The thrills of the opening ceremonies
DeAnne Hemmens

July 15-21
Monday was unreal. I carried the torch in the front seat of the K4 while three teammates paddled us around the Olympic venue. I handed the flame over to a rower and then it was over, but what a thrill. They offer the torch you carry for sale, so I bought it and sent it home. What a memory.

The were people waving flags, cheering, yelling, waving, and basically being very patriotic and enthusiastic. It was very special.

Today, Wednesday, Lia and I had a time trial. It wasn't so fast, but not terrible either. So hopefully our peak, rest, and excitement will lower our time by a couple of seconds. I guess we will see in two weeks.

Friday, opening ceremonies! Today was the day I've been dreaming of for many years. We all dressed in great clothes and headed for the buses. We spent about three hours in the Atlanta Fulton County Stadium. They fed us a box dinner while we watched the ceremonies on a big screen. Then we marched in.

What a thrill. It started out with all the volunteers lining the path we took. They were screaming, high-fiving us, chanting "Good luck," and "Go USA." Then we went over the ramp to the cheers of 80,000 people. What a rush. It gave me the chills.

Walking around the track, looking into people's eyes, and hearing the roar of the crowd was the highlight. Everyone was standing and yelling, with flags and "USA" everywhere. It was fantastic.

After we were standing inside the field, the next most spectacular event was Muhammad Ali with the torch. I wonder what he was thinking. I know I was very touched. All in all a great night and a late one, too. It was 2:30 a.m. before I got home.

The weekend consisted of some race-distance paddling and a well-needed day off--Monday. Eight days until we race.