I
am happy to say that I came out
on top after this year's US National
Team Trials which were held at the
US National Whitewater Center in
Charlotte. It was a very competetive
and intimidating race between the
top kayakers in the nation and also
from Canada. This is a very big
result for me as I moved up from
being 10th at last year's Team Trials.
Also, I am one of the youngest athletes
to complete this feat in the history
of US kayaking! The three day event
put a lot of stress on me and all
of the athletes competing. Keeping
my focus throughout the whole race
was my goal and in the end I proved
to myself that I could do it. Everyday
was a new day of racing and I repressed
my previous day's performance in
order to keep my head clear and
ready for competition. I have to
say that the planning and preperation
for this race was close to ideal.
This is why I am taking a valuable
lesson from it and using it as a
gameplan for future competitions.
As great as everything turned out
for me, I could not enjoy the glory
of winning this important race.
I knew ahead of time that making
the US National Team will not mean
much to me as I am not yet a citizen
of the United States. The rules
prevent me (and anyother non-citizen
athlete) from competing this summer
at the World Cups and World Championships
and there is nothing I can do about
that. My eyes are set on the Olympic
Games and I have started working
on expediting my citizenship process
in order to be able to compete next
year. Ideally, I would like to have
my citizenship by the end of this
year but it's a complicated process
which could take longer. Nevertheless,
I will keep training and representing
the United States like I always
have. I am able to compete at an
Olympc Test Event in London this
summer, that is my focus for the
time being. I want to thank everyone
who have helped me come this far
and know that I appreciate all of
your support! Below are the men's
kayak results for each day of Team
Trials along with a link to an ESPN
article in which I was featured.
