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CI Times Weekly | Current Issue 266 | 01 September 2008

Olympic experience amazing

The Cook Islands team may have arrived home from the Beijing Olympics but their minds are still filled with their wonderful experiences at the Games.
The Beijing Olympics were an exceptional Games and being there was just an amazing experience said Chef de Mission, Paul Allsworth as he echoed the sentiments of the IOC president and everyone else at the Olympics.
On the night of the opening ceremony, the atmosphere in Beijing was ‘just electric’ as we saw for ourselves on the television broadcasts which was just an example of the way the people of China strive for perfection in everything they do.
Their attention to detail was evident from the moment the team landed at Beijing with all the formalities including photos, accreditation and customs were sorted out very promptly before the team members were taken to their quarters at Olympic Village. Paul and his assistant were given a telephone each and two days later, the athletes and coaches were also given a phone each to ensure all the lines of communication were in reach of everyone else. At the Village, they could not get over the size of the dining hall that was 300 metres long (same distance as CISNOC to ANZ ) and stayed open 24/7 for breakfast, lunch and dinner to cater to the needs of the 9500 people in the Village.
The team arrived on Wednesday and the next day took part in the pre-arranged filming of the Flag Raising ceremony to be broadcast to the world as part of the opening ceremony. The organizers had grouped all the countries into small groups to keep the process manageable to handle the 204 countries taking part in the Olympics.
Team Cook Islands was grouped with Austria, Greece and Samoa and they were privileged to have the Head of State of Samoa and our own Queens Representative attend the flag raising ceremony which included an exchange of gifts. Tiki Matapo and Roseline Blake were also present to support team members.
For our team, the first event was swimming heats, then track and field, with weight lifting in the second week. Paul could not get over the technology with the instant results available on electronic media and on documents, with DVDs of the event available the next day to team officials. Paul said he is now doing an analysis based on per capita on achievement of medals for each country.
But it is not just about winning medals, although that would be a dream come true, it is also about taking part in such a prestigious event as the Olympics where our competitors and officials can meet and mingle with sports people who are world renowned or became famous by winning gold at the Olympics.
For instance, during that time, Paul said he formed quite close associations with the Chef de Mission for Jamaica and met the Jamaican athletes that made history on the track and field. He also watched some of the tennis and saw Venus Williams in action on the court.
Getting around was made easy with the shuttle buses to all venues but also the team were also given their own minivan and car to get around. There were also the excursions to the iconic attractions such as the Great Wall of China, Tianeman Square and the Forbidden City which were a must on everyone’s calendar.
For the record, our team members were Gordon Heather, Tereapii Tapoki, Sam Pera Jnr and Petero Okotai and officials, Siniva Marsters, Patrick Heller, Ray Preston and Sam Pera Snr. Once they come down to earth, they will begin prepare for the various meets that are scheduled in the next few months.

Headlines : Times 266 01September 2008
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