Rather than competing this year, our man Hamish is off to Beijing but this time round he's taking a behind-the-scenes role. He's taking over a load of One Square Meals which he rates as being an essential piece of kit to ensure balanced and sustaining nutrition - ideal for a situation where there are a number of unknowns.

Here is Hamish's video blog. And speaking of unknowns, we're thinking that technology and WWW access may be limited or even blocked from the Republic so rather than video blogs Hamish will be sending back just regular text blogs (and hopefully a few pics as well). So keep tuning back in for updates.

Go the kiwis!

 

 
 
 

Having just returned from the Olympics in Beijing it is a bit daunting being back at work! When the the Olympics has been your life for so long it was the weirdest feeling being in the athletes village and not being an athlete!

The Olympics without pressure and that sick feeling in your stomach just doesn't feel right!

For 2008 I was in a supporting role with the team along with several others who helped the athletes settle into village life. This included everything from airport pick ups to passing on any pearls of wisdom! Not that anything I was going to say would have the ability to change anything!

A big part of the Olympics is the traveling time to and from venues, and just getting around. It could easily take a full day to get to two events and this is something that really takes its toll on athletes trying to stay fresh and in peak shape.

When I traveled to Beijing I was lucky enough to take One Square Meals up for the athletes to have some kick ass food to eat while they were traveling around between events and training. The response was so great they were asking for more!!!

Now back in NZ it is great to be watching from home soil the Olympics unfold. I still miss the excitement of competing however knowing how hard all the athletes have worked to get to the start line, I am happy to be watching this time around.

 

Click on the thumbnails below to view photos at full size

 

I recently wrote an article for the Herald about celebrating sport as a challenging way to live a life! The past few weeks have been for me a vivid reminder of the intensity of the Olympics. The highs, the lows, and all the drama in between.

Considering our size, New Zealand did very well (NZ was 4th most successful country in terms of medals won per population - Australia was 6th), but as I say in the article, while we have a fascination about winning medals, the bigger picture - the courage, persistence and determination of all athletes competing - is where the true human story of the Olympics is.

Regardless of result, these athletes are awesome individuals who can teach us so much about greatness.

 

Here is a chart of the top 25 countries in terms of score per million population (calculated as 3 points for a gold medal, 2 points for silver and 1 for bronze) - from www.stubbornmule.net