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Jamie McEwan writes for Parade |
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Written by Mike Kord
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Monday, 22 June 2009 10:55 |
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Here's an article you should really check out. Jamie McEwan, a bronze medalist whitewater canoeist at the 1972 Olympics, just wrote an article headlined "Taking Risks is Part of Life" for Parade magazine. It's really good.
McEwan, who was also part of the 1999 Tsangpo River expedition that resulted in the tragic death of his good friend Doug Gordon, writes about paddling with his son one day and for some reason just isn't on his game. His mental game. He then reflects on how Gordon's death troubled him for some time and how his own son's involvement in the sport winds up influencing his decision to run or walk a rapid.
I've written about risk before here, but McEwan really drives home some fascinating points. I'm not surprised. Gordon's death wasn't the first time McEwan had experienced tragedy.
Last spring, I was looking for story angles for our Olympics Section and I thought about McEwan. The 1972 Olympics, of course, were in Munich. A Palestinian terrorist group, Black September, invaded the dorm rooms of the Isreali athletes and kidnapped several. Later, they killed eleven athletes and coaches. It became known as the Munich Massacre.
I asked McEwan if he would be willing to write about his perspective—an athlete in the athletes' village where a major terrorist act to place. He agreed, and sent me a rough draft of his article shortly thereafter. The rough draft was already easily written well enough to be published. His second draft was even better and was an excellent part of our July-August 2008 issue.
My job is to publish the best content I can conceptualize. McEwan made me look smart!
You'll like his story for Parade.
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’09 Whitewater Hall of Fame inductees announced |
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Written by Mike Kord
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Thursday, 04 June 2009 09:10 |
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The International Whitewater Hall of Fame (IWHOF) Board of Governors has announced its Class of 2009:
Pioneer
Mikhail Kolchevnikov (deceased), Russia: Kolchevnikov organized the 1978 Chuya Rally in Siberia, which partnered with American rafters to form Project RAFT. Keep in mind, this was 30-plus years ago, when the Cold War was nearing its peak. Project RAFT hosted 50 teams on rivers around the world and led to the formation of the International Rafting Federation and World Rafting Championships.
Explorer
Lars Holbeck (deceased), United States: Holbeck is a veritable American kayaking legend, especially in the West. He logged more than 70 First Ds around the world, including the Stikine River in northern BC and Chile's Futaleufu. Around California, he pioneered numerous classic Class V runs and co-authored The Best Whitewater in California.
Champion
Stepanka Hilgertova, Czech Republic: Hilgertova competed in five consecutive Olympic Games, winning gold medals in 1996 (Atlanta) and 2000 (Sydney). She also took 1st
Place at World Championships in 1992 (Augsburg) and 1996 (Barcelona) and many European Championship races and is regarded as Czech Republic's "First Lady of the Olympics."
Champion
Pavol Hochschorner and Peter Hochschorner, Slovakia: These double canoe partners have won gold medals in three Olympic Games,
nine World Cup Championships, and two World Championships. They have also completed the canoe slalom “Grand Slam,” winning gold in the
Olympics, World Championships, European Championships, and Whitewater Slalom World Cup.
Advocate
Rafael Gallo, Costa Rica: Gallo founded one of the most well-respected rafting companies in the world has led the fight to save the Pacuare River from the first dam
threat in the 1990s and protected 2,000 acres of rainforest along that river. He is also founder of the International Rafting Federation.
Advocate
Bill Mason (deceased), Canada: The most successful filmmaker in the history of the National Film Board of Canada, Mason is perhaps best known for the Path of the Paddle series of films which introduced new skills and enjoyment of whitewater to canoeists worldwide during the 1970s and 1980s. |
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Outdoor Life honors Rochester, MN |
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Written by Mike Kord
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Wednesday, 03 June 2009 06:20 |
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Congratulations to the people of Rochester, Minnesota. Outdoor Life magazine has selected this southeastern Minnesota enclave No. 9 on its second annual Top 200 Towns for Sportsmen. Congratulations to Outdoor Life, too. Selecting 200 towns is a lot of work.
Outdoor Life based its best towns on things like fish and games species, land access, median income, and housing prices.
Rochester's benefits are fishing, hunting, and cycling and, of course, canoeing through the bluff country of the Mississippi River.
Not too shabby.
Last year, Paddler published our Best Towns for Paddlers in the Jul-Aug. 08 issue. This year, we're doing things a little differently. We'll be profiling the Best Cities for Paddlers. Hint: Minnesota has a lot to offer paddlers, too.
Here's OL's top 10:
10. Carbondale, CO
9. Rochester, MN
8. Pierre, SD
7. Sheridan, WY
6. Bismark, ND
5. Pocatello, ID
4. Rawlins, WY
3. Idaho Falls, ID
2. Marquette, MI
1. Lewiston, ID |
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