During the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin, when the Nazis controlled Germany, two Olympic athletes from opposite sides of the Atlantic each sought to be the best long jumper in the world.  They both dreamed of being a Gold medalist.   One, the famous American Jesse Owens, a world record holder, faced some challenges competing as a black athlete at the Hitler Olympic Games.   The other athlete, the famous German Lutz Long, was the European champion and he set an Olympic record in a preliminary round.

While trying to qualify for the critical long jump finals, Jesse Owens found himself faced with a bad situation.   He had faulted twice during his qualification jumps.  One more fault and he would be eliminated from competition and his dreams of medaling.  In later years he said that Lutz Long, his fierce competitor, advised him to jump from several inches back.  On his last chance, Jesse Owens did jump successfully and made the finals.

Also in later years, Jesse Owens sometimes said that Long had used his own shirt to mark the takeoff spot; but in 1965, Jesse told a reporter that that hadn’t happened and no one had helped him.  Nevertheless, what is sure is that in the long jump finals later that day in 1936, after Jesse Owens had beaten Lutz Long and captured the Gold Medal for the USA, Long came over and was the first to congratulate him.  The two of them then posed for photos, and they ended up walking arm in arm to the dressing rooms.  They became good friends during the Games.

Long became a lawyer in Hamburg.  In 1943, fighting in the German army in Sicily in World War II, he was badly wounded, and he died in a British hospital.  It is said that years later his daughter was to be married to a German man.  Because of the family friendship that was initiated by Lutz Long’s act of Olympianism in 1936, the man to walk his daughter down the aisle was their family friend for many years, Jesse Owens.

Cliff’s thoughts….

It’s amazing how many people are watching you, just as you might have watched others such as your role models or mentors.  As we accomplish our goals and pass through adversities in life, we gather a remarkable wealth of knowledge and experience.  It’s almost like a “tool belt” of life’s lessons.  Each time we are challenged with an adversity or goal, we learn something new about ourselves.  These challenges often shape our character and define who we are.  One key to acknowledging our success is how we pass on these skills to others who might need assistance or are just observers.  Ultimately, we are the ambassador.  We leverage our knowledge and skills to inspire others to overcome adversity and provide a springboard  to further success.  This is our role within our community.  That is Olympianism…

A special congrats and thank you to all the members of Team California-Fenn at the recent 2009 Moloka’i Surfski World Championships.  Awesome job to Patrick,  Barry, and Noah.  I greatly appreciate all your help and teamwork during this years race preparations.  Also, a special mahalo to Chris for his hospitality and local expertise during the pre-race and race preparations.  Your expertise and group preparation was an essential key during this years grueling race conditions for 32 miles of hot and flat Moloka’i Channel.

I had an awesome experience during the race.  Once the sound of the start horn blew, I was out of the gates with a brisk pace but knew I had 32 miles to the finish line.  At mile sixteen, I still had energy to spare and started to pick up my pace for a strong finish.  Unfortunately,  the last five miles were the most difficult as the race approached the island of O’ahu.  The tides were going out from the island and causing a huge up tide battle.  In addition, the swell conditions picked up simulating a washing machine effect in the water.  Add a lot of fatigue and the day seems to be very long.  When I finally reached the finish line I heard the horn go off and knew I was going to hear those words I have been desperately waiting for: “Stop paddling.”  33rd place out of 82 racers- 4 hours and 40 minutes – I finally achieved my goal of crossing the Molokai Channel on a surfski.

Even though this was a solo race, a lot goes into the  teamwork process when preparing for this race distance.  Training together as a group, learning from one another technically and physically, and just simple hard work and many miles and months of paddling.  What does one gain from such an experience?  Pushing yourself to the next level which prepares you for new challenges…  But most importantly, it is the friendships one gains  through these unique experiences.

For more information on surfski and kayak paddling visit: www.oceanpaddlesports.com

No matter where you look these days, it seems like everyone is suffering one way or another  in this  economic recession.  Whether it’s your business, your job, or  just motivating yourself, it can be tough to get  through the day.  Face it, nothing seems easy these days.   Opportunity?  Look on the bright side, there is always two sides to a coin.  Did you know that a majority of innovation is created during times of  economic hardship?   It can create that thought process that allows one to re-analyze their mission and goals and reshape strategies for future success.  “What’s the application”?

Three months ago, I went back to “my basics” and decided to paddle and race kayaks again.   Two sides of this coin- training and racing  would allow me to get back in better physical condition and also enjoy that feeling accomplishment, especially when times are tough.   I committed myself to train for the upcoming World Championship Surf ski Race in Hawaii in May 2009.  I have raced the outrigger canoe version of this race many times but never in a single kayak.   This race is a 32  mile open ocean channel crossing from the island of Molokai to Oahu in Hawaii.  Because of my novice experience racing the channel in a single person vessel, my decision to take on this goal would expose me to face several challenges.   For example, one of these challenges would be getting back into paddling shape.  It’s been over eight years since I retired from Olympic competition.  In addition to fitness,  the other challenge would be learning how to race in big ocean wave conditions versus my past flat water experience.

Back to basics– Besides training hard, implementing technical efficiency, and developing the skill set for rough water racing, I also had to reach back and grab for my foundation (“tool set”) and experiences of  past accomplishments. Here are my tools:  courage, determination, dedication, and simple hard work.   But most importantly, I have to remember why am I committing to this goal.  It is for the self satisfaction and feeling of accomplishment which helps me & others get through times of difficulty.  The ending result: this feeling of accomplishment can allow one to really appreciate and re-emerge the hard work involved when achieving goals.  Re-apply your tools, set new goals, and use them as a spring board through these tough times.  Maybe, this positive experience can lead  you to innovate new ideas…

“winners never quit, quitters never win.  There is no such thing as an over acheiver, just an under estimator”.

I met William Denson, founder of http://www.afatherforever.org/index.html, at a middle school presentation in Los Angeles a few years back which I was highly inspired by his motivation and courage to develop this awareness that specifically impacts our communities and children.  We decided, what better fun and a great idea, to bring all these kids and fathers down to the Redondo Beach Outrigger Canoe Club and go for a paddle.  We had a blast and reinforced that team work is the main framework for making these boats go fast.  Well, at least for a few feet.  We ended up racing the fathers against fathers in an all out duo to see who was faster between  two canoes.  After just seconds of racing, my canoe ended up flipping upside down and we all went for a swim.  Shortly later, the second boat was making fun of our dilemma and soon joined the chilly waters as they flipped their canoe.  As they say, perfect balance makes perfect… or is that “perfect practice makes perfect”…

Our day started out with a short presentation from William and Cliff illustrating the importance of providing these community partnerships and how dedication, commitment, and persistence can help us overcome adversities in our lives.  The kids had a blast paddling the canoes with their fathers which later developed into an appetite for burgers and hot dogs.

To the kids and fathers, your awesome…..  See you again next year…

Hats off to a great Olympic Games….

Congratulations to the Beijing Organizing Committee for hosting a great Games. I had a very memorable and enjoyable experience representing the USA Flatwater Kayak Team as Team Leader. Carrie Johnson ( women’s 500 meter) had a great performance as she placed 10th by narrowly missing the finals by 4/100th’s of a second. Congrats to Carrie… She has a great chance for a medal at the 2012 Games in London. Also, great racing and congratulations to Rami Zur ( Men’s 500 meter ).
I had the opportunity to meet Lopez Lomong (photo on right), 2008 Olympic Team Flag Bearer, at the USA house in Beijing to capture this awesome photo… “Flag Bearer meets Flag Bearer….”
There were many other memorable experiences during my visit to the Games. We had a great Pre-Olympic training camp in Komatsu, Japan. The Japanese hospitality was impeccable, the climate was perfect for acclimatizing for Beijing, and the city was beautiful. Along with observing some great racing at the Olympic Rowing & Canoeing venue in Shunyi, China, we also had a chance to meet other Olympians in Beijing such as Janet Evans, Evander Hollyfield, Aron Peirsol, Michael Johnson, Dwight Stones, actor Vince Vaughn from the movie “Old School”, Yau Ming, the Fastest man on the planet “Bolt”- the Jamaican Olympic runner, and many others trying to make their mark in Olympic history.
My trip finally came to an end attending the Closing Ceremony at the “Bird Nest” stadium. The moment was awesome walking through the tunnel and into the stadium. I clearly remembered this very same feeling back at the Olympic Games in 2000. All the US athletes, proudly marching, chanting and screaming USA.. USA… USA…
That feeling in one’s heart will never go away.

“The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part, just as the most important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle. The essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well.”

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/08/07/flag.bearer/index.html#cnnSTCOther1

http://edition.cnn.com/video/?/video/sports/2008/08/05/lah.athletes.cnn

This next video is the US Olympic Committees campaign for Beijing. Very inspirational….Enjoy….

http://www.amazingawaits.org/#/universe,video

Lomong chosen as US flagbearer for Beijing Games

The best of luck to Sprint Kayaker’s Carrie Johnson and Rami Zur as the pursue their quest for the GOLD…

Check out this picture above. Take a close look at the gentleman in the photograph to my immediate left.

Imagine yourself sitting in a restaurant and a person walks in that looks so familiar. Both of you acknowledge through visual gestures that you know one another but your not quite sure. This uncertainty was killing me… I finally got up enough courage to introduce myself. Imagine… that person to be the very man who saved my life over twenty years ago. That very man was Mike Mongovan a Los Angeles County Firefighter. I felt I nearly died and came back to life, and especially, being able to see Mike once again after so many years. We chatted for a while reflecting back on all thats happened in our lives, especially, that very moment we met during my unconsciousness when I was electrocuted by 30,000 volts of electricity. This definitely was an exciting and honorable moment for me.

Great story….

About two years after my accident, this gentleman approached a friend of mine while we were training at a local gym in Manhattan Beach and asked what happened to me. He was apparently observing this young kid (me) on crutches, wearing knee immobilizers, and trying to lift weights. My friend Dave mentioned to him that I was involved in an electrical accident a few years back on a construction site in Hawthorne, California. With a very stunned look on his face, the man replied back to my friend Dave and mentioned, he was one of the rescue firefighters on the scene of my accident. In fact, he was the one who revived me through CPR and saved my life. I so was amazed and honored I could hardly speak. The only thing I could say to him was “thank you so much for saving my life and being that hero for me.” That man was Mike Mongovan.

I want to personally acknowledge the other two gentleman in the picture, Bill Morrehead and Andy Hicks for being a part of this incredible rescue team; because of their passion and courage they gave me a new lease on life. My mother’s favorite quote … “You can’t kill a weed.” A special thank you to all the firefighters, police officers, Dr. Malcolm Lesavoy, and serviceman who take so much pride in their work; you are the true heroes.

A few day’s after my accident, my mother went to the fire department to personally thank all the firefighters at station 161 in Hawthorne for saving her son’s life. She then presented them with a token of appreciation and gave them a bottle of Champagne. Ditto to my courageous and heroic mother….