First off my apologies for the incredibly long time between posts. The season has ended, I’m back home and I’ve finally had some time to reflect on what’s been an incredible year. I want to especially thank all of my sponsors and everyone who donated through the website or attended the Gala. These funds paid for all of my equipment this year, as well as the training camps in London I needed to go to in preparation for the Games. Thank you. It made the difference.

My experience at the Games this summer was truly unforgettable. I was lucky enough that I was able to stay in the village for a whole month leading up to and throughout the  Games right up until the closing ceremonies. Living in the village was amazing and slowly as everyone finished there events I was able to meet more and more other Canadian Olympians. I was able to score tickets to the Men’s 100m Final, which was one of the coolest events to experience. I say experience, because while you only watch the race for less than 10 seconds, the build up and atmosphere of the stadium before the gun went off was the best part.

Another, amazing experience I had in London was meeting British Royalty. I was one of five athletes who got to be at Canada House while Prince Harry visited. We had a great conversation about the Olympics, the venues, and the city of London which I topped off by asking him where the best place to go out was. He quickly responded, saying he was “too old to go out”, but I guess he’s not old enough for Vegas just yet…

After leaving London I headed over to Prague and Bratislava to race the last two World Cups. I was excited to get back to paddling regularly, as the London course had closed immediately after the Olympic competition, but I was also pretty tired coming off of such an incredible and emotional experience. The World Cups didn’t go how I wanted as I narrowly missed the semi-finals both races, but again it was all experience that will help me in the future.

Again, I’d like to thank everyone that has supported me over this year and since the beginning. I’ve just loved hearing everyone’s stories of watching me compete whether they were at work, the cottage, or at home. Since I’ve been home I’ve gotten up to a lot of cool stuff which I will post about later this week!

The time is almost here to race! If you would like to watch the competition:

July 29th Canoe Men’s start at 8:30am EST and Kayak Men’s (Michael) Qualifier heats start 9:15am EST

Featured on OLN (Outdoor Life Network)

Michael with cousins, Sarah and Patrick

NutriChem Table – Gold Level Sponsor

Michael and Olympian Sue Holloway

The short trip home was a chance to catch up with family and friends, but also included some great training on my home course, the Pumphouse. While I was gone my club, The Ottawa River Runners, modified one of the obstacles at the bottom of the course. It created a good surf wave while preserving the rest of the features on the course. I was able to come up with some great speed/power workouts using the wave that had me feeling fast in my boat just before leaving for the London. Now, I’m settling into the athletes village, getting decked out in Team Canada uniforms, and most of all I’m looking forward to having some fun paddling on the London course tomorrow!

Training Site – The Pumphouse

Last week while training in Pau for my first World Cup race, I got some of the best possible news you can get in the lead up to the Olympic Games as an athlete. I came home from training to find a message from CanFund’s Executive Director, Jane Roos. I called her back and found out that I would be receiving my first ever funding from CANFund this year. I am very happy to be included on their funding list this cycle, but there are over 100 athletes still on the CANFund waiting list, relying on CANFund for the funding they need in their final preparation for the London Olympic and Paralympic Games. Please go to www.MyCANFund.ca, to donate to help your 2012 Olympians perform in London. Thank you CANFund!