Archive for April, 2009

Jonathan Fields, author of “Career Renegade: How To Make A Great Living Doing What You Love,” recently chose me for a Career Renegade podcast for his blog, CareerRenegade.com. During the one hour conversation, we discuss funding an Olympic pursuit, the role of family, life lessons from the river, broadcasting and more. Definitely the most revealing and in-depth interview I’ve done since retiring from competitive canoe racing. Check it out – free on iTunes:

http://www.careerrenegade.com/renegade-profile-olympic-gold-medalist-joe-jacobi/

I’ll be reviewing Jonathan’s book here soon but here’s an early tip. Read it!

The idea behind any National Team Trials is that the best athletes come to one place and the race for the priveledge of representing the United States in international competition. Yet Team Trials facilitates a lot of conversation about the next generation of kayakers in the pipeline. Here in San Diego, 1992 Olympian, Chris Barlow, runs one of the best kids programs you’ll find and took a few minutes to talk about the San Diego Canoe & Kayak Team.

What does the USA Canoe/Kayak Head, Nathan Luce, look for in his athletes besides talented kayaking? Check out our conversation during the lunch break at Sprint Team Trials in Chula Vista, California. Enjoy our “angelic”  lighting too.

As I re-launch JoeJacobi.com, I’m re-posting some of my favorite blogs and video blogs from the past year. If you can appreciate cause-driven athletics at the highest level, check out this video featuring a Beijing Olympic medalist during a visit to Chattanooga.

Tradition in a Bottle

(November 2, 2008) Marcus McElhenney, coxswain for the Olympic Bronze Medal-winning Mens Eight in Beijing, and few of his rowing mates were in Chattanooga this past weekend for the Head of Hooch Rowing Regatta. Not only were they participating in what has become the second largest rowing event in the U.S., these young athletes were spokesmen for Row For the Cure – raising money and awareness for the fight against breast cancer. Marcus took a few minutes to talk with me about prospects for London and a special tradition within the Olympic rowing ranks.

Just came across this Diversity Spectrum video (thanks, Gold Medal Mel!) from former USA Canoe/Kayak Executive Director and current USA Swimming Executive Director, Chuck Wielgus. Excellent thoughts about diversity in water sports and USA Swimming’s diversity initiatives,  My favorite part? The words “it’s the right thing to do” are driving the so many of the word’s great movements. Plenty of opportunities for a sport like canoe/kayak to get involved!

As I relaunch JoeJacobi.com, I’m re-posting some of my favorite blogs and video blogs in the past year. Here PaddlingLife’s Eugene Buchanan and I share a few closing thoughts and memories about the Beijing Olympic Games from one of the “Seven Wonders of the World.” Eugene was amazing to work with and I’ll always be appreciative for his incredible work and contributions to both the whitewater and flatwater broadcasts on NBC.

As I re-launch JoeJacobi.com, I’m re-posting a few of my favorite blogs and video blogs from the past year. Last summer, I wrote my 2004 Olympic teammate, Brett Heyl, just after he narrowly missed qualifying for the Beijing Olympics. A post-script to this writing – Brett is hard at work with his goal posted across the top of his web site. -JJ

A Final Word About Brett Heyl

(July 8th, 2008) A few weeks ago on the day before starting the U.S. Olympic Whitewater Team Trials, elite competitor, Brett Heyl sat down to speak with the MSNBC broadcast crew. He looked relaxed, ready, and almost comfortable. When asked at about his competitive edge entering the drawn-out Olympic selection process, he crisply answered, “mental toughness.”

Hanging with Brett Heyl at the Olympic Village before the Closing Ceremonies in Athens

At this moment that I realized how far Brett had come not only as elite athlete on top of his game, but as a student of life approaching complex problem-solving. As far as sports go, Brett’s problem was a big one – the 2004 Olympian was one of the most dynamic kayakers in the world yet his chief rival in the U.S. held a large points advantage in the on-going U.S. Olympic selection system.
I’ve been been around Brett in good moments and tough ones – it’s the latter in which I would worry about him. Brett can be brutally hard on himself. And this Olympic selection situation could have easily spiraled in that direction. But instead of holding himself down, he rose up. Quickly and forcefully. After a dramatic win at the Olympic Trials, Brett took a personal best 4th place finish at the World Cup in Prague. Two weeks later in Augsburg, the final race of the U.S. Olympic selection process, Brett continued his ascent with a third place finish the in the qualification rounds. His next run would be his last of the selection process – a 15th place finish in the semi-final ended Brett’s Olympic journey a few places short of a trip to Beijing but hopefully not a career.
It would take years for most people to cover the ground that Brett did in just a few weeks. Everywhere he looked, he saw opportunity. Every step he took went up. Brett’s comment about mental toughness turned out to be much more than a 15 second sound bite. He not only fueled the most exciting – and grueling – Olympic selections in the history of the U.S. Whitewater program, Brett opened to a door to a brighter beginning.