same leg. Go figure! I must have still been weak. Next, I strained my right groin one month prior to the start of my season! CRAP! By this time it was late March and I was starting to sweat! Do I have time to get ready? I managed to heal in time to still compete in the KU Relays. This is were I open my season every year. I love throwing in front of friends and family and this is one of my only chances to do so. I tried to throw on the Wednesday prior to the KU Relays (Friday is the day I was to compete). I managed to throw 69m from short approach into an extremely strong head wind. Most importantly, my groin felt good. Two days later, I opened my season with a 81.53m effort. However, it was 34 degrees F and I strained my groin again. All the while I have stayed extremely positive (rare for me when I'm injured).

Two weeks after aggravating my groin, I was squating and I felt a sharp pain in my right knee again. Ahhhh, it couldn't be anything too serious. So I contiued to practice and that friday, was what I thought to be the end of the year. Throwing, it felt like someone had put a Knife into the side of my knee! OH CRAP! MY MENISCUS! Was all that went through my head. Later that week, I went in to get an MRI ($$$) and got the results back rather quickly. Dr. Randall told me that I had chipped a piece of my cartilage off of the front of my femur (directly behind my knee cap). WELL, That's all she wrote! No way am I going to be ready now. I was told that it wound take 8-12 weeks to be 100%. That's when I started to see what I call my Scott's Saviour Team (or Sports MEd team) everyday of the week. I started by seeing my Chiropracter, Rob Jones. He would be doing Laser treatment 5 days a week and ART (Active Release Therapy) 3 times a week. I also started seeing a new massage therapist Brienne and Kinnections Massage Therapy, once a week. Add to that twice a week with my Physical Therapist, Jeremy Zimney (Super Smart, Great Guy and he's ok at Poker too - robs me of my money in the fall). Lastly, I would begin getting a series of injections of Roster Comb (yup male Chicken parts!) into my joint. Miraculously, my team has put me back together. And I am on my way August 1st. But first I wil lhave to spend some much needed time with my coach, Andy Andy Kokhanovsky. If I didn't have him, I'm sure I wouldn't still be throing a stick!