US Olympic Trials

I went to Oklahoma City to see the US Olympic Trials this past weekend. While Oklahoma has not traditionally been thought of as a hotspot for water sports, they have an incredible facility in the Chesapeake Boathouse and the revitalized river waterfront. The event was first class – all the way from organization to venue. I added color commentary to the event along with A.L. Haizlip.

In the first final on Friday young Morgan House upset heavily favored Rami Zur in the men’s K-1 500. Rami finished 5^th in the 2007 World Championships earning a berth for the US team in this event at the Beijing Olympics. Since Rami qualified the event but Morgan won the US trials the tiebreaker will be determined at the World Cup event in Szeged Hungary this June. Whichever athlete places higher at this event will be the US Olympic entry in Beijing.

As expected Carrie Johnson handily won the K-1 women’s 500 meter event. She also finished 5^th in last year’s World Championships qualifying a place in Beijing. Her trials victory makes Carrie the first official team-member of the 2008 US Olympic Canoe & Kayak team.

Jordan Malloch continued his dominance of the C-1 events winning both the 500 and 1000 meter event. Jordan will need to qualify a US entry into these event(s) by winning at the Western Hemisphere regional Olympic Qualifier May 17-18 in Montreal.

Rami came back with a vengeance on Saturday winning both the K-1 and K-2 1000 meter events. Jeff Smoke lead most of the K-1 until Rami put the hammer down towards the finish and surged into the lead. Jeff & Rami teamed together to win the K-2 in a very exciting come from behind victory to barely nip Bartosz Wolski and Brandon Woods at the finish.  As in all the other events Rami & Jeff will need to qualify positions for the US team in Montreal in order to race in Beijing.

16 year old Ryan Dolan from Hawaii was impressive in the junior events dominating both singles races and also winning both K-2 events.

Full results can be found here.