Friday, August 20, 2010

Report from Singapore 5

Hey folks,

Another rare update from Singapore. Although I'd love to update this blog more frequently, I just find it so hard to find the time to. A day just passes so quickly when you are watching competitions, organizing CEP activities, attend meetings, go eating, sleep, take a shower and so on. Plus, the fact that I have never been the most reliable guy in the blog-o-sphere does not make this task any easier. Anyways, what have we been up to recently? Well, a lot I'd say:

-) We have a Gold medal! After finishing 3rd in the singles, Luis Knabl claimed victory in the Mixed team relay event. Entering as the last contender, he managed to beat Olympic Champion Aaron Barclay from New Zealand in the final run, which is said to be his weakest discipline. It might be hard to understand, but I really do have the impression that Luis' gold medal boosted the already great team spirit even more. Because although it is his (and his colleagues') personal achievement, everybody is deeply enjoying it, because a group member is successful.

-) Speaking of great team spirit: As you can probably imagine, the athletes are really busy here in Singapore: They have long journeys to the venues, practice hard, need to rest, attend CEP activities and of course compete. So it is really touching to see that 16 (i.e. half of our delegation!) made their way to the Bishan Sports Hall to see our youngest team member, Elisa, compete in the women's all-around final. And Elisa thanked us by increasing her personal best by another .5 points!

-) Our athletes are actively engaging in the CEP. Since it's my duty to promote it, I am really happy to see them taking the initiative.

-) A last entry, which has nothing to do with our delegation, but illustrates quite well what the Olympics are about: Today, I went to the International Convention Center to see France playing the Cook Islands. As I already wrote on Facebook, this is not David vs. Goliath, but rather the Napoleonic Army against a tree. Without any surprise, the French easily swept the Cook Islands 58 to 4. However, what is remarkable that instead of shouting at each other or losing their spirits (what losing teams frequently do), the underdogs had fun. Great fun! They were doing some tricks they've learned, interacted with the audience and never gave up trying. And after the Game was over, they had a blast in the mixed interview zone. Of course nobody likes to lose. However, if you can take a bad defeat and still enjoy the game to the max, then you have understood what it is all about.

All the best from Singapore and please check out our Facebook group!
Best
Flo

1 comment:

  1. Hi, just happen to read your nice report. I think you have been doing a good job as a young ambassador, who have more than 24hrs a day. Being a Singaporean, i hope this event leaves you a good impression here. Enjoy & all the best! :)

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