Pine Crest Swimming -The Beijing Story

From watching Bradley Ally carry the flag of Barbados at Opening Ceremony to seeing the smiles on the faces of the Pine Crest swimmers after their races at the Olympics it was a great time in Beijing. Daniele Tirabassi, Venezuela, swam a strong race in his 400 free and Genaro Prono, Paraquay, had good performance in his 100 breast. Bradley Ally, Barbados, just missed making the A final in both the 200 and 400 IM and swam lifetime best times in both races. Terrence Haynes and Martyn Forde also from Barbados did well in their 100 and 50 free events, as did Sean Fraser, Caymen Islands, in the 100 and 200 free. All the athletes enjoyed racing in the “Cubeý and the excitement in building was electric everyday. We all saw so many swimmers who have trained or visited Pine Crest over the years and it was fun to watch everyone swim their race, there were also several friends of Pine Crest swimming watching the meet in the stands each day and it was great to talk with them outside the pool after each session.

The trip to China started with Daniele Tirabassi and I going with the Venezuela Olympic Team to Singapore for a training camp from July 23 to August 3, we had our training camp at a local high school that was very modern with some of the best athletic facilities in Singapore. We stayed in a hotel that was in the heart of the shopping district and it seems that shopping and banking are very big business in Singapore. The island of Singapore is on the same time zone as Beijing and that gave us an opportunity to adjust to the time change while not having to change time zones once we left for China. In between training sessions we did get a chance, after we had adjusted to the time change, to tour the island of Singapore and see all the growth and development that is taking place, there are new buildings going up all over the island and business seems to be at a very fast pace. The USA and Canada’s Olympic swimming teams also made Singapore the spot for their training camps prior to China and we ran into several of the swimmers and coaches while everyone was out exploring the island.

We traveled to Beijing on August 3 and moved into the Olympic Village and began the final preparations for the Olympics. Daniele and I met up with Genaro Prono in the Olympic Village where I became the Olympic swimming coach for Paraquay. Daniele, Genaro and I enjoyed going to the Olympic dinning hall where there was food from all parts of the world to accommodate the taste of athletes from all the various nations. It was fun to sit and look at the athletes from around the world in all the various sports and to see old friends in swimming from all the different countries whom we had met over the years at training camps at Pine Crest or various International swim meets.

One day when I was walking over for lunch I walked in with Yao Ming from China and people were taking pictures and going wild over seeing Yao Ming in person. We also bumped into Kobe Byrant, Lebron James and Dwayne Wade walking around the Olympic Village and they were also at the “Cubeý to see Michael Phelps win his 4th and 5th Gold medal. In the beginning of the week I would see Phelps walk from the cafeteria to the USA housing area and he could walk with other swimmers in a casual manner but as the week went on Michael started needing some of his teammates and the USA team managers to walk along side him and screen people away or he would end up spending way too much time having his photo taken or people asking for autographs, and he needed to get back to his room to rest. It is amazing to see him walk after he has eaten a meal that would feed most people for a week what he eats as lunch.

During Opening Ceremonies, Genaro and I were at the pool going over his final preparations for his 100 breast which was the first day of the meet. We could hear all the noise and excitement from the Opening Ceremonies and watched the final parts of it on TV, with all the crowd noise making it feel we were right there with everyone else while we were enjoying the air conditioned comfort of our room. It was so hot and humid in Beijing that it makes Ft. Lauderdale feel like a cool climate in August, compared to what we felt walking around outside. We were in Beijing for over a week before I saw the skyline of the city or realized that Beijing is actually in a valley between small mountains on all sides of the city.

Buffy and Patrick Fitzgerald arrived the day after the Opening Ceremonies and we all stayed in a small apartment in the city. Each morning we would walk to Starbucks (there are more Western shops and stores in Beijing than you would imagine) and then take the subway over to the Olympics. In addition to swimming we went to Volleyball, Diving, and Track and Field, along with touring the Olympic park. We watched NBC broadcast the TODAY live as Beijing is 12 hours ahead of our time zone, so at 7pm we were seeing NBC produce the TODAY show that was airing in Ft. Lauderdale at 7am that same day.

In addition to the Olympics we visited and walked along the Great Wall where we got caught under a “lighting alertý and had to stay up on the Great Wall for 4 hours before getting an “all clearý that would enable the Cable Cars to operate and allow us back down the Great Wall. We visited the Forbidden City, the Summer Palace, Tiananmen Square, and Patrick’s favorite spot the Pearle Market where you can name your price on a variety items from clothes, shoes, watches, jewelry and anything and everything. You would see all sorts of Olympians there everyday wheeling and dealing and Patrick could have won an Olympic Gold Medal in this event if it had been a part of the Olympic Games.

In the end it was a fantastic Olympics and something that I am sure all of us who were there will always remember. I can still recall Genaro and I watching the 4x100 men’s relay together and looking at each other after the USA had won and excitement and surprise that both Genaro and I felt as we hugged each other and screamed for joy. This was right after feeling the disappointment of seeing Katie Hoff lose the Gold medal in the 400 free. Watching all the races of Michael Phelps and seeing his dominance in the 200 free to seeing the amazing finish in the 100 fly. Ryan Lochte winning the 200 back and seeing how happy his family was for him to finally have his own Gold medal, the look of pure joy when Aaron Piersol saw he not only won the 100 back but broke the World Record as well. There were so many fantastic memories and moments at the Olympics and I am sure that we will see several of these athletes in the near future as they return to training at Pine Crest or visit here with their teams for training camps at Pine Crest. As always, It is Great to be a Pine Crest Panther!

Jay Fitzgerald