Jason Myslicki and Mark Tewksbury in front of Monty the Moose in the athletes village

Intense

I arrived at the Whistler Olympic Athlete Village one week ago. It is really difficult to describe everything that has gone down since. It really has been a rollercoaster of emotions.

In the last couple of weeks I have been battling serious fatigue and somehow that translates into not being able to sleep. I’m really hoping that this sorts itself out in the next couple of days, but as I’m sure everybody is aware, the harder you try to sleep the more difficult it becomes.

The great thing about being part of the Canadian Olympic Team is that we have everything at our disposal. If I’m too tired to walk eight minutes to my next meal, I can either settle for a huge variety of healthy snacks in our Canadian Athletes Lounge or sign out a motorized bicycle to get me down there and back up the hill. I think I will be putting these bikes to greater use now that the rain has ceased and I focus on getting healthy for the next event.

So far, everything about the organization of the Vancouver Olympics is far superior to my Torino 2006 Experience. Other than Air Canada and VANOC misplacing our bags on the trip here, every bit of this Olympics is extraordinary. The transportation, security, food, and lodging are all exceeding expectations. Every athlete that I have spoken with has commented on their love for Canada and the positive Olympic experience. From my perspective, this is possible because of the astonishing commitment of volunteers. Volunteers are dressed in turquoise blue jackets and are absolutely everywhere. Although, on several instances they’ve sent me in the complete wrong direction, their heart was always in the right place. Just like Calgary in ’88, Vancouver will be an outstanding success primarily due to the love and passion of the volunteers.

Speaking of passion, the Opening ceremony was nothing short of absolute awesomeness. I was unsure if I would go in the days leading in for health reasons, but in the end decided that I would really regret not going. So, I went. It was one perhaps the best experiences of my life.

Sorry for the quickie. I’ll let you in on more of whats going on around here shortly.