OLYMPIC DIARY:. . . but I can feel all around me that a sense of stress is starting to build as the race approaches, writes EOIN RHEINISCH

THE LAST time I was here on the London Olympic course was for a training camp that finished on July 3rd. It’s hard to believe that they have transformed the place from the building site it was then to how it looks now. Training on the course with all of the seating and stands in place has been an exciting experience. It also gives me a chance to imagine what it will be like when those stands are full to capacity with enthusiastic spectators. This is an important part of preparing for the race day, as it can be a shock to see and hear so many people on the riverbank.

I can feel all around me that a sense of stress is starting to build as the race approaches. This is inevitable as the event is so important to so many people, not just the competitors. Athletes, coaches, support staff, family and organisers are starting to get anxious. People’s reactions are changing, I hear more swearing from athletes during training and before long the tension will be palpable. The challenge, as always, during this period is to stay calm.

During this period we are still allocated two one-hour training slots on the course. But at this stage there is nothing to gain physically by training twice a day. If I took every training slot twice a day on the course I would be a wreck by the time race day arrived. My coach Thilo Schmitt is always careful to pull back on this and keep me fresh in the lead-in to big events. It can be so easy to say to yourself ‘I’ll just try this move or that combination or just take another run’ and before you know it you are cooked.

In canoe slalom it’s rare that you will have a two-week run-in to a major event where every training session goes perfectly. I am aware that there will always be some bad sessions and you just have to roll with that. In fact in order to progress on a technical level you must be willing to fail during training. There is no point in training or repeating the things you are good at already. This can be an easy trap to fall in to because it feels good, it feels comfortable.

People at the top of their game in any sport generally fail or fall down more often in training than individuals that are further down the ranking lists. This is due to the fact that they are constantly pushing their limit, testing the boundaries of what is possible and that is where the progression comes from.

A large amount of the current practice we are doing is trying to simulate as best we can the actual race on this course. We’ve been given information about the timing and protocol surrounding the event, for example how long I will be sitting at the start line before the race run. So now we are trying to put that routine into place in training so that when it happens on race day it is normal. It’s about simulating the environment and conditions that are expected on the big day.

On the day I know I will feel uncomfortable. I always do. That’s normal. They can set the course at between 18 and 25 gates. It will be about 250 metres long and will roughly take between 90 to 100 seconds. That’s an average race run. The combinations of the gates they can set are infinite. When they set them on the day I’m sure they are going to put something in that I haven’t done, people haven’t practiced. You just try to get an overall feel for the course.

Everyone gets two runs on the first day. It is your best of those two runs that counts. So if you have a disaster on one you have another to make it up. Out of 22 the top 15 go through to the next run. Then one semi-final on August 1st and those 15 go down to 10. The final run is the last 10 athletes.

I’m really just trying to create a sense of normality around myself right now over these last few days. It’s easy to change things and try to do something extra, to find something but I prefer a routine. I think a routine relaxes people. People don’t like change. I’d sit down read a book, listen to a CD, you know just try to keep that sense of normality in my day until the racing begins.

I do see this is the biggest race of my career. It’s the pinnacle. It’s the Olympic Games. You don’t get many opportunities. I’m lucky as this is my third time to represent Ireland at the Games. I feel privileged. It’s an opportunity to perform. Very few people get that opportunity to perform on this stage. I am trying to embrace this feeling. It’s going to be a nerve-racking time but I am ready.